The Last Stake: a tale of Monte Carlo

Preface

. Everyone has heard of " Punch's celebrated ' advice ' to persons about to marry." Will the illustrious moralist pardon me if I steal his " thunder," and permit me to give the same invaluable counsel to persons about to gamble, viz. " Don't. A TALE OF MONTE CARLO

Chapter I

I Lovely Night," softly whistled a young sol dierly - looking man, leaning on a balustrade of a terrace that overlooked the Medi terranean. A bright full moon shed its white beams over land and sea; so clear, so pure, that all around seemed as if illumi nated by electric light. The broad silver streak she cast upon the sea was studded by myriads of steel blue sparks that throbbed and died out as each ripple of the waves ruffled the surface of the glittering pathway . 1! Nothing on the terrace or on the water was in shadow — a broad clear liquid light, searching out lovers and flirters, who vainly tried to hide. Every flower and shrub was as distinct as in broad day, while the strange foreign trees, cut out so clearly against the sky, looked as if carved in stone, they were so motionless. The night was warm, and the perfume of orange blossoms and orleanders floated heavily through the air.

The broad flights of marble steps looked whiter in the moonlight. Hundreds of gaily-dressed people sauntered on the terraces, listening to the superb orchestra which played in a pavilion on the upper terrace ; and not only well-dressed humanity listened to the excpiisite music, but the contadini from adjacent parts of the Riviera took advantage of the open-air con certs. They, however, with great delicacy, usually confined themselves to the lower terrace, so as to leave the visitors unmolested. " Oh ! Lovely Night," hummed the young man who was leaning over the balustrade, watching the sparks dancing on the sea in the moonlit track. "Byjove! it is a lovely night, something to remember for a lifetime. You only get such moons as that in southern climates and in the tropics. I had no idea it was such a lovely spot ; Paradise on earth."

" Yes, Paradise with a legion of serpents in it, instead of one," replied his friend, puffing at his cigar with redoubled vigour. " Well, yes, it might be weeded of some of its objectionable features with advantage ; but really, now, you must admit it is a glorious place — a spot that will haunt you in your dreams, and cling to your memory for ever." " Just as the beautiful face of a woman may do ; but, nevertheless, she may have a corrupt nature with the heart of a fiend." " What is the matter with you to-night, Harold ? You seem to be out of sorts, old man." The " old man," who might have seen his twenty-sixth birthday, made no reply. The illuminated clock in the building pointed to the hour of ten. The orchestra ceased playing ; the promenaders, with few excep tions, disappeared, and with one accord, like a flock of sheep, followed each other round to the front of the building, up the short flight of broad marble steps, and disappeared through the swinging half-glass doors into the spacious corridors leading to the reading rooms, theatre, and, what is of greater interest to the visitors, the gambling saloons — those famous rooms at Monte Carlo, where the noblest and the vilest meet on neutral ground.

Respectable and good people are as numerous there as at any innocent watering-place. They deplore the vice of gambling " when carried to excess," they say, but eagerly fight for places at ' the tables, that they may have a good chance to place their money wherever thevdeem dt advantageous. If .they win, no one hears anything about it being a vice ; but if they lose a sum they can ill afford to, they think it a scandal to permit such a place to exist. Few visitors can say they have not been bitten by the Taran tella of gambling, when once they have set foot in the saloons. Thrice lucky are they who can leave off playing when they have lost a little, or won a little ; but if they did, what would become of those exquisite gardens, and the wonderous luxury maintained throughout the establishment?

And how could the proprietor have given millions of francs to his daughters for marriage portions, and have got a prince for a son-in-law ? Of course, everyone has to contribute his share, be it little or much. A little does not matter ; but then, it seldom happens that it is " a little," and fortune rarely falls in the right place. Rich bankers or millionaires are pretty sure to be the winners, while a tradesman who has recklessly risked nearly his entire capital will leave the rooms with empty pockets, blind with rage and despair to think he had been such a fool as to give way to temptation ; but still, if he can raise money enough from a friend, he will return, and risk plunging deeper into debt and ruin in the hope of " getting back what he had lost." Three parts of the visitors have "a history," and at least half of those are under the delusion that they are safe and sound amongst the crowd, and that nothing is known.

