GREAT NIGHT AT OSTEND 



I have been wandering from Belgium but several 

 other Belgian incidents must be mentioned. A few 

 seasons back I arrived in Ostend without a sou. 

 Something had to be done and with a horse or two I 

 managed to rake a few thousand francs together to 

 make things go easier. There was racing and a little 

 bit of baccarat and chemin de fer, but the bulk of a 

 " young " bank roll came in from the course. It grew 

 and grew until one night I went into the Casino with, 

 I suppose, about fifteen thousand francs. A few odd 

 bets and it swelled up to nearly twenty thousand. 

 Mr Gaston Dreyfus, the French owner, was in the 

 bank and I called him " banco " for eighteen thousand 

 francs. He looked at me for a few seconds and then 

 " passed " the bank. It was handed round the table 

 until I took it at the eighteen thousand and had a pass 

 of three ! My winnings that night were about one 

 hundred thousand francs. A night or two after I 

 called a thirty-two-thousand -franc " banco " when 

 M. Brodsky was in the bank, and he passed it. I took 

 it and had a pass of three. That was another great 

 evening ! I lived on the best and did what I could 

 for those less fortunate. It shows you what luck is, 

 for in that time I accumulated a packet and then in 

 the last three nights I lost one hundred and fifty 

 thousand francs. All the same after paying up every- 

 thing I had a nice wad of ninety thousand francs to 

 take back to Paris for the autumn racing. 



The first thing to do was to get a flat, and I took a 

 furnished appartement at 1 Rue de Messine at one 

 thousand francs, or forty pounds, a month, paying 

 three months in advance. It was just as well that I 

 did. I bought a brand-new Gobron car for eighteen 

 thousand francs. There was the chauffeur to pay 

 and two servants and — other details. I entertained 



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