ill 



AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF 



assemble and try their luck, after which they 

 go to a sumptuous dinner, and then return tQ 

 gamble ; and, after tea and coffee, have another 

 spell at the seductive table. This splendid hall 

 of ruin is under the immediate care and pro- 

 tection of his Prussian Majesty's Government. 

 Every stranger has the gracious privilege of 

 breaking his fortune to pieces; but not the 

 heads of his assistants ; for on losing his temper, 

 should he become unruly, there is an efficient 

 police close at hand to curb his impetuosity. 



As I am fond of reading a man's actions in 

 the various changes of his face, upon which I 

 place more reliance than upon the tongue itself ; 

 and as *I have scrupulously followed the advice 

 of the good fathers of the Society of Jesus, 

 never to engage in any kind of gambling, I can 

 enter this saloon of danger, without the fear gf 

 getting entangled in its meshes. Wherefore, I 

 have no difficulty in making my appearance 

 there. But how shall I attempt a brief descrip- 

 tion of countenances engaged in play at the 

 insidious tables of this frequented room ? Some 

 bear their losses with a kind of silent fortitude, 

 leaving their last penny in the bank, and their 

 unlucky chair to the next occupier. Others 



