Year: 1879

'ln Olden times" says an old gam
bier, ''we thought nothing Of having a
thousand or two up on turn. There
was old Humphrey Marshall. lie was
prince. | never saw an amateur IN
my experience of forty years who
would put down as much cold money
out of his hand as Marshall. Some fell
lows, YOU know, are queer about cards.
There was the other Marshall. lie was
different from Humphrey that way. lie
laid himself out on piling his stack of
chips up to the ceiling. But Humphrey
would come in and pull the cold cash
out of his clothes and put it all down
on turn. He made lots of money,
lived like lord, and never seemed TO
be short. Hold up. Yes, he was short
once, that's fact. 1t was about the
time that he came from Chilli, where lie
was American Minister. He came into
the rooms one day, and said his wife
wanted an addition TO the house, and
he was going to give her money to
build 1t with right off that table, and by
the Lord he did He walked of with
81 400 on three turns, and the next day
began work on his house. He played
just like one of us-cOOl as ice all the
time. One of the grandest old men at
the business was Thad. Stevens. Thad
played pretty game, not very big, but
scientific, and then, too, he was regu-
lar about It. Never came across any
one who had bigger soul of honor
about him than Thad. | used TO love
him like brother. He always played
blue chips, never got excited at all, but
took more solid comfort out of it than
most any one ever saw. Poo: old
Thad. The doctors had been giving
out that he was sick of this thing and
that, and wouldn't let any one come
into his room. He sent for Inc. When
| got there the hOusekeeper said that
she had positively ordered not to let
any person talk to Mr.. Stevens, but
Thad, happening to hear my voice, he
called out: "Bob, these old. fools are
trying to find some excuse for killing
me off, but it's all nonsense. Seven
ty-eight years is my complaint. And l
wanted to see you, old fellow, before L
passed in my chips for the last time, J"
and he died that day, the grandest and
best old fellow we've had in public life
for many a day, | tell you.


Some of these foreign fellows used to
he game, especially the Russians. l
guess its in the blood with them, any
how, they all did it in the old days,
from Bodisco down. He was queer
coon, but the most systematic man at
the game you ever saw. He used to set
aside just 50 much money for this fun.
If he was in luck he'd play ahead, anu
sometimes cleared a stake, but gener-
ally didn't turn up well, aud when so
much was gone, he'd push his chair
back from the table and say quietly,
"Ze appropriation for zat is all ex-
haust." Then, If he didn't feel tired,
he looked on for while before going
home. He never went over his limit
on the appropriation. The fellows con-
nected with the Russian Legation then
used to come around nearly every day,
some of them playing big. If they
didn't have the cash it made no differ
ence for they were just as good as
wheat. The bank kept a regular ac-
count with them by the month, and,
when their sinews of war came around,
they'd clear the slate. But, Lord!
don't believe any of those good old fel-
lows are in the country any more. just
appears like pestilence or a hurri-
cane had come along and swept the
whole crowd into the wave.


In the old days there was money in
the game, and it paid to dine and wine
your patrons. When game used tc
clear upwards of 100000 in a season,
we could afford to be generous and give
away the lunch. | can remember one
year when we got away during the sea-
son with ], 800 baskets of champagne


Yes, of course, it cost a good deal less
than now, but other values were in
proportion. We never thoaght of ask
ing a gentleman what he'd have tt
drink when he looked thirsty; we JUS


wrung the neck off a bottle, and thai


was the end of it. Champagne, then


was the only drink. But nowadays
there isn't customer who comes to th'
rooms who don't eat up his head ant
drink up his jaws three times over il
twenty-four hours.