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on the unfortunate Caroline, and the vast amount of injury which
the separation from her, and the subsequent trial, produced on
the morals of the nation generally.'
CHAPTER V.
ODDITIES AND WITTICISMS OF GAMBLERS.
OSTENTATIOUS GAMESTERS.
Certain grandees and wealthy persons, more through vanity or
weakness than generosity, have sacrificed their avidity to
ostentation--some by renouncing their winnings, others by
purposely losing. The greater number of such eccentrics,
however, seem to have allowed themselves to be pillaged merely
because they had not the generosity or the courage to give away
what was wanted.
The Cardinal d'Este, playing one day with the Cardinal de
Medicis, his guest, thought that his magnificence required him to
allow the latter to win a stake of 10,000 crowns--'not wishing,'
he said, 'to make him pay his reckoning or allow him to depart
unsatisfied.' Brantome calls this 'greatness;' the following is
an instance of what he calls 'kindness.'
'Guilty or innocent,' he says, 'everybody was well received at
the house of this cardinal, who kept an open table at Rome for
the French chevaliers. These gentlemen having appropriated a
portion of his plate, it was proposed to search them: 'No, no!'
said the cardinal, 'they are poor companions who have only their
sword, cloak, and crucifixes; they are brave fellows; the plate
will be a great benefit to them, and the loss of it will not make
me poorer.'
Vigneul de Marville tells us of certain extravagant abbes, named
Ruccellai and Frangipani, who carried their ostentation to such a
pitch as to set gold in dishes on their tables when entertaining
their gaming companions! Were any of these base enough to put
their hands in and help themselves? This is not stated by the
historian. These two Italian abbes were ne plus ultras in luxury
and effeminacy. In the reign of Henry IV., they laid before
their guests vermilion dishes filled with gloves, fans, coins to
play with after the repast, essences and perfumes.[25] I wonder
if the delightful scent called Frangipani, vouchsafed to us by
Rimmel and Piesse and Lubin, was named after this exquisite
ecclesiastic of old?
[25] Melanges d' Hist. et de Lit.
One day when Henry IV. was dining at the Duc de Sully's, the
latter, as soon as the cloth was raised, brought in cards and
dice, and placed upon the table two purses of 4000 pistoles each,
one for the King, the other to lend to the lords of his suite.
Thereupon the king exclaimed:--'Great master, come and let me
embrace you, for I love you as you deserve: I feel so comfortable
here that I shall sup and stay the night.' Evidently Sully was
more a courtier than usual on this occasion--as no doubt the
whole affair was by the king's order, with which he complied
reluctantly; but he made the king play with his own money only.
The Duc de Lerme, when entertaining Monsieur the brother of Louis
XIII. at his quarters near Maestricht, had the boldness to bring
in, at the end of the repast, two bags of 1000 pistoles each,
declaring that he gave them up to the players without any
condition except to return them when they pleased.[26]
[26] Mem. de Jeu M. le Duc d'Orleans.
This Duc de Lerme was at least a great lord, and the army which
he commanded may have warranted his extravagance; but what are we
to think when we find the base and mean-spirited Fouquet giving
himself the same princely airs? During certain festivities
prepared for Louis XIV., Fouquet placed in the room of every
courtier of the king's suite, a purse of gold for gambling, in
case any of them should be short of money. Well might Duclos
remark that 'Nobody was shocked at this MAGNIFICENT SCANDAL![27]
[27] Consideration sur les Moeeurs,
They tell of a certain lordly gamester who looked upon any money
that fell from his hands as lost, and would never stoop to pick
it up! This reminds us of the freedman Pallas mentioned by
Tacitus, who wrote down what he had to say to his slaves, lest he
should degrade his voice to their level--ne vocem
consociaret![28]
[28] Ann. l. xiii
AN INSINUATING, ELEGANT GAMESTER.
Osterman, Grand Chancellor of Russia, during the reign of the
the separation from her, and the subsequent trial, produced on
the morals of the nation generally.'
CHAPTER V.
ODDITIES AND WITTICISMS OF GAMBLERS.
OSTENTATIOUS GAMESTERS.
Certain grandees and wealthy persons, more through vanity or
weakness than generosity, have sacrificed their avidity to
ostentation--some by renouncing their winnings, others by
purposely losing. The greater number of such eccentrics,
however, seem to have allowed themselves to be pillaged merely
because they had not the generosity or the courage to give away
what was wanted.
The Cardinal d'Este, playing one day with the Cardinal de
Medicis, his guest, thought that his magnificence required him to
allow the latter to win a stake of 10,000 crowns--'not wishing,'
he said, 'to make him pay his reckoning or allow him to depart
unsatisfied.' Brantome calls this 'greatness;' the following is
an instance of what he calls 'kindness.'
