CHARLES WATERTON, ESQ. liii 



show in their sullen features, the awful work- 

 ings of despair within them : whilst others 

 break out in ungovernable fury. I was told of 

 an English officer who lost his all, and would 

 have beaten out his brains against a stove, had 

 the bystanders not interfered : and another 

 officer informed me, that he had thrown a mace 

 at the head of one of the croupiers with such 

 force, that it made a deep indentation in the 

 plaster of the wall behind him. I once as- 

 sisted in forcing away to Dusseldorf a young 

 naval officer, from the hotel where he was 

 staying, in order to prevent him from risking 

 the remnant of his money at his favourite table 

 of rouge et noir. 



Ladies, even ladies, are far from being shy 

 in trying their fortune at these delusive boards. 

 It is melancholy to see how the rose and the 

 lily take possession of their countenances by 

 turns, as the dice or ball shows in their favour 

 or against them. 



As I was standing a silent spectator at one 

 of the tables, I saw a youth take the chair of 

 one who had just contributed largely to the 

 support of the bank. He was dressed in the 

 height of fashion ; and as I took a nearer view 



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