The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1907-06-15
ONE woMAN's QUICK EYE.

| w AtA tuG lew yea . tue luCI SdS'
OF gambling among women has beer
appalling. The dazing successors o
q few have been cabled to all parts o
the world the tragedies of the thou
sands who lose have not been told.
| Spread of the gambling fever
among women has alarmed the man
agement Monte Carlo hates scan
dals and suicides. But what can bs
done? Each year sees greater mum
Ders of the fair sex wooing the tickle
god each year there are an in.
creased number of suicides each yeal
adds to the number of adventuresses
Men, as a general thing, take de-
feat bravely and desist. Women, -
says a gambler who has been tc
Monte Carlo, '.'learn to stop-never
They will play if they have to stea'
the money
I Nearly everyone who has been tc
Monte Carlo has heard of Mamma"
Viaud, a little, bent old French wo-
man, widow, who has played fol
years.
Mamma" Viaud played roulette
each day from morning until night.
Her beady eyes, twitching nervously,
saw nothing but the ivory ball as II
fell into the cell. AS they watched
her staggering from the gaming ta-
bles late at night people pitied her.
Her whole soul, her life, seemed
absorbed in the awful desire of win
ming. The old woman at times lost
heavily-for her. then she regained
her losses. For long time she was
enabled olive and continue her fever.
ish pursuit of the game.
One night the old woman lost near
ly all her store. As she passed from
the table, despair in her eyes, her at
tention was attracted by another
wheel. She stopped and bent over
the table. Again and again the
wheel spun around and stopped. The
old woman's eyes sparkled. A flush
suffused her pallid cheeks.
AS she left the room she clapped
her hands, and her laugh-a shrill,
mocking chuckle-startled the game
sters as ominous, uncanny.
Better watch the old woman p
one of the official lookouts told de-
tective. He followed Mamma"
Viaud to her hotel. He listened out.
side of her door. There was no
alarming sound. In a short while
she extinguished her lights, and evil
IDENTIFY had retired.
The following evening she reap
peared in the gaming hall. Her eyes
still sparkled, her cheeks were still
flushed. With her were several notori-
Gus gamesters. They approached a
table. mamma" Viaud began to
play.
She won. The gamblers, who had
loaned her money, watched. She
played second time-and won-and
third time-and won. The gam
blers looked on amazed and saw the
old woman raking in thousands of
francs.
During the evening the old woman
sat by the table, playing persistently.
Her winnings doubled, trebled, quad
rupled and piled up about her.
The management became alarmed.
A consultation was held. Special
detectives were sent to watch her.
Scores had gathered about the table,
looking on breathlessly at her won-
derful run of luck. The detectives
reported to the management that
mamma" Viaud was playing GER
tain combination of numbers that in
variably won.
One of the directors besought the
old woman to desist playing the
bank would be broke, he declared.
She smiled and continued to play.
The director offered her $50, 900 to
cease playing. He doubled the figure
if she would tell him the secret of her
success. He importuned her to take
5000, 900, $2o5. 900, only cease wag-
ing her successful battle for gold.
Finally he offered her 5000, 900.
Accepting this Mamma" Viaud,
gathering together her fortune, told
him very quietly that in passing the
table the night before her quick eye
had detected that the ball of this par
ticular wheel stopped at a certain
place at regular intervals. The man
ayers examined the wheel, found
that it was out of order, and congratu-
lated themselves upon having COM
promised with the old woman.--Morth
1Annet ic1n.