The Washington herald., 1913-02-10
GOSSIP OF PARTS OF EUROPE
NOW IN THE PUBLIC EYE


clubs at the instigation of unhappy hus-
| bands who not only resented the absence
of their wives from home every evening.
but rebelled against the housekeeping
money being squandered at card tables
and on reckless wagers.
In London many husbands and fathers
have the same complaint to make, yet
| the police are powerless to follow the
| example OF Vienna. Most of the gambling
| in London is done within groups of inti-
mate friends, who, having organized
themselves into private clubs, manage to
evade the law. and thus ruin each other
secretly. They hold their gambling meet
ings at each others houses In regular
turn. usually twice and sometimes three
or four times a week.
There are many instances in which
women. otherwise respectable. make a
comfortable living by having regular
poker parties at their rooms. a per
centage of the money always goes to the
house" and this often amounts to a
very considerable sum, especially when
the sittings are prolonged. To obtain an
entry to these parties one must be known
personally to the woman who is desig
mated as hostess or must be recon-
mended by some of the regular guests.
AS rule. the players are all women.
some of them elderly, but most OF them
young matrons and girls over twenty.
The recklessness with which these women
play is amazing. and the consequence Is
that the losses they incur frequently are
heavier than they can AFFORD. Thus, In
order to pay their debts. they are driven
to all sorts Of deceitful expedients that
they may conceal from their husbands
and their fathers the financial troubles
into which the gambling craze has landed
them.
The weather was unfavorable for shoot
ing at Holkham last month, and sport
for King George, who was shooting on
these moors, was much below the aver
age on these famous preserves, except
one day. when more than LOO head were
killed, principally pheasants. There were
not nearly SO many wild fowl as usual in
Norfolk and Suffolk. OWING to the heavy
gales. The principal preserves at Holk-
ham are In and around the park. which
comprises 1900 acres, about 100 being
woodland. The marshes (mOre than 600
ncres). between the park and the sea.
usually swarm with all kinds of wild
fowl during the winter.
There have been many royal guests at
HoIkham. George ". when Prince of
Wales. being the first OF them. He often
visited Coke of Norfolk while the lat
ter still professed TO be a Whig. The
state apartments in the hall are ap-
preached from the landscape room. One
OF the royal bedrooms is hung with Gobe-
lin tapestry and the other with crimson
broCade from Genoa, while the furniture
Is covered with old Italian work which
was brought from Rome by the builder
OF Holkham. There are several fine pic
lures in both the bedrooms and In the
dressing rooms. and also in the royal
sitting rooms. where they breakfasted
every morning. and which is hung with
splendid tapestries. Dinner was served
each day in the south dining-room, which
contains several fine pictures, including
a remarkable landscape by Poussin and
a full-length portrait Of the Duke OF
Richmond by Van Dyck. The party took
tea in the north dininG-room, which con
tains some valuable busts from Italy.
The art treasures with which the house
IS filed now are well shown off by cleo
trio light
Small blame TO the general public in
ireland If the idea persists with them
that the unsolved mystery Of the Irish |
crown Jewels is amply supplied with
known to what usually Is called |
Dublin Castle" 1t is the long tradition !
OF Dublin Castle to work in mysterious
ways calculated to arouse the suspicion |
or the most credulous and unsuspecting. |
The peculiar inefiCienCy of the COM |
of Inquiry into the disappear
ance of the jewels. its palpable mockery |
with regard TO exsmining-or, rather. not
is largely account
able for the insistcnt rumors of melo-
dramatic and lurid mystery regarding
tho crown Jewels that have flourished
nvcr since its session. The Irish are
race OF lawyers. generally speaking. In
no country in the world have the people
more knowledge OF the law or take more
interest in everything connected with II.
The jewel robbery might long ago have
been forgotten had not the faulty nature
Of the commission left an indelible con-
viction that there was something to be
concealed rather than to be found out.
FLANEUR-
Copyright, 1915 b. Court Gossip Syndicate