The Gaming Table: Its Votaries and Victims Volume 1 Part 27

(145) _The Gaming Calendar_, by Seymour Harcourt.

It may seem strange that such a man as d.i.c.k England could procure such distinguished 'witnesses to character.' The thing is easily explained, however. They knew the man only as a turf companion. We can come to no other conclusion,--remembering other instances of the kind. For example, the case of Palmer, convicted for the poisoning of Cooke. Had Palmer been on his trial merely for fighting a fatal duel; there can be no doubt that several n.o.blemen would have come forward to give him a good character. I was present at his trial, and saw him _BOW TO ONE, AT LEAST, OF OUR MOST DISTINGUISHED n.o.bLEMEN_ when the latter took his seat near the judge, at the trial. There was a _TURF ACQUAINTANCESHIP_ between them, and, of course, all 'acquaintanceship' may be presumed upon, if we lay ourselves open to the degradation.

The following is a curious case in point. A gentleman of the highest standing and greatest respectability was accosted by a stranger to whom he said--'Sir, you have the advantage of me.' 'Oh!' rejoined the former, 'don't you remember when we used to meet at certain parties at Bath many years ago?' 'Well, sir,' exclaimed the gentleman, 'you may speak to me should you ever again meet me at certain parties at Bath, but nowhere else.'

MAJOR BAGGS.

This famous gamester died in 1792, by a cold caught in 'a round-house,'

or place of detention, to which he had been taken by Justice Hyde, from a gaming table.

When too ill to rise out of his chair, he would be carried in that chair to the Hazard table.

He was supposed to have been the utter ruin of above forty persons at play. He fought eleven duels.

THE DUC DE MIREFOIX.

The Duc de Mirefois was amba.s.sador at the British Court, and was extremely fond of chess. A reverend gentleman being nearly his equal, they frequently played together. At that time the clergyman kept a petty day-school in a small village, and had a living of not more than twenty pounds a-year. The French n.o.bleman made uncommon interest with a n.o.ble duke, through whose favour he obtained for his reverend protege a living of about L600 per annum--an odd way of obtaining the 'cure of souls!'

A RECLAIMED GAMBLER'S ACCOUNT OF HIS CAREER.

'Some years since I was lieutenant in a regiment, which the alarm and policy of administration occasioned to be quartered in the vicinity of the metropolis, where I was for the first time. A young n.o.bleman of very distinguished family undertook to be my conductor. Alas! to what scenes did he introduce me! To places of debauchery and dens of destruction. I need not detail particulars. From the lures of the courtesan we went to an adjoining gaming room. Though I thought my knowledge of cards superior to those I saw play that night, I touched no card nor dice.

From this my conductor, a brother officer, and myself adjourned to Pall Mall. We returned to our lodgings about six o'clock in the morning.

'I could think of nothing but Faro's magic centre, and longed for the next evening, when I determined to enter that path which has led so many to infamy, beggary, and suicide. I began cautiously, and for some time had reason to be satisfied with my success. It enabled me to live expensively. I made golden calculations of my future fortune as I improved in skill. My manuals were treatises on gaming and chances, and no man understood this doctrine better than I did. I, however, did not calculate the disparity of resisting powers--my purse with _FIFTY_ guineas, and the Faro bank with a hundred thousand. It was ruin only which opened my eyes to this truism at last.

'Good meats, good cooking, and good wines, given gratis and plenteously, at these houses, drew many to them at first, for the sake of the society. Among them I one evening chanced to see a clerical prig, who was inc.u.mbent of a parish adjoining that in which my mother lived. I was intoxicated with wine and pleasure, when I, on this occasion, entered a haunt of ruin and enterprising avarice in Pall Mall. I played high and lost in proportion.

'The spirit of adventure was now growing on me every day. I was sometimes very successful. Yet my health was impaired, and my temper soured by the alternation of good and bad fortune, and my pity or contempt for those with whom I a.s.sociated. From the n.o.bleman, whose acres were nightly melting in the dice box, there were adventurers even to the _UNFLEDGED APPRENTICE_, who came with the pillage of his unsuspecting master's till, to swell the guilty bank of Dame N-- and Co. Were the Commissioners of Bankruptcy to know how many citizens are prepared for them at those houses, they would be bound to thank them.

'Many a score of guineas have I won of tradesmen, who seemed only to turn an honest penny in Leadenhall Street, Aldgate, Birchin Lane, Cornhill, Cheapside, Holborn, the Borough, and other eastern spots of industry; but I fleeced them only for the benefit of the Faro bank, which is sure, finally, to absorb the gain of all. Some of the croupiers would call their gold _GIFTS OF THE WISE MEN OF THE EAST;_ others termed their guineas _c.o.c.kNEY COUNTERS!_

'One night I had such a run of luck in the Hazard room, which was rather thinly attended, that I won everything, and with my load of treasure collected from the East and West, nay, probably, some of it from _Finchley Common_ and _Hounslow Heath_, I went, in the flush of success, to attack the Faro bank.

