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The Gaming Table-Vol. 1-Part20_Andrew Steinmetz(1816-1877)_English Literature(文学名著)-第2页

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capricious, almost preternatural, feature of the physiology of



gaming, that the young and inexperienced generally win in the

first instance. They are drawn on and on, and in and in. They



begin to lose, and continue to lose, and by the time they have

cut their wise teeth they have neither sou nor silver to make



their dearly-bought wisdom available.

`At least one-half of the company may be assumed to be arrant



rascals--rascals male and rascals female--_chevaliers

d'industrie_, the offscourings of all the shut-up gambling-houses



in Europe, demireps and _lorettes_, single and married women

innumerable.'



In the course of the three visits he has paid to Hombourg, Mr

Sala has observed that `nine-tenths of the English visitors to



the Kursaal, play;' and he does not hesitate to say that the

moths who flutter round the garish lamps at the Kursaal Van



der Hohe, and its kindred Hades, almost invariably singe their

wings; and that the chaseer at _Roulette_ and _Rouge_, generally



turn out edged tools, with which those incautious enough to play

with them are apt to cut their fingers, sometimes very



dangerously.

The season of 1869 in Hombourg is thus depicted in a high class



newspaper.

`Never within the memory of the oldest inhabitant (who in this



instance must undoubtedly be that veteranplayer Countess

Kisselef) has the town witnessed such an influx of tourists of



every class and description. Hotels and lodging-houses are

filled to overflowing. Every day imprudent travellers who have



neglected the precaution of securing rooms before their arrival

return disconsolately to Frankfort to await the vacation of some



apartment which a condescending landlord has promised them after

much negotiation for the week after next. The morning promenade



is a wonderful sight; such a host of bilious faces, such an

endless variety of eccentric costumes, such a Babel of tongues,



among which the shrill twang of our fair American cousins is

peculiarly prominent, could be found in no other place in



the civilized world. A moralist would assuredly find here

abundant food for reflection on the wonderful powers of self-



deception possessed by mankind. We all get up at most

inconvenient hours, swallow a certain quantity of a most nauseous



fluid, and then, having sacrificed so much to appearances, soothe

our consciences with the unfounded belief that a love of early



rising and salt water was our real reason for coming here, and

that the gambling tables had nothing whatever to do with it.



Perhaps, in some few instances, this view may be the correct one;

some few invalids, say one in a hundred, may have sought Hombourg



solely in the interest of an impaired digestion, but I fear that

such cases are few and far between; and, as a friend afflicted



with a mania for misquotation remarked to me the other day, even

"those who come to drink remain to play."



`Certainly the demon of Rouge et Noir has never held more

undisputed sway in Hombourg than in the present season; never



have the tables groaned under such a load of notes and rouleaux.

It would seem as if the gamblers, having only two or more years



left in which to complete their ruin, were hurrying on with

redoubled speed to that desirable consummation, and where a stake



of 12,000 francs is allowed on a single coup the pace can be made

very rapid indeed. High play is so common that unless you are



lucky enough to win or rich enough to lose a hundred thousand

francs at least, you need not hope to excite either envy or



commiseration. One persevering Muscovite, who has been punting

steadily for six weeks, has actually succeeded in getting rid of



a million of florins. As yet there have been no suicides to

record, owing probably to the precautionary measures adopted by a



paternal Administration. As soon as a gambler is known to be

utterly cleared out he at once receives a visit from one of M.



Blanc's officials, who offers him a small sum on condition he

will leave the town forthwith; which viaticum, however, for fear



of accidents, is only handed to him when fairly seated in the

train that bears him away, to blow out his brains, should he feel



so inclined, elsewhere. One of the most unpleasant facts




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