GAMBLING DEN IN A MANSION.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 61, 7 March 1912, Page 3

GAMBLING DEN IN A MANSION.

SERVANT AS CROUPIER. FORTUNES REALISED. A curious story was told by a dir tinguished nobleman at dinner las' night (says the London “Standard' jef December 24th). He owns 01 of the most famous of London house? and for several months in the ear] portion of the current and the conch sicn of last year he noticed that hi town residence was being constant! watched by plain-clothes detective? At: lirst he attributed this surveb lahpWto a desire to guard his po sonal safety from possible assaults < 'anarchists; but he could not exact realise: why the blood-red banner frai dimity. should hold any special ii imiqal';attitude towards him. Sotn time, in'-the'. early days ; of last Aug 1 ust, when he was preparing to leavtown for the beginning of the shoo'? ing season, he was astonished to n ceiyh; a. call from a well-known polk official, 1 who asked him how - man, men-servants he employed. Somewhr surprised at ‘such information boin desired by the detective, he asked fr .fbasoiishand the reply he received wc (the,{pmV famous advice of Mr Asquit) ■ “Wait, and see!” The detective w? informed that his Lordship usual! had a hall porter and half a done fodtmcii; a butler, and "an assistar butler, and that there was a grom of the chambers and a couple of va! ets for the nobleman and his sonabout a dozen, or one or two mon male servants, liable at any time 1 bo increased by others arriving fro? one or more of the owner’s countr places for large entertainments give by her ladyship. In regard to tl length of service of one particul; retainer his lordship was questione' The reply was that So-and-So had hoc for years in his employ, and was most trusted person. The detectn apologised for not giving the nob! man any satisfactory reason eit.h' for his call or for the watching ( the house, which the officer confcssc had been in progress for over 1‘ months. Men Servants’ Gambling Den.

Two or three weeks ago the dote, tivo (avlio, by the way, sent up a cai inscribed “Captain -, Royal Engii cers, retired,” doubtless so as not i a'rouse suspicion among the footraei called again. It seems that for ha. a dozen years the basement of tl. great house had been used as a gam’, ling den for “gentlemen’s gentlemen, otherwise the valets, butlers, foo. men, and other men servants of pe; sons of distinction in London. Tl. lower promises were at once scare] ed by the peer and the detective, an then • the owner discovered that tw of the powder-headed footmen, wh had been several months in his on ploy, were also detectives, and ha been “getting up the case.” A larg room, supposed to bo a bedroom, wa found to contain a perfectly poise roulette wheel and all the fittings c

A Small Monts Carto. There were- scores of packs of card and several luxurious appointment, in the way of buffet, wine cooler, eas, chairs, and so’ forth. In part of tin space which the owner supposed wa; occupied by bins for his stores o wines there were two more gamblin' rooms with all kinds of tables for tin due manipulation of cards, and thes rooms, it was explained, were princip ally used by the servants of visitim. families. The other, and better furnished room was reserved for some gamblers in quite a superior status. Over all this one servant nightly presided at such times as.the town house was open, and often was represented by a trusted fellow-servant when the family were at one, of their country scats. All the servants were in the secret, but were under Solemn Vows of Fidelity. their reward being a share’ in the weekly profits of the concern, which sometimes, it is surmised, amounted to hundreds of pounds. The detective

explained that there was not going t be any prosecution, as it was a legii question as to what extent such ac tion could be carried. Besides i was desirable to avoid a public scan dal if the extraordinary evil couh be otherwise exterminated. Atten tion was first drawn to the house. Ir the numerous men who seemed to b< constantly entering and emerging from the servants’ door at all hours of the night, and sometimes during the day. An ordinary number of visitors would not have been noticed, as servants, especially those, who serve the wealthy upper classes, have, like their masters, their own social circle. Still, when the detective—and there is always a detective watching a great London mansion where plate and other valuables are stored—noticed that “gentlemen’s servants” seemed to call in dozens night after night at the mansion he was guarding he had his curiosity aroused, and soon reported what he had noticed to Ids superiors. More detectives were put on guard, and the chief officer -in charge was somewhat dumbfounded to learn that among the supposed servants calling ! at night and staying for hours in the basement of Lord ’s house were a number of gentlemen and young noblemen, Army officers, . and fashionable men about town, all slinking in and slouching out of tho servants’ entrance, with upturned coat collars and a very evident desire “not to be recognised.” B:t r Ma,de a Fortune. . For some days 'the nobleman was busy getting over his astonishment | and learning more of what really had been happening beneath his feet. Ho succeeded in extracting confirmation! among his friends, although he had much difficulty in doing so. He had to give his solemn assurance that there would be no public scandal or any legal proceedings. The .servant in question, it seems, had been in the business nearly six years. He had made a large fortune, and several of his fellow-servants had shared to such an extent in the profits of the tables that they had now' become hotel or publiohouse keepers or some other kind of prosperous tradesmen. It is generally agreed that all ’gambling yas absolutely “square,” i,toLuse a well-understood expression. The rouljtte wheel was free from tampering, md there had never been a case of marked cards or other cheating devices. The refreshments that were consumed were never taken from the owner’s .stock, but were separately purchased by the servants. The last circumstance was; another thing that led to the discovery. . A caterer casually mentioned, ip; the hearing of a detective that...he could not under-i stand what Lord ’s servants did with so many fowls. Night after night, a number of birds, not only fowls, but cold game of all sorts, ready cooked for eating, - were delivered at ffie servants’ entrance, and an enormous bill was punctually paid every month.. There lias been a general dearance of the basement of tho Treat, London towmiffiouse. The oldi servants have been' discharged, eabhi with his or her mhnth’s wages, and with no protest whatsoever' on thciij part. Most of them confessed to be-i :ng very considerably in pocket. It, was the rule made by the chief servants concerned that not one of the •louse servants should be permitted to gamble. They had to wait on tho others and in due course received their Share of “The Kitty.” [t was a wonderful organisation, conrolled by a master mind. Nobody urned traitor; nobody talked outado. Perhaps, but for the introducion of the two footmen detectives who also had to take a solemn oath )f fidelity when they joined—the sort )f tiling a detective has sometimes o do—the extraordinary gambling ■endezvdiis might still be in full uving. “I really took rather a sorrowail farewell of my man,” said the nobleman. “He must be such a clever fellow. Besides,-1 do not believe that be robbed me of a single cigar or a iottle of wine. Before ho left for America, where he informed me he md a married son doing, well, lie mid all his tradesmen’s bills and personally superintended the removal of dl ti aces of his gambling business. He told me lie was worth “a thousand w two,’ all invested in New York; Niiladolphia, and Chicago real estate, md that he hoped to have quite a different social standing in his new ountiy. He most humbly bogged my pardon and my acceptance of a curi--111 sly inlaid bridge box, quite a valuable box, and—l shook hands with i,; >)