'Guilty or innocent,' he says, 'everybody was well received at
the house of this cardinal, who kept an open table at Rome for
the French chevaliers. These gentlemen having appropriated a
portion of his plate, it was proposed to search them: 'No, no!'
said the cardinal, 'they are poor companions who have only their
sword, cloak, and crucifixes; they are brave fellows; the plate
will be a great benefit to them, and the loss of it will not make
me poorer.'
Vigneul de Marville tells us of certain extravagant abbes, named
Ruccellai and Frangipani, who carried their ostentation to such a
pitch as to set gold in dishes on their tables when entertaining
their gaming companions! Were any of these base enough to put
their hands in and help themselves? This is not stated by the
historian. These two Italian abbes were ne plus ultras in luxury
and effeminacy. In the reign of Henry IV., they laid before
their guests vermilion dishes filled with gloves, fans, coins to
play with after the repast, essences and perfumes.[25] I wonder
if the delightful scent called Frangipani, vouchsafed to us by
Rimmel and Piesse and Lubin, was named after this exquisite
ecclesiastic of old?
[25] Melanges d' Hist. et de Lit.
One day when Henry IV. was dining at the Duc de Sully's, the
latter, as soon as the cloth was raised, brought in cards and
dice, and placed upon the table two purses of 4000 pistoles each,
one for the King, the other to lend to the lords of his suite.
Thereupon the king exclaimed:--'Great master, come and let me
embrace you, for I love you as you deserve: I feel so comfortable
here that I shall sup and stay the night.' Evidently Sully was
more a courtier than usual on this occasion--as no doubt the
whole affair was by the king's order, with which he complied
reluctantly; but he made the king play with his own money only.
The Duc de Lerme, when entertaining Monsieur the brother of Louis
XIII. at his quarters near Maestricht, had the boldness to bring
in, at the end of the repast, two bags of 1000 pistoles each,
declaring that he gave them up to the players without any
condition except to return them when they pleased.[26]
[26] Mem. de Jeu M. le Duc d'Orleans.
This Duc de Lerme was at least a great lord, and the army which
he commanded may have warranted his extravagance; but what are we
to think when we find the base and mean-spirited Fouquet giving
himself the same princely airs? During certain festivities
prepared for Louis XIV., Fouquet placed in the room of every
courtier of the king's suite, a purse of gold for gambling, in
case any of them should be short of money. Well might Duclos
remark that 'Nobody was shocked at this MAGNIFICENT SCANDAL![27]
[27] Consideration sur les Moeeurs,
They tell of a certain lordly gamester who looked upon any money
that fell from his hands as lost, and would never stoop to pick
it up! This reminds us of the freedman Pallas mentioned by
Tacitus, who wrote down what he had to say to his slaves, lest he
should degrade his voice to their level--ne vocem
consociaret![28]
[28] Ann. l. xiii
AN INSINUATING, ELEGANT GAMESTER.
Osterman, Grand Chancellor of Russia, during the reign of the
- presently [´prezəntli]
ad.不久；目前 (初中英语单词) - partner [´pɑ:tnə] n.伙伴 v.同….合作 (初中英语单词)
