last words will be "Rien ne va plus!" She is a great and

convincing moral, if one but interpret her rightly.'[83]
[83] Daily Telegraph, Aug. 15, 1868.

The doom of the German gaming houses seems to be settled. They
will all be closed in 1872, as appears by the following

announcement:--
`The Prussian government, not having been able to obtain from the

lessees of the gaming tables at Wiesbaden, Ems, and Hombourg
their consent to their cancelling of their contracts, has

resolved to terminate their privileges by a legislativemeasure.
It has presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies at Berlin,

fixing the year 1872 as the limit to the existence of these
establishments, and even authorizing the government to suppress

them at an earlier period by a royal ordinance. No indemnity is
to be allowed to the persons holding concessions.'--_Feb_. 23,

1868.
A London newspaper defends this measure in a very successful

manner.
`Prussia has declared her purpose to eradicate from the

territories subject to her increased sway, and from others
recognizing her influence, the disgrace of the _Rouge et Noir_

and the Roulette table as public institutions. Her reasoning is
to the effect that they bring scandal upon Germany; that they

associate with the names of its favourite watering-places the
appellation of "hells;" that they attract swindlers and

adventurers of every degree; and that they have for many a year
past been held up to the opprobrium of Europe. For why should

this practice be a lawful practice of Germany and of no other
country in Europe? Why not in France, in Spain, in Italy, in the

Northern States, in Great Britain itself? Let us not give to
this last proposition more importance than it is worth. The

German watering-places are places of leisure, of trifling, of
_ennui_. That is why, originally, they were selected as

encampments by the tribes which fatten upon hazards. But there
was another reason: they brought in welcome revenues to needy

princes. Even now, in view of the contemplated expurgation,
Monaco is named, with Geneva, as successor to the perishing

glories of Hombourg, Wiesbaden, and the great Baden itself. That
is to say, the gamblers, or, rather, the professionals who live

upon the gambling propensities of others, having received from
Prussia and her friends notice to quit, are in search of new

lodgings.
`The question is, they being determined, and the accommodation

being not less certainly ready for them than the sea is for the
tribute of a river, will the reform designed be a really

progressive step in the civilization of Europe? Prussia says--
decidedly so; because it will demolish an infamousprivilege.

She affirms that an institution which might have been excusable
under a landgrave, with a few thousand acres of territory, is

inconsistent with the dignity and, to quote continental
phraseology, the mission of a first-class state. Here again the

reasoning is incontrovertible. Of one other thing, moreover, we
may feel perfectly sure, that Prussia having determined to

suppress these centres and sources of corruption, they will
gradually disappear from Europe. Concede to them a temporary

breathing-time at Monaco; the time left for even a nominally
independent existence to Monaco is short: imagine that they

find a fresh outlet at Geneva; Prussia will have represented the
public opinion of the age, against which not even the

Republicanism of Switzerland can long make a successful stand.
Upon the whole, history can never blame Prussia for such a use

either of her conquests or her influence. Say what you will,
gambling is an indulgence" target="_blank" title="n.沉迷；宽容；恩惠">indulgence blushed over in England; abroad,

practised as a little luxury in dissipation, it may be pardoned
as venial; habitually, however, it is a leprosy. And as it is by

habitual gamblers that these haunts are made to flourish, this
alone should reconcile the world of tourists to a deprivation

which for them must be slight; while to the class they imitate,
without equalling, it will be the prohibition of an abominable

habit.'[84]
[84] Extracts from a `leader' in the Standard of Sept. 4, 1869.

CHAPTER IX.
GAMBLING IN THE UNITED STATES.

It is not surprising that a people so intensely speculative,
excitable, and eager as the Americans, should be desperately

addicted to gambling. Indeed, the spirit of gambling has
incessantly pervaded all their operations, political, commercial,

and social.[85] It is but one of the manifestations of that
thorough license arrogated to itself by the nation, finding its

true expression in the American maxim recorded by Mr Hepworth
Dixon, so coarsely worded, but so significant,--`Every man

has a right to do what he _DAMNED_ pleases.'[86]
[85] In the American correspondence of the Morning Advertiser,

Feb. 6, 1868, the writer says:--`It was only yesterday (Jan. 24)
that an eminent American merchant of this city (New York) said,

in referring to the state of affairs--"we are socially,
politically, and commercially demoralized." '

[86] `Spiritual Wives.'--A work the extraordinary disclosures
of which tend to show that a similar spirit, destined, perhaps,

to bring about the greatest social changes, is gaining ground
elsewhere than in America.

Although laws similar to those of England are enacted in America
against gambling, it may be said to exist everywhere, but, of

course, to the greatest extent in the vicinity of the fashionable
quarters of the large cities. In New York there is scarcely a

street without its gambling house--`private,' of course, but well
known to those who indulge in the vice. The ordinary public game

is Faro.
High and low, rich and poor, are perfectly suited in their

requirements; whilst at some places the stakes are unlimited, at
others they must not exceed one dollar, and a player may wager as

low as five cents, or twopence-halfpenny. These are for the
accommodation of the very poorest workmen, discharged soldiers,

broken-down gamblers, and street-boys.
`I think,' says a recent writer,[87] `of all the street-boys in

the world, those of New York are the most precocious. I have
seen a shoe-black, about three feet high, walk up to the

table or `Bank,' as it is generally called, and stake his money
(five cents) with the air of a young spendthrift to whom "money

is no object." '
[87] `St James's Magazine,' Sept., 1867.

The chief gambling houses of New York were established by men who
are American celebrities, and among these the most prominent have

been Pat Hern and John Morrissey.
PAT HERN.

Some years ago this celebrated Irishman kept up a splendid
establishment in Broadway, near Hauston Street. At that time his

house was the centre of attraction towards which `all the world'
gravitated, and did the thing right grandly--combining the

Apicius with the Beau Nash or Brummell. He was profusely lavish
with his wines and exuberant in his suppers; and it was generally

said that the game in action there, _Faro_, was played in all
fairness. Pat Hern was a man of jovial disposition and genial

wit, and would have adorned a better position. During the trout-
fishing season he used to visit a well-known place called Islip

in Long Island, much frequented by gentlemen devoted to angling
and fond of good living.

At Islip the equallyrenowned Oby Snedecker kept the tavern
which was the resort of Pat Hern and his companions. It had

attached to it a stream and lake to which the gentlemen who had
the privilege of the house were admitted. Mrs Obadiah Snedecker,

the buxom wife of `mine host,' was famous for the exquisite way
in which she cooked veal cutlets. There were two niggers in the

establishment, named Steve and Dick, who accompanied the
gentlemen in their angling excursions, amusing them with their

stolidity and the enormous quantity of gin they could imbibe