Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-10-31
THE GAMING PASSION
Incidents In Actual Life That
 0utstrip Fiction.
4 COLD FLOODED MONARCH.

Louis xv. and ths Dead Man st the
 Card TabIs-A Woman Who Gam
 bIed on Her psathbsd-Lord Deni-
 son's Play While His Bride Waited
 at the Altar.
 If the full story of the card table could be written 1t would surely be the most startling revelation of human cupldity ever published, and almost every page of 1t would be marked by some incident which would outstrip fiction.
 When Louis XIV. was at the card table the fascination of the game made him absolutely dead to all externals and even to decency and humanity. On one occasion when he was playing for heavy stakes one of his opponents. overcome by excitement, collapsed in his chair in fit of apoplexy. His majesty affected to ignore the incident until some one exclaimed, "M. de Chau- velin is illw "Ill?' retorted the king, casting a careless glance at the strick' en man; "he is dead. Take him away. Spades are trumps, gentlemen"
 Equally weird is story Goldsmith tells. When the clergyman arrived to prepare lady parishioner who had a passion for gambling for her approach ing death the lady after listening for a short time to his exhortation exclaim- ed: That's enough! Now let us have a game of cards" To humor her the parson consented to play. The dying woman won all his money and had just suggested playing for her funeral fee when she fell back and expired.
 In the early years of last century a whist club composed largely of clergy men used to meet in the back room of barber's shop in Somersetshire town. On one occasion. so the story runs, when four of the club members were acting as pallbearers at the fu- neral of reverend brother, some delay occurred, and the coffin was set down in the chancel. One of them produced a pack of cards and suggested rub Der. The coffin served the purpose of table, and the players were deeply immersed in the game when the sex ton arrived to announce that every thing was at last ready.
 Mazarin's passion for gambling was so strong even in death that he played cards to the very end. when he was 50 weak that they had to be held for him, and the merry monarch" spent his last Sunday on earth playing at basset round a large table with his great courtiers and other dissolute persons and with bank of at least f2,O00 before him.
 The curious fascination cards possess for their devotees is illustrated by the following story of Lord Granville, at the time ambassador to France. One I afternoon when he was about to re. turn to Paris he repaired to Graham's to have a farewell game of whist, or dering his carriage to be at the door at 4. When 1t arrived he was much too deep in the game to be disturbed. At 10 o'clock he sent out to say that he was not ready and that the horses had better be changed. Six hours later the same message was sent out, and twice more the waiting horses were changed before he consented to leave the table after losing f10,0Q0.
 An equally remarkable story is told of George Payne, the great turf plum ger of seventy years ago. On one occa- sion he sat down at Limmer's hotel to play cards with Lord Albert Denison, later the first Lord Londesborough. Hour after hour passed. The game proceeded all through the night and long after day dawned. and it was not until an urgent message came to tell Lord Albert that his bride was waiting for him at the altar of St. Georges. Hanover square, that the cards were at last flung down. It was Lord Al bert's wedding day. and he met his bride f30,0o0 poorer than when he left | ueE Ou tue pTcslouS uny'
 1 One of the most romantic of gam bling stories is told by MT. Thiselton- Dyer of a plainly dressed stranger who once took his seat at faro table and after an extraordinary run of luck succeeded in breaking the bank. Heavens" exclaimed an old, infrm Austrian officer who had sat next to the stranger. ''the twentieth part of your gains would make me the happ!. est man in the worldr' You shall have it, then" answered the stranger as be left the room.
 A servant speedily returned and pre- scented the officer with the twentieth part of the bank. adding. My master. sir, requires no answer.' The success ful stranger was soon discovered to be the king of Prussia in disguise.
 The most costly game of cards on record was probably that in which'the late George !acCulloch, chairman of the Broken Hill Proprietary company, once took part. A syndicate of seven had been formed to finance the ia. nous Broken Hill silver mine, and MT. McCulloch was one of the seven. One day, while sitting in shanty at the foot of the hill, McCulloch offered a fourteenth share in the mine to a young man named Cox for f2oO.
 Cox would only offer f120. and after much haggling 1t was decided to set tie the dispute by game of euchre. yf Coy proyed fhe rfuner he was fn