A GAMBLING PALACE AT MONACO.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XV, Issue 41, 17 February 1880, Page 5

A GAMBLING PALACE AT MONACO.

To come to Nice without visiting Monaco is to go to London and not sse the Tower,. I descended from; tlie train at Monaco, while my felip^ in; vellers remained a couple of minutse longer j riding to tbe door of Moote Carlo, for your convenience is id studied that you ar^ kindly left at tie very gate of destruction. Monte Car o commands the loveliest view, and h^s tbe finest plants and flowerff of the tropics. The promenaders have not the beautiful and peaceful look tilt landscape has ; the, ladies, many <j>f them splendidly attired, laugh end talk nervously ; the men are wrapped in their own thoughts, paying little attention to their fair companions. Tan women care but little for this wiot cf politeness, for this gambling paisfon is the strongest of all, swallowing up a! I others, natural and artificial. At tb a gaming table there is. no sex ; a man gazes as etolidly at the moei beauti|o i l women of Europe as at the willi. There are some formalities to be goin > through before entering the pUy-robmi. A man is not permitted to ruin himieK without complying with them. E°fery journal, of the depftrtmvnt publishsi each day the following notice: "Io accordance with the rules of the stranf ger*' cirele at Monte Carlo, entrance to the playing rooms is allowed, only tA persons with tickets.. The Entrance is forbidden to inh»bitant» of the princi! pality, and to those of the department with the exception of club members', Entrance tioket&^giyen at the Caainc Bureau.'* A Russian acquaintance ol mine who goes often merely to lopk { pc and play a napoleon or so, was refuted admittance lately by the sepretary, who saw by his card that h« had remored from his hotel to private lodgings, and thereby lost his migratory character, and become an inhabitant of the departmeot. " Ob, very well," returned the subject of the Csirj notrohal»aily, "then I shall aaire, a thousand franc bill." Ha was' immediately allowed to enter ; circumstanoes alter cases. , The fact is, lie bad only twenty francs ia his pocket, with which He woV six hundred ; but he spent it in a day or two. Money gained ia that way, notoriously, burns one's pocket. „The wisdom of the above measure is obvious. If the inhabitants of the neighborhood were allowed to play, the ruin and desolation would cause the immediate closing of the casino ; whereas, when a stranger I66es, tbe cext train lafc'ei him away ; and if be chooses to blow out his brains, it ia purely a personal affair. The oasino is • fine, large place containing a large, elegant ball-rootn, a theatre with & fine orchestra, an4 a splendid reading-room, well euppliad with journals in all languages. Aft<r enteriog our names in a visitors' book, we receive an entrance ticket and are permitted to j>ass into the. magnificent gaming rooiiis. As we enter at 6 p.tn , the rooms are softly lighted to harmonize with the richly decorated walls. There are two tables in the first ro6m and .three in the second, at which are played the two gimea roulette and rouge et noir. Several hundred players and spectalow are present. Silver staked are predominant on the tables devoted to tbe first game, but only gold and bank notes on the rouge et noir tables, which are given up to the aristocracy of gabblers, of whom women are iu the i majority. Not a seat at these tables is unoccupied. Behind the seated gamesters stands an eager crowd of iplayers, wrirell^M"gpectaColi, who prick with a pin the progress oijihe , game^; pra'pajajbajry^ io;|js;Mg^a^f in^r tlticQnjseiri^i^u, (at escn taJMe.jfle^ted^Spji i wichj piles of gold ™^$ pafiK^tiOtesTioe pto .- mint*;: iffiw bealMM Wbrnp-pae-K I iwotnani \v&q was hpl^'n^ UT>;bp^h fi^ias :f^o£gbM^i^r.eMfmi^WPl , "'leelM heJtirMsfnatiila' cttiifsf 4 many a irpwn from those less fortunate. The green table or tapis Vert, is a great leveller. Side by aide ait an: Englisn "my lady '^ (and a fair fallen one from Vienna or Berlin, here a Bussian Princa and there a Parisian adventuress ; here stands a