But, instead of being unknown, their shady his tories are passed from one mouth to another till nearly every one in the room is cognisant of them. What would a fine, tall, handsome woman have thought had she heard a conversation relating to her affairs in the gambling saloon last spring, as she was playing at roulette? " Who is that fine-looking woman ? " asked one. " She looks like an Englishwoman." " Your surmise is correct, she is the daughter of the Earl of F . She has run awa}- with that handsome young fellow at her side. He is an Italian — a married man, too. He was poor, so her money was too much temptation for him. He has to go to her for every penny, and he is gambling as heavily as she does. When she is tired of him, no doubt she will send him back to his wife." " How disgusting !

" replied the other. Another shady lady was pointed out as the Hon. Mrs. W , Avho had run away with Sir Somebody Jobson, the horsey man. " Who is that young fellow, and that pretty woman ? " asked one. " Oh ! he is an oflicer, and that lady is his sister-in-law. His brother is dead now, but he has been in love with her for years. He is very much interested in the Deceased Wife's Sister's Act, for he wants to marry her ; but he is not very careful of her name, as he is round with her everywhere, and stays at the same hotels ; so he has compromised her fast enough, even if he does marry her." " And that other lady, who is working so hard at t rente et quarante?" " That is an English, or rather Scotch, duchess." " Why, this place seems to be sustained by English people." And there is scarcely a doubt but that more than half of the gamblers of both sexes are English.

While they are the loudest to cry out about the despicable vice of gambling, English statesmen and peers and peeresses ot the realm mix with the vilest of humanity and gamble with the greatest ardour. Last season one young English nobleman and his handsome young wife were at the tables ; some friends were laughing and chatting with the lady while her husband sat at the table playing. A vulgar, bold Austra lian woman, who seemed envious ofthe young wife's beauty, said to a person with whom she had made acquaintance at the table : — " Who is that woman out there ? She has the most stupid, imbecile face I ever set eyes on." Lord C immediately turned to the woman, and said, quietly : — "That lady is my wife, madame." With unblushing effrontery she looked him straight in the face and replied, in a loud voice : — " Oh ! is she, indeed ?

Then all I can say is, as God made you He matched you ! " Lord C — — and his friends complained to the authorities, but to no purpose, though the Chief of Police warned the woman she would be refused admittance if she repeated the offence. Irritating episodes are always occurring, for people who lose large sums of money are not in the best of humours ; the loss develops any amount of ferocity and irritation, which only finds an outlet by turning into scapegoats those who are the least to blame, and who have used their best endeavours to restrain the losers. That there is an extraordinary fascination in gambling it is useless to deny ; for even the mildest of penny point players will develop into the fiercest of gamblers upon the slightest provo cation. If he wins he gets exalted, should he lose he grows desperate.

Harold Arlington and his cousin Walter Larkyn were both in the army, and had the unmistakeable carriage of soldiers ; both were fine, good-looking young fellows. Harold, the elder by three years, was a thoughtful, dark-eyed man, with wavy chestnut hair, wliich, in spite of being cropped, tried vigorously to curl up at the ends. His cousin had honest, bright blue eyes ; his brown hair was straight and glossy, which gave him the appearance of a well-groomed horse. " My word ! " exclaimed the younger man, looking round in bewilderment at the crowd flitting hurriedly from room to room, from table to table, each one apparently bent on the same resolve, to risk all the cash in his or her pockets to gain money, which, if won, was sure to find its way back to the croupier; for winning has the effect of making the winners more reckless, as they establish a linn idea in their minds that their " luck" is in the ascendant.

"My word, what a scene! I'll back it against anything similar in the universe. Look at this crowd elbowing and pressing against each other to get an inside place ; even if they have no money to phi}- with, they seem to be as eager to watch the luck of the others as if it would fill their own pockets. And look at those young girls, they play as coolly as any old stager." " Yes, and the worst of it is, most of them are old stagers already ; they come season after season, until they know every croupier in the saloons, and, like most gamblers, prefer one croupier to another, as they think he brings them luck. I heard one say, ' I shall go to Victor's table, I ahvays win with him.' The other replied, ' Oh, I like that big fat one best, he is a Spaniard'; while a third advocated a little, thin, wizen-faced fellow, who seems always in a good humour.

The three girls then moved off together to the nearest table, when they backed out with one accord, ' Oh, don't let us go there,' exclaimed one, ' that little black beast is there, and no one ever wins with him.' I looked over rows of heads, and saw a very young man, quite a youth, turning the wheel ; he was a good-looking young fellow, with gleaming black eyes, with a face like a Spaniard's. A smile seldom crossed his visage ; he seemed like the son of Fate presiding over the wheel of fortune ; and, strange enough, people were saying the same as those girls had said, that he always brought them ill luck." " I say, don't you think it rather bad form to let such young girls mix in a scene like this? for there is no denying that two-thirds of the females in the room are more than doubtful." " Yes, it is too bad to bring such voting girls into a public gambling-room to elbow with the vilest of the vile.