'It was my determination, however, if fortune favoured me through the night, never to tempt her more. For some hours I proceeded in the torture of suspense, alternately agitated by hope and fear--but by five o'clock in the morning I attained a state of certainty similar to that of a wretch ushered into the regions of the d.a.m.ned. I had lost L3500 guineas, which I had brought with me from the Hazard table, together with L2000 which the bank advanced me on my credit. There they stopped; and, with an apathy peculiar to themselves, listened to a torrent of puerile abuse which I vented against them in my despair.

'Two days and two nights I shut myself up, to indulge in the most racking reflections. I was ruined beyond repair, and I had, on the third morning, worked myself up to resort for relief to a loaded pistol. I rang for my servant to bring me some gunpowder, and was debating with myself whether to direct its force to my brain or my heart, when he entered with a letter. It was from Harriet ----. She had heard of my misfortunes, and urged me with the soul and pen of a heroine, to fly the destructive habits of the town, and to wait for nine months, when her minority would expire, and she would come into the uncontrolled possession of L1700. With that small sum she hoped my expenses, talents, and domestic comfort, under her housewifery, would create a state of happiness and independence which millions could not procure in the mad career which I had pursued.

'This was the voice of a guardian angel in the moment of despair. In her next, at my request, she informed me that the channel of her early and minute information was the clerical prig, her neighbour and admirer, who was related to one of the croupiers at ----, and had from him a regular detail of my proceedings.

'Soothed by the magic influence of my virtuous Harriet, instead of calling the croupier to account, I wrote to the proprietors of the bank, stating my ruined condition, and my readiness to sell my commission and pay them what I could. These gentlemen have friends in every department.

They completed the transfer of my lieutenancy in two days, and then, in their superabundant humanity, offered me the place of croupier in an inferior house which they kept near Hanover Square. This offer I declined; and after having paid my tradesman's bill, I left London with only eleven guineas in my pocket. I married the best of women, my preserver, and have ever since lived in real comfort and happiness, on an income less than one hundred pounds a year.'

A SURPRISE.

A stranger plainly dressed took his seat at a Faro table, when the bank was richer than usual. After some little routine play, he challenged the bank, and tossed his pocket-book to the banker that he might be satisfied of his responsibility. It was found to contain bills to an immense amount; and on the banker showing reluctance to accept the challenge, the stranger sternly demanded compliance with the laws of the game. The card soon turned up which decided the ruin of the banker.

'Heaven!' exclaimed an old infirm Austrian officer, who had sat next to the stranger--'the twentieth part of your gains would make me the happiest man in the universe!' The stranger briskly answered--'You shall have it, then;' and quitted the room. A servant speedily returned, and presented the officer with the twentieth part of the bank, adding--'My master requires no answer, sir,' and went out. The successful stranger was soon recognized to be the great King of Prussia in disguise.

CHAPTER XIII. THE LOTTERIES AND THEIR BEWILDERMENTS.

If we are to believe Pere Menestrier, the inst.i.tution of Lotteries is to be found in the Bible, in the words--'The _LOT_ causeth contentions to cease, and parteth between the mighty,' Prov. xviii. 18. Be that as it may, it is certain that lotteries were in use among the ancient Romans, taking place during the _Saturnalia_, or festivities in honour of the G.o.d Saturn, when those who took part in them received a numbered ticket, which ent.i.tled the bearer to a prize. During the reign of Augustus the thing became a means of gratifying the cupidity of his courtiers; and Nero used it as the method of distributing his gifts to the people,--granting as many as a thousand tickets a day, some of them ent.i.tling the bearers to slaves, ships, houses, and lands. Domitian compelled the senators and knights to partic.i.p.ate in the lotteries, in order to debase them; and Heliogabalus, in his fantastic festivities, distributed tickets which ent.i.tled the bearers to camels, flies, and other odd things suggested by his madness. In all this, however, the distinctive character of modern lotteries was totally absent: the tickets were always gratuitous; so that if the people did not win anything, they never lost.

In the Middle Ages the same practice prevailed at the banquets of feudal princes, who apportioned their presents economically, and without the fear of exciting jealousy among the recipients, by granting lottery tickets indiscriminately to their friends. The practice afterwards descended to the merchants; and in Italy, during the 16th century, it became a favourite mode of disposing of their wares.

The application of lotteries by paid tickets to the service of the state is said to have originated at Florence, under the name of 'Lotto,' in 1530; others say at Genoa, under the following circ.u.mstances:--It had long been customary in the latter city to choose annually, by ballot, five members of the Senate (composed of 90 persons) in order to form a particular council. Some persons took this opportunity of laying bets that the lot would fall on such or such senators. The government, seeing with what eagerness the people interested themselves in these bets, conceived the idea of establishing a lottery on the same principle, which was attended with such great success, that all the cities of Italy wished to partic.i.p.ate in it, and sent large sums of money to Genoa for that purpose.

To increase the revenues of the Church, the Pope also was induced to establish a lottery at Rome; the inhabitants of which place became so fond of this species of gambling, that they often deprived themselves and their families of the necessaries of life, that they might have money to lay out in this speculation.

