END OF A PARIS GAMBLER. An Italian Prince Who Squandered Many Fortunes.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 184, 25 December 1886, Page 5

END OF A PARIS GAMBLER. An Italian Prince Who Squandered Many Fortunes.

I )>o not suppose the suicide of Prince Caracciolo Mtshs-ano will, notwith&tandiug. the moral to bo deduced from it, atfecc practically tho litu of a single gambler in existence. That" unfoibunate was a grand son of tho Admiral of tho same name who was hanged in 1709 on a yard-arm of the Minerva in Che Bay of Naples under the ey*> of Nelaoa and whoso tragical death ca3t a stigma oa tho tamo ol the Brinish naval hero. Alberta Carticciolo, Prince ot Mclia&ano, resembled the ill-starred Admiral inside and in the outline of his head* but was devoid of his dignity, Mb self-mastery and firmness of characters Ho was ?mall and wiry, and his little person wa3 always afctiied in what is here euppoyod to be a correct English style— that is to &ay, like a groom in the morniDg and! like a "masher' in the evening. His «hnt bosom and collar seemed to be o£ metal with a white enamel on it, and his cravat was in keeping with the ehirt. He had a bilious complexion, and there was something in his profile which pet one thinking o£ a raven. The eye that was noi perpetually hidden by an eye-glasse was hard, sunk, inquisitive, and suspiciousIt appeared to have retreated as far back as it could to lie in ambush, and to hide its own movemente. Italians thought it atv evil eye and would not gamble with itsr owner, Indeed, his Neapolitan compatriots of hia own rink, thinking him a,/rttatore, would not on any account stay in a room where he was. At the clubs towhich he belonged, both at Rome and. Naples, his entrance into the cardroom frightened away players. This superstitious diead of hia evil eye obliged him to come to Paris, where, as he was provided with the best introductions, and had an uncle v? ho was tho lover of Mme. Krause, the opera ptima donna, he was afc onoe well Uunched lie took a handsome suite of rooms in the Rue d'Antin, got admitted to tho most pelect clubs or cercks, mainly those of the Rue Royale and Champa Elysces (formerly Cercle Imperial), and. acquired a reputation as a collector of choice canes and art furniture, fle had a good many lady friends, who were too well knowa in Paria and in the plea.-ure and gambling resorts of Europe. Some of them were on the 9tage. lo waa whispered that whenever any of" them introduced to the Prince a rich " flat," 1 he shared with her the money th*t he won of him. The Neapolitan nobleman was extremely intimate with the rod-whiskered Polish Count who some year? ago became- tho inseparable friend of the Prince of Wales, and remained so until he. died. In a short time Princa Melissano's set of rooma m the Hue d'Antin became a centre to which illustrious and wealthy pleasure-seekers frcrn all points of the compass gathered. His gambling parties were so "swagger" that rich moneylenders who wanted to ex<end their social relatives did not mind to what extent theythemselves or their «ons lost money at them. Since Mile Schneider shut up shop there was no place in Europe whero a vulgar; millionaire had such good opportunities for becoming acquainted with royal and impei ial personages. The host, however, bad a too long and st:on£ spell of luck for this sort of thing to govern for ever. He never at this period, of his career pl-iyed but to win, and he al~ 1 ways played f<>r high stake*. Nobody thought hore of his evil eye, but it was remarked that he had phenomenally thin, and long nails, and it was suspected that by their aid he indulged in that kind of cheating known a« la pouselte. Gold coins, placed oufeside a certain line on a card table could be moved forward by the long naila within the boundary, if to be inside was to win. This caused his rooms to bo suddenly deserted. As he dways lived at the top of his speed, creditors cime down in a shoal upon him when his gains decreased, Hia ait iumituie was sold by them, but he contrived tokeep hie curious canes. Ho was invohe-l in the scandal of tho Corcle do la Rue Royale, and when ft was broken up to bo reconstituted the committee refused to admit him. Mile. Zina, Dairi, the Opera Cmriquo fcinger, with whom he went ro America, ordered him from her presence, and when he would not go, but kepi running alter her behind the scenes, hovsew hipped him. He became one of the most cant.ankeious of buman beings. His nails being closely watched whenever ho plnvod, his "luck" utterly forsook him. Tho committee of theChamps Ely-ees clubs, where he had a bedroom, watched for opportunities to expel him. He often los< temper when be was "cleaned out" — a thing one must never do among gentlemanly gamesters in Paris. According to their code of manners, when a player is ruined he should grin and boar it. If they mean to commit suicide, they should do s-o without apprising anyone of the intontion. Prince Melisaano trot up scenes about hia gambling mi&fortune=>. When he saw himself posted as a defaulter he smashed the vast mirror upon which hh name was posted, and in airing hi<? grievances raided storms at the chibsi Jwsi before ho shot htraeelr. h& wrote a lattor i-o the Prince of Wale*, and another to a lady of rank who had previously lent him §4,000 to stave off an execution, but who refused to lend him $509 to clear off the debt of honour for which he was proclaimed a de&iulter, the day before, his suicide \ financial promoter here tellsme that he at different times lent Prince. Melissano unnm amounting in all to §10,000, but that he would never have pressed far payment, as he obtained from his debtor letters of introduction to great tollte in London which turned out of great value to him. as a bueineßH man. Prince Melßsano'e relatives have not come forward to mourn tor hia death. As there are lots of creditors watching foe them 1 daro say they will suffer his remains to lie in i\ provisional vault" at Pece La Chaise until he i* pretty wtll forgotten and then order them to be thrown into the common ditch. There was no funeral pomp at hia nbsoqnioa. A vioar of the pariah of the Mandeline hurried through a^ low masp, and then about thirty friends no less hastily sprinkled the coffin in. which hi* body l»w. It wa* then unafc- * tended except by a few urK?erri\kec* ; m«jtv.ta ' the cemetery, 'iN or, one of t^e fa&t ladies with whom his name had been associated, * waa at the cereraonv. Piince Torlonio i paid the expenses of tbo funeral provisionally, and caused one of the two wreaths f that were on the coih'n to be placed there.

The pianoforte makers' strike in Phil* dolphia has come to an end. A lucky find was made the other day by a book-lover as he was prowling about in. th ever-delightful and fruightful Bookseller**. Row, London. .Thiswasnolesnthanthe'origrnal c one-f irthinj; ' edition of R II Sorrie'«( "Orion." Vh'i poem ifc will^ doub^jp«^be reoolleoterfj w.%-» published in ISi'i (jit'^h.^ ridiculously low price of one farttujiK,' 1*?1 *? 1%, parca-im upon thi3 low estimation in, to wj^ich, '■ epic poetry hai fallen, * „