Brazen immorality surrounds them on every side, and as young people always want to know the why and wherefore of everything, they often make inquiries that are very difficult to answer ; but, little by little, they, and all who frequent such places, soon understand, and get callous and indifferent to vice. Men form ruinous habits that never leave them during their lifetime. It is well enough to see it, but after you have gratified your curiosity it is better to be in the open air, and give the rooms a wide berth." " Shall you do so, Harold ? " inquired his friend, smiling. '; I don't suppose I shall ; no one does, who once sets his foot inside the doors; but I do not intend to gamble, that I am determined on." He spoke with a firmness that proved he was quite in earnest. The busy hum, the. glare of light, the hurrying crowds went on as usual.

Men with shameless effrontery were laughing and chaffing with loudly-dressed females, even while their wives were in close proximity. The men, feeling triumphant at being noticed and nodded at by individuals who had acquired the most outrageous names, such as " The Vampire," " The Leach," and such suggestive titles ; and when an astonished wife noticed the strange familiarity, the ready response on her lord's lip was, " The lady merely asked me wliich colour was winning," or " what number turned up last." The culprit is sure to say the lady in order to hoodwink his wife into believing that he was ignorant of the status of the individual to whom he was speaking. Should the wife refuse to be hood winked, and discredit the evidence of her own eyes and ears, then woe unto her. The culprit plunges into the wildest gambling, and finally, when he is cleaned out, becomes mad with rage at losing his money ; being a fool, and more than all, at being detected in his disgraceful conduct, he turns on his wife with abuse and foul language, that he would not dare to use to any of the black sheep he had been so friendly with, and lays all the blame of his losses on her.

This is not romance, but actual fact. Alas ! All that is bad or weak in a man's nature seems to culminate in these gambling saloons, and passions are aroused under such degrading influences that might have slept for ever, had no such contact occurred. This place is the happy hunting-ground for the vilest charac ters, and the contact with them seems to have the effect of the proverbial tar-pot — touch it, and you must be defiled. Truly here " fools and their money soon part," and the sooner they lose their cash the quicker they awaken to the fact that they are fools ; but there is scarcely a chance that they will " go and sin no more," unless, indeed, they have come to the end of their means ; then the folly of their ways may become more strikingly apparent. But if Monte Carlo were shut up to-morrow no doubt there would soon be a Phœnix of some sort to rise from its ashes, for nearly every bathing-town or watering-place on the Continent has its " Casino," where " baccarat " is played far into the " wee sma' hours " — three and four o'clock being the usual time to finish up.

Aix les Bains has two gambling saloons ; when one closes at midnight the other opens. The latter is, of course, the resort of women of the worst character, and, as gangs of industrious " chevaliers " are on the qui vive to turn dishonest pennies (or rather pounds), players are fleeced wholesale, utterly unconscious that they are being swindled by the professional gangs, and curse their " ill luck " every time they lose. At Monte Carlo, however, there can be no swindling; everything is fair and above-board. It is the players themselves who are to blame if they lose through the want of self-control. But the great mischief is the glaring immo rality of the people who congregate there. Such scenes would corrupt an angel if long in contact with them. A respectable girl is scarcely looked at in the saloons.

The men's whole attention seems engrossed by the diamond-decked demi-monde. It is a common thing to see some foreign prince, baron or noble, trot ting at the heels of one of these brazen dames, carrying her shawl and fan, and handing her piles of bank-notes and gold to gamble with, and when she has lost them she moves off to another table to try her luck there, a fresh supply of golden ammunition being brought forth, the flaunting dame treat ing her humble cavalier and servant with the utmost disdain to show her companions, both male and female, her power over her imbecile slave. You will see men taking off their hats in the corridors to these vampires in respect ful reverence, while they will pass by their friends' wives and sisters with a short nod, and oftentimes salute their lady friends with a nod while talking and flirting with these " moths."

