NOTICES OP PERU. 269 



practice alone can bestow. The bets were placed, some within 

 the angles, and others betwixt the circles. 



" Todo como pinta !" — All as it appears — cried the banker, 

 thereby announcing that if gold coins were hidden among the 

 silver, they would not be reckoned such. 



Ya voy !" — Now I cast — said the thrower of dice, and 

 agitating them in the hollow of his hand, for a single moment, 

 the fatal cubes rolled over the cloth. The eyes of those seated, 

 followed them with interest, while those who stood behind the 

 ladies' chairs, stretched forward to see how fortune's favors 

 went. The throw resulted in nothing. The dice again rolled 

 over the table, followed by all eyes. " Ace and deuce !" cried 

 a half dozen at the same time. The S lost, and the A won. The 

 ladies who had bet on A, extended their hands, glittering with 

 diamond rings, to gather in their winnings, while those who 

 had risked on S, saw their cash scooped into the banker's pile. 

 The money between the circles still remained. Bets were again 

 made, and the dice again thrown. 



The game is thus : ace and deuce, doublets ace, deuce and 

 four, win for A ; five and six, and doublets three, five and six, 

 win for S. The bets between the circles are lost and won, only 

 when doublets are thrown. The advantage possessed by the 

 bank, is a discount of one-fifth, when the bets are decided by 

 the first throw. 



The amounts staked, are from a real to one, two, and even 

 three hundred dollars ! Sometimes gold alone is admitted on 

 the table. I have seen ten thousand dollars lost and won on a 

 Sunday morning ! So strong is the passion for this game, that 

 children of eight or ten years old are seen at tertdlias, ventur- 

 ing their pocket money at monte ! 



As the players became more interested, the bets grew high- 

 er, and the betters increased in number, forming a crowd round 

 the table. All was silent. The muscles of those who lost, be- 

 came rigid, producing a most unpleasant expression of counte- 

 nance, and the cigars were smoked more rapidly than ever. 

 The winners allowed the smoke to curl from the mouth and 

 nostrils in a quiet cloud, while a smile of satisfaction played 

 over their features. Ladies and gentlemen smoke together. A 