The French borrowed the idea from the Italians. In the year 1520, under Francis I., lotteries were permitted by edict under the name of _Blanques_, from the Italian _bianca carta_, 'white tickets,'-- because all the losing tickets were considered _BLANKS;_--hence the introduction of the word into common talk, with a similar meaning. From the year 1539 the state derived a revenue from the lotteries, although from 1563 to 1609 the French parliament repeatedly endeavoured to suppress them as social evils. At the marriage of Louis XIV. a lottery was organized to distribute the royal presents to the people--after the fashion of the Roman emperor. Lotteries were multiplied during this reign and that of Louis XV. In 1776 the Royal Lottery of France was established. This was abolished in 1793, re-established at the commencement of the Republic; but finally all lotteries were prohibited by law in 1836,--excepting 'for benevolent purposes.' One of the most remarkable of these lotteries 'for benevolent purposes' was the 'Lottery of the Gold Lingots,'

authorized in 1849, to favour emigration to California. In this lottery the grand prize was a lingot of gold valued at about L1700.

The old French lottery consisted of 90 numbers, that is, from No. 1 to No. 90, and the drawing was five numbers at a time. Five wheels were established at Paris, Lyons, Strasbourg, Bordeaus, and Lille. A drawing took place every ten days at each city. The exit of a single number was called _extrait_, and it won 15 times the amount deposited, and 70 times if the number was determined; the exit of two numbers was called the _ambe_, winning 270 times the deposit, and 5100 times if the number was determined;--the exit of three numbers was called the _terne_, winning 5500 times; the _quaterne_, or exit of four numbers, won 75,000 times the deposit. In all this, however, the chances were greatly in favour of the state banker;--in the _extrait_ the chances were 18 to 15 in his favour, vastly increasing, of course, in the remainder; thus in the _ambe_ it was 1602 against 270; and so on.

The first English lottery mentioned in history was drawn in the year 1569. It consisted of 400,000 lots, at 10_s_. each lot. The prizes were plate; and the profits were to go towards repairing the havens or ports of this kingdom. It was drawn at the west door of St Paul's Cathedral.

The drawing began on the 10th of January, 1569, and continued incessantly, _DAY AND NIGHT_, till the 6th of May following.(146) Another lottery was held at the same place in 1612, King James having permitted it in favour of 'the plantation of English colonies in Virginia.' One Thomas Sharplys, a tailor of London, won the chief prize, which was '4000 crowns in fair plate.'

(146) The printed scheme of this lottery is still in the possession of the Antiquarian Society of London.

In 1680, a lottery was granted to supply London with water. At the end of the 17th century, the government being in want of money to carry on the war, resorted to a lottery, and L1,200,000 was set apart or _NAMED_ for the purpose. The tickets were all disposed of in less than six months, friends and enemies joining in the speculation. It was a great success; and when right-minded people murmured at the impropriety of the thing, they were told to hold their tongues, and a.s.sured that this lottery was the very queen of lotteries, and that it had just taken Namur!(147)

(147) This town was captured in 1695, by William III.

At the same time the Dutch gave in to the infatuation with the utmost enthusiasm; lotteries were established all over Holland; and learned professors and ministers of the gospel spoke of nothing else but the lottery to their pupils and hearers.

From this time forward the spirit of gambling increased so rapidly and grew so strong in England, that in the reign of Queen Anne private lotteries had to be suppressed as public nuisances.

The first _parliamentary_ lottery was inst.i.tuted in 1709, and from this period till 1824 the pa.s.sing of a lottery bill was in the programme of every session. Up to the close of the 18th century the prizes were generally paid in the form of terminable, and sometimes of perpetual, annuities. Loans were also raised by granting a bonus of lottery tickets to all who subscribed a certain amount.

This gambling of annuities, despite the restrictions of an act pa.s.sed in 1793, soon led to an appalling amount of vice and misery; and in 1808, a committee of the House of Commons urged the suppression of this ruinous mode of filling the national exchequer. The last public lottery in Great Britain was drawn in October, 1826.

The lotteries exerted a most baneful influence on trade, by relaxing the sinews of industry and fostering the destructive spirit of gaming among all orders of men. Nor was that all. The stream of this evil was immensely swelled and polluted, in open defiance of the law, by a set of artful and designing men, who were ever on the watch to allure and draw in the ignorant and unwary by the various modes and artifices of '_insurance_,' which were all most flagrant and gross impositions on the public, as well as a direct violation of the law. One of the most common and notorious of these schemes was the insuring of numbers for the next day's drawing, at a _premium_ which (if legal) was much greater than adequate to the risk. Thus, in 1778, when the just premium of the lottery was only 7_s_. 6_d_., the office-keepers charged 9_s_., which was a certain gain of nearly 30 per cent.; and they aggravated the fraud as the drawing advanced.

On the sixteenth day of drawing the just premium was not quite 20_s_., whereas the office-keepers charged L1 4_s_. 6_d_., which clearly shows the great disadvantage that every person laboured under who was imprudent enough to be concerned in the insurance of numbers.(148)