Is not such a state of affairs enough to corrupt young minds ? If the only way to get a man's notice is to become a wanton, who will believe in virtue being its own reward ? It is a well-known fact that all the handsome women of the demi-monde are imported from France, Italy and Germany by the proprietors of the gaming-tables. The women are dressed magnificently and main tained at the expense of the administration as an extra attraction to the fascinations of those gilded saloons, so that ruin for both body and soul is' the result of the snares set to trap weak humanity. And yet thousands of ladies send out large sums to convert savages to their way of thinking while this festering cancer is allowed to develop in our midst, ruining their sons, husbands and brothers, and debasing and besmutching their daughters — aye, and their mothers and grandmothers, too.

Paralysed old men and women, who can hardly drag one foot after the other, and with hands shaking with palsy, are as eager to gamble as the youngest beginner. It may be, so to say, people's own fault, but the best explanation was given by a lady at the roulette table ; she said, " People get led on so," even if they have no propensity to gamble. It is being " led on " from one vice to another that has destroyed many a noble nature. Gambling will always be, but it is the base surroundings that do the principal mischief. At Monte Carlo one is " led on " from bad to worse, sapping the moral life to its foundation, blotting out all obligations both to God and man. Vice assumes the name of " peccadillo " at first, but eventual ly is dubbed " Nature." When apparently respectable British ma trons bring their daughters to the gaming tables and gamble with so little discretion that they are eventually turned into the streets, and their baggage detained as security for their hotel bills, and their names bandied about in every one's mouth ten minutes afterwards, it proves that even steady British matrons who have the care of married and single daughters should them selves be protected from being " led on " to such indiscretions.

And when young English gentlemen who have just come into their property play 12,000 francs at a time, the maximum allowed at one coup, as a young gentleman did two seasons ago, they also need pro tection from being " led on." And I dare say the niece of one of our greatest states men who ruined herself at Monte Carlo two seasons back, as she contemplates her mortgaged estates, wishes she had not per mitted herself to be " led on " to such a fatal extent. Mysterious stories are told of ruin and suicide, but little direct information can be obtained except occasionally from the English papers received by private individuals, for if anything detrimental to Monte Carlo interests is aired in any outspoken English paper, that paper mysteriously disappears from the reading room. How many times has the Telegraph, Truth, and The World vanished for their sins of speaking the truth and telling what the world says ?

Every official is in the pay of the Prince of Monaco and his partners in the gambling business, so all ugly stories are kept dark. Vested interests are so fully recognised that even on the day of the funeral of the Prince's mother the tables were in full swing. Good Friday is a Uvely day, and usually brings more grist to the mill than on less solemn occasions, for on " sad days " people usually try to lift the weight of woe from their shoulders, or wherever that burthen happens to be located, and seek to enjoy themselves on the quiet. Occasional whispers betray that there is something wrong, though nothing definite is known. Habitues of the saloons very soon find that the tales of ruin are, alas, too true. Watch a tyro at the tables ; the pile of gold he sets before him is very imposing when he begins, but it soon diminishes.

The player holds himself in as long as there is a hope, but eventually he becomes desperate and less cautious, for he thinks that a bold dash may at once retrieve the past ill-luck ; so he puts down nearly all that remains, but generally to no purpose, for that shameless baggage, " Fortune," turns her back on gamblers more TnE LAST STAKE. often than she smiles on them. You can see the gambler's hand tremble as he puts down the last piece, for he always hopes that that particular piece will save him ; and when it fails he will begin to fumble nervously in his pockets to see if there might not be "just one more coin" that may "turn his luck." The administration always act generously when a man is cleaned out with not even enough to discharge his hotel bill. They pay his journey home and also his bill at his hotel — that is to say, if he is known to the croupiers as having gambled heavily and lost large sums of money, for they avoid scandals and scenes of every kind, and get rid of a man whom they have cleaned out as soon as possible. There are too many ugly stories that would crop up which might arouse general inquiry and in dignation.

CHAPTER 11.

N entering the rooms in the morning you instinctively feel that your voice must be subdued. Morning is the regular gam bling time, so that you must not disturb the play, for every face tells you it means " business." Late in the after noon, and at night time, with its gay lights, jewels and toilets, means " pleasure." The first thing you notice in the morning in the rooms is that there is so little noise. Around the tables scarcely a word is spoken, except when some one calls out where he wishes to place his money if he cannot reach the desired spot, or when there is some dispute over the winnings. The difference by clay and night is very striking. By day all the windows are care fully shaded by thick blinds ; no ray of bright light finds its way into those sombre rooms. c At every table is a crowd of people, all with their heads bent down and necks stretched towards the roulette wheel.

