TOD SLOAN 



King Leopold ! Besides I was not quite so far gone 

 that I would not have given up any table to even a less 

 distinguished personage. 



Well, Trouville had its joys and sorrows, the former 

 being the social part of it. There were bad runs at the 

 races and in the " bank " at the club of the Casino. 

 The gambling habit I could not cure myself of : in 

 fact a distraction of this kind became almost a necessity 

 to me, for the fact of being without any licence was 

 telling more and more heavily on me. It seemed so 

 terrible that, although I had just as much confidence in 

 myself as ever, I was debarred from making my living 

 at the one thing I was good at. Motoring about the 

 country was pleasant enough and I made new friends, 

 but it was all rather aimless and it was a welcome break 

 to get away to Dieppe for a week or ten days there. 

 We all motored of course. 



It was at Dieppe that I had rather wonderful 

 experience of good and bad luck. One evening with 

 about eighteen thousand francs in my pocket I joined 

 in a baccarat bank with Mr " Solly " Joel and Mr 

 Henning. In about an hour and a half we cleared over 

 one thousand pounds each. Wlien we had cut it up 

 Mr Joel and Mr Henning went off to the DoriSt the 

 former's yacht, but like a fool I stayed on and, not 

 content with my winnings, of course I had to join in the 

 bank again. And I lost every cent both of the one 

 thousand pounds and of the seven hundred pounds odd 

 with which, as I have explained, I began the evening. 

 I got up from the table feeling pretty sick and went 

 and had a drink. Feeling in my pocket I found I had 

 exactly seven francs. One franc paid for the brandy 

 I was drinking ; a franc I put aside for the cloakroom 

 attendant. I was determined to go home without a 

 sou, so I put the remaining five-franc piece on the 



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