; bright AM&rieari girly of 20 mtfbpih a ;4pwn a single gpid piece £&$ M*e& it. She pouts prettily* twisting hero glove, and r follow hfer to findthet tabfe> Whew she rfekl to&er <$r#M W'ftuie ■; -turns.! Ts'-rV^ '.vio/v v : tjp.yiini 9nT7flo "T, . result. , i prcunately she ,qpes ,i\Qs f play high. Here is an Englishman? however, whd doei; he is the c&nt*§ of all attraction, a little crowd c6il66t Veh'ind him ; he is winning neayy stakes !'How sloWlj an«i monotonously the croupier speaks ; " Gentleman, niake your play; the game is niade red Win^ { and M^ck loses," alnd soon wh|le,the 'gaa^e lasts. There is an instant's intermission between each phrase ; at the- first' -the playete hasten td throw cldWfl tar>#bld o;n isd or i^e l^ |r^- Jw«|p« Iwenty different , gold ,piles.:^pa „ ,tho tables. Here a woman, standing and new, to the game, , timidly throws ■'down* I ', ,^,.^jjpk immediately Jwipgbapk ; an(d' gajzrag around as if fearful to be seen. There a Spanish millionfiaire throwa down, lord, the EngUshpaaa before, allude^to, 9> handsome young: fellow with > a fldrid face, throwg a 1000 fratfc r tiot6' M- riid. ,s&),£s •cgS!^ n]^ 4^^sP^» allowed to r %ny^ mon^y , Jh« table pr. change tne; /of. .that already placed. Cards are dealt ia - brehtiileatrßilende. And th% L wlilmng ;^:/«j&l .pulls iii witt; a little rake the bank note which he adds to a pile of bills' uiider Mti elbbWi leafing* the! iiewly '#<& Ml j|nd ; tossing teafi^ncs pf , sjker^jfco.the bank,, as the rule requires on the gain of a thotsandi Th;e^ lad¥ df th'S ! ;'thr69 IpBE ;SL. W^WP 1 /^uiyiers ; t^ey areVralce^i; 'lft^jiy^Jle bank. , Ifc would not be merciful tofcaj, hfelr rights wHy did shfr'piftrT" '■■iV& 'se'fn C)hrisl;'iiitf iffiß %rZ& : wWeS, Who went i -•'.only, tq looj^ pfl.ff.^cqoie away ; without a cent. . Suicides are n^t . very fre^uefnfe, as the loser^/ .thSnfMi to ;^§cMti6ris. ta'k 1 elbj belorig 'fo can .tg ,lops5 f „-Ju ; qV^.B ..of giiicide'-the journaia.ofr^heiidiSpartmdnt": register the fact s very'bfieffy, iti a line dr two; Probably 1 ' rihWb >he- ahbri a^vey biement; ,fc. playeri,, it includes a tacit agreement not to iW" quite top deeply into tragfc^dnM M fcs;M^e*# JS^;q|jine|^np:|^g|^ jp|iie is" bqr^4, t every jy here, . ,wi.tfc fionyer* satipn relative to the tdpist.vert, ; > ifc iit the general topic. At Nice; 'a' ; ' ' gbritj&)uan aiid lady pbmt&d^ ;^; ;tfib Mo had lost, . i^.^wnß s|id,. ;iQ,Q,qQQ francs made by fifteen years' toil in India. Th^y seemed sad enougfi. Hke lady was resplendent in silk, but her partner seemed desirous of making economies in his linen, and, perhaps, " making it up that way." The /.tank, I was told, handed him back iB6O for travelling expenses to Eagland. . The bank at Monaco is not likely, to break in spite of dreamers. Temporarily it is occasionally forced to stop, as a couple of years ago, when an Englishman won in one evening, 72,000 francs.—Correspondence Hertford Times. .