No one walks about the room, as at night or in the afternoon. Black patches of people stand in one spot, as they are mostly of the male sex, like mourners surrounding a bier, anxious to have a last look at the dear departed, but instead of this they are anxious to look into the future. The croupiers raking in the money, makes the only prevalent sound, or their monotonous voices call out the winning numbers. Day after day, for six or eight hours at a stretch, the same people may be seen in the same places, although the sun and air are glorious outside. The only time the regular gamblers see the beautiful landscape around Monte Carlo is on their way to and from the gambling rooms. All da}' long they crowd round the roulette tallies or (rente et quarante, losing the chance of inhaling the health-giving breezes from the blue Mediter ranean, and the balmy, soft air for which this lovely spot is famous.

Although most people come for the ostensible purpose of recovering their health, they shut themselves up day after day from the air and sunlight, and night after night stifle themselves with the inhala tion of air contaminated by thousands of different breaths and the effluvia of gas and oil lamps. And all for what ? The perpetual craving " for more," or, in blaze people, the craving for unnatural excitement that must result in loss, either physically, pecuniarily, or, worse than all, morally. 7 — 7 J When Harold Arlington and his cousin Walter entered the saloons it was just ten o'clock. One hour yet remained before the gambling would be finished. The administration is discreet and close their doors at eleven so that no scandal as to late hours ruining health can arise. Always discreet in a general way, they leave the indiscretion to their visitors.

Eve, in explanation of her indiscretion about that apple, said: "The serpent tempted me and I did eat." By-the way, chacun it sun gout, that wily reptile would have had a pretty tough time trying to tempt me with that fruit. Now, had it been pears, grapes or figs I could quite understand her being " led on."

Chapter III He

gold room of the gambling series of saloons was only built a few years ago on account of unusual prosperity — a superb hall, difficult to , find its equal in any ' city in the world. It is caUed "The Gold Room" because nothing but gold is staked on the tables. It is the room for " Trente et Quarante," a game decided by cards instead of the roulette wheel. It is there that the young English nobles, money-lenders, duchesses, brewers, opera singers, and the ilk, hob-a-nob together and fraternise at the tables, and where the " nouveaux riches " and Jew money lenders stake the maximum allowed, that is, 12,000 francs at one time, though they may place that sum on many different places. A superb hall is the gold room, adorned with a number of more than life-size pictures, of a unique and fantastic kind.

The first that strikes your eye is half a brown horse, and an English Miss, in a light lavender riding habit. The Miss, however, is quite as big as the horse, and looks far more horse}' than he does. She is threatening to mount him without any assistance, at wliich the horse naturally seems to be astonished, if not shocked. His eye shows an unmistakeable reproof and remonstrance that should touch the feelings of anv one who weighs over O ml O twelve atone. The fit of her habit reflects no credit on her tailor, for if nature denies one a good figure, what are tailors made for but to correct nature's errors ? The young lady wears a tall hat of the same material as her dress, wliich does credit to the inventive faculties of the painter, but is scarcely in accordance with the usage of equestriennes.

The two front legs of the horse are elongated to such dimensions that his body appears to be poised upon stilts. One may be devoutly thankful there is no more of him, for he is cut just in halves by the English Miss's body, so that the hinder part of his anatomy is left to conjecture. Half a dog is also there holding an argument with his eyes, and doubtless his tail also, if it could be seen, with the young lady, though what the subject is it would be difficult to define. Eight pictures adorn the saloon ; mysterious meaning lurks in each one of them, though it is very hard to arrive at it. The artists, however, have, with rare courage, boldly appended their names, showing pretty clearly they are not ashamed to accept the responsibility. One picture particularly attracts the eye. Two young people, one of whom at least is a female, the sex of the other never having been made out, are paddling their own canoe on a very calm sea, though there should be a pretty stiff breeze up somewhere, as the scarves that adorn the paddlers are playing high jinks in the air.

The object of both young people seems to be to keep their canoes together, but instead of sitting down in the orthodox manner, they are both standing up, wriggling their bodies into the queerest contortions, and thereby interfering greatly with each other's paddling, and defeating the end they evidently had in view. That they are in a mild climate goes without saying, as they are both clad in bathing drawers of a fancy pattern, their nether limbs free and unfettered by clothing of any description; but with such limbs as they display it would be too much to expect that they should overburthen them with drapery. Another picture shows the simplicity of the game of croquet. A lady who displays more <>f her ankles than the game requires, is straddling unnecessarily to plant her foot on a croquet ball, while a little girl in the distance is evidently taking a lesson how to pose to advantage in future years, when effect may be of importance.