The Washington herald., 1912-05-02

ing a great deal OF property in anc
around Kilmarnock, from his great
aunt. Lady Ossington. to whom it had
passed on the death of her brother, the
late Duke OF Portland.
Lord Howard de Walden is a great
great-grandson of the notorious Gen
Scott, who won half a million pounds
sterling at hazard. One Of the generals
daughters married the fourth Duke OF
Portland, while another became the wife
Of George Canning. Gen. Scott frequent
ly played at Versailles at the same table
with Marie Antolnette.
a game Of rouge ct noir' in open
court curing a criminal trial. in order
to decide whether the charge OF cheating
at cards was well founded, was the in
teresting spectacle to which a Berlin
audience was treated the other day.
The case was that against the notori-
Gus Count Gishert Wolff -Metternich,
nephew Of Count f-MetternIch zur
Gracht, the German Ambassador in Lon
don, the black sheep Of a family count
ed among the highest nobility OF Aus
tria and Germany. and an aIl-around
goor-for-nOthing scapegrace. Accused
with the count was a Roumanian by the
name of Buics.
The authorities have been unable to
lay their hands upon the others alleged
to belong to the band of international
card sharpers with which the accused
are said to have been associated. A
German named Stallmann, alias Baron
Korffkoenig; a German ex-officer named
Niemala, and an Englishman. passing
as an officer in the British army, are
l., L.
affair.
Count Metternich is charged with at
tempted fraud, also with an attempt to
eXtort money by blackmail from a Ger
man army officer, and. last. but not least
with swindling a demi-mondaine, who
''betriended" him, out OF a sum of money.
The proceedings were chiefly occupied
with the examination OF the Roumanlan,
especially with regard to a card game at
Berlin hotel in which Buics. Stallmann.
and Niemala are alleged to have won 81, :
600 marks from a wealthy young Prussian
Hussar officer by manipulating the cards.
Buics denied that he had cheated. The
game played was. he said. rouge ct
nOir." pack Of cards was brought into
court and police commissary gave a
demonstration that trickery was possible
at this game. Buics maintained that
rouge ct noir was not a game of hazard
but of calculation.
He contended that a skilled PLAYER with
a good memory would always know
pretty correctly what cards were left, and
which way the coIors were likely to run.
He offered to demonstrate the truth of
his assertion.
The presiding judge accepted. and Buics
left the dock and played n game of
rouge et noir with him, the judge acting
as banker. with the counsel and Journal
lists crowding round the judicial table.
To the huge amusement both of the
participants and the public the game
ended In complete victory for Buics,
who, had the contest been genuine, would
have won 400 marks from the court.
The Metternich family, to which this
count belongs, is a branch of the famous
and historic house which was brought
into prominence by Franz Georg Karl.
Count Metternich. an Austrian diplo-
matist, and an associate of Count
Kaunitz, the prime mover of the Aus
trian forces against Frederick the Great
in the seven years war.
His son. Clemens wenzel Nepounuk.
however, was ''the celebrated Metternich.
who was at the head OF the fortunes
Of his country during the dark Ma
poleonic days and whu. as a reward
for his services, tact and successful d.
plomacy, was created a prince and a
duke. FI.ANEUR
tcopyrisht. 1872. By Court Gossip syndietc)