- ignorant [´ignərənt] a.无知的，愚昧的 (初中英语单词)
- forgive [fə´giv] vt.原谅，谅解，宽恕 (初中英语单词)
- wicked [´wikid] a.邪恶的；不道德的 (初中英语单词)
- whatever [wɔt´evə] pron.&a.无论什么 (初中英语单词)
- imagination [i,mædʒi´neiʃən] n.想象(力) (初中英语单词)
- dreadful [´dredful] a.可怕的；讨厌的 (初中英语单词)
- worthy [´wə:ði] a.有价值的；值得的 (初中英语单词)
- sheriff [´ʃerif] n.郡长；行政长官 (初中英语单词)
- unfortunate [ʌn´fɔ:tʃunit] a.不幸的，运气差的 (初中英语单词)
- acquaint [ə´kweint] vt.使….认识；告知 (初中英语单词)
- writing [´raitiŋ] n.书写；写作；书法 (初中英语单词)
- readily [´redili] ad.乐意地；容易地 (初中英语单词)
- sacred [´seikrid] a.神圣的；庄严的 (初中英语单词)
- previous [´pri:viəs] a.先，前，以前的 (初中英语单词)
- sentence [´sentəns] n.判决 vt.宣判；处刑 (初中英语单词)
- unhappy [ʌn´hæpi] a.不幸的；不快乐的 (初中英语单词)
- despair [di´speə] vi.&n.绝望 (初中英语单词)
- distinction [di´stiŋkʃən] n.差别；特征；卓越 (初中英语单词)
- horrible [´hɔrəbəl] a.可怕的；恐怖的 (初中英语单词)
- prince [´prins] n.王子；亲王；君主 (初中英语单词)
- writer [´raitə] n.作者；作家 (初中英语单词)
- phrase [freiz] n.短语；词组；措词 (初中英语单词)
- thereby [´ðeəbai] ad.因此，由此 (初中英语单词)
- princess [,prin´ses] n.公主；王妃；亲王夫人 (初中英语单词)
- amount [ə´maunt] n.总数；数量 v.合计 (初中英语单词)
- injury [´indʒəri] n.伤害；毁坏；侮辱 (初中英语单词)
- wealthy [´welθi] a.富有的；丰富的 (初中英语单词)
- vanity [´væniti] n.虚荣；自负；空虚 (初中英语单词)
- instance [´instəns] n.例子，实例，例证 (初中英语单词)
- italian [i´tæliən] a.意大利 n.意大利人 (初中英语单词)
- delightful [di´laitful] a.讨人喜欢的 (初中英语单词)
- deserve [di´zə:v] v.应受；值得 (初中英语单词)
- evidently [´evidəntli] ad.明显地 (初中英语单词)
- monsieur [mə´sjə:] n.先生 (初中英语单词)
- magnificent [mæg´nifisənt] a.壮丽的；豪华的 (初中英语单词)
- consideration [kən,sidə´reiʃən] n.考虑；原因；体谅 (初中英语单词)
- repeated [ri´pi:tid] a.反复的；重复的 (高中英语单词)
- notwithstanding [,nɔtwiθ´stændiŋ] prep.&conj.虽然；还是 (高中英语单词)
- clergyman [´klə:dʒimən] n.牧师；教士 (高中英语单词)
- fortnight [´fɔ:tnait] n.两星期 (高中英语单词)
- coffin [´kɔfin] n.棺材，柩 (高中英语单词)
- surgeon [´sə:dʒən] n.外科医生；军医 (高中英语单词)
- melancholy [´melənkəli] n.忧郁 a.忧郁的 (高中英语单词)
- internal [in´tə:nl] a.内部的；国内的 (高中英语单词)
- presume [pri´zju:m] v.假定；推测；以为 (高中英语单词)
- determination [di,tə:mi´neiʃən] n.决心；决定 (高中英语单词)
- contribution [,kɔntri´bju:ʃən] n.贡献；捐献；投稿 (高中英语单词)
- solely [´səulli] ad.唯一；单独；完全 (高中英语单词)
- separation [,sepə´reiʃən] n.分离；分开；分居 (高中英语单词)
- subsequent [´sʌbsikwənt] a.其次的；其后的 (高中英语单词)
- generosity [,dʒenə´rɔsiti] n.慷慨；慷慨的行为 (高中英语单词)
- cardinal [´kɑ:dinəl] a.主要的 n.深红色 (高中英语单词)
- extravagant [ik´strævəgənt] a.奢侈的；过度的 (高中英语单词)
- courtier [´kɔ:tiə] n.朝臣；奉承者 (高中英语单词)
- elegant [´eligənt] a.文雅的；优美的 (高中英语单词)
- chancellor [´tʃɑ:nsələ] n.首相；大臣 (高中英语单词)
- profane [prə´fein] a.亵渎的 vt.玷污 (英语四级单词)
- sabbath [´sæbəθ] n.安息日 (英语四级单词)
- utterance [´ʌtərəns] n.发音；言辞；所说的话 (英语四级单词)
- comply [kəm´plai] vi.照做 (英语四级单词)
- admonish [əd´mɔniʃ] vt.训戒；警告；劝告 (英语四级单词)
- uncommon [ʌn´kɔmən] a.非常的，非凡的，罕见的 (英语四级单词)
- ultimately [´ʌltimitli] ad.最后，最终 (英语四级单词)
- sterling [´stə:liŋ] a.真正的 n.英国货币 (英语四级单词)
- magnificence [mæg´nifisns] n.壮丽；宏伟；豪华 (英语四级单词)
- boldness [´bəuldnis] n.大胆；冒失；显著 (英语四级单词)
- extravagance [iks´trævigəns] n.奢侈；极端 (英语四级单词)
- princely [´prinsli] a.王候般的；高贵的 (英语四级单词)
- degrade [di´greid] v.降低；(使)堕落 (英语四级单词)
- fabulous [´fæbjuləs] a.难以置信的；惊人的 (英语六级单词)
- contracted [kən´træktid] a.收缩了的；缩略的 (英语六级单词)
- reckoning [´rekəniŋ] n.计算；算帐；估计 (英语六级单词)
- repast [ri´pɑ:st] n.餐 vi.就餐，设宴 (英语六级单词)
- lordly [´lɔ:dli] a.高贵的；高傲的 (英语六级单词)
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