Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, February 1, 1874, Page 12

127 THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1874. FARO. A Lesson for the Young and Unwary. The Condition of the Game in Chicago, & Enterior View of a First-Class House, Opinions of a Leading Gambler on the Question. He - Argues that Faro Banks Help the City's Trade. Precisely ffow the Game Is Con- ducted. Progressive Modifications It Has Un- dergone. * Profiis of the Bank---Supersti- tions of Players. How the Froprietors Make a Sare Thing of If. Explanation of the Last-Turn Swindle. The poots who generally epeak to ail humani- ty occasionally annonnce 3 special lecture for the benefit of tho virgins and the callow youth ; snd nowspapers, which tell in prose what poets tell in rhyme, also sometimes address them- eclves, ot to all their readers, but to the boys, the girls, and the. country people. There are mzny things which men are well u_cqunnt,ed with, but. which are strangers to ingenuous yonth. Tho parent 18 mot apt to give in- straction to bis children on some most essential oints, since he thereby exposes his own weal~ ness, and hence it becomes the duty of a paper, which bas po children, and which owns tono weaknesses, to act the part of a tutor and in- struetor to those who would otherwise have to ‘carn, painfulivand expensively, for themselves. It is unnecessary to inform the young that tho passion for gambling, the love of chance for- tane, is innate in man. Every boy who ever played marbles knows that be can remomber his own emotions, and the Jow estimation in which « plaging for fun”¢Was held. Man, whether savageor civilized, heathen or Christian, s & born gambler. The instinct may manifest itself in o hundred ways, in a faro-bank, on Change, or on the Gold Board, but the principle is always the same. ’ Still, the law and custom have msdes dis- tinction between different forms of gaming. For & man 1 keep o faro-bapk is_illegitimate; fors rontleman o avail himeelf of his skill a8 a whist 6r poker player, to add to his income, is not 1lle- szl thongh improper. In both cases the antag- onist loses, but a great deal depends on the per- son to wiom Lo loses. In one case, wo Eay he wae &windled; in another, that he was unfor- tunate. i If o foro-bank were unmolested by the lav, its profits would be governed by the samo rule as those of any other busincss; there vould have to be o cortain_sum secured to pay interest on capital invested, defray running expenses, Wages of lalor, ee. Tho fair ntage of gain in favor of s bsok do that, under ordinary _circumstances. But the 'moment the business becomes illegitimate, the sitnation changes, When the owner of & bonk is_subject to arrest and fine,and the destruction of Lis property, and when 'his cus- tomers are also liable to arrest snd fine, thereby decreasing the number of visitors, his_profits made off those who do attend must bo increas- cd. If a fair game does not give them, an un- fair one must. If s druggist has but hittle cus- tom, he must lut high prices on his drugs; so must the gambler. - E | 45 the vigor of the officers of the law in- creases, 80 does the unfairness of the gambler. Subject to arrest tho moment his quarters aro known, ho becomes a nomad, plying bis trade in rooms which he hires ome day to_abandon the nest. Jostead of being satisfied with 3 per cent, be maost have 99. He lives by chance jobs, and must chargo high ob esch one. When prize-fighting becomes illegal, thero are nomore *gquare” fghts. When gaming be- comes illega), there is 1o ‘“square” gaming. This ie a mere statement of a fact, not an argu-~ ment for the toleration of gaming, or allowing tho ealo of chances in & Kentucky jottery, a ten- pound cake, or & watch. A probibitory liquor law stops’ to & comsiderablo ex- tont tho eale -of ale and beer, which aro balky and deteriorate by kceflnfi. It increases iho consumption of whisky, which is moro easily managed, Wit Do eester atenpth 1n lecs space. So the spasmodic enforcement of the law against the American game of faro does awzy with faro banks only to increase _the number of ““skin games,” of bunko, brace faro, ate. Partial raiding, thercfore, may be pro- Cuctive of more harm than good, and the luter German eystem of uprooting and exterminsting is the only thorongh and successful treatment of the evil. AT . Tider the now regime, in this city, there is a change, There are new gods in Israel. Rehm Las sapplanted Washburn, and thopresont policy i§ to arrest inmafes of gaming-houses only when diagrder prevails in the bouses, or upon & war- raut, Guly eworn out. The immediate result is that tho gamblers aro taking heart of grace. Faro-banks are increasing. and bunko 18 dimin- ishing. The gaming-hells are becoming more bl . ‘bofore going into the subject of faro, it is only proper to give the views of s prominent gnmhf’e?on tho guestion. We publish the argu- monts of Communists, even while we condemn them, and it is but fair to allow the gambler, o bas no newspaper organ, a chanco fo stato his side of the case. Besides, it is_interesting to know the opinions of people with whom the mass of mankind pever come in contact, men often endowed with decided, though perverted, ability., INTEBVIEW WITH A GAMTLER. In thespring of 1875, Mayor Medill was favore: with & visit from one of the best-kcown an Tmost intelligeat and popular members of tho gambling fraternity of Chicago,-who, with the urbanity of the polished man that he is, called to bave a talk with His Honor, with a view to arriving, if possible, at .some understanding with the police aathorities, who, . by order of tho IMayor, were pursuing a relentléss and inceseant war upon the faro-banks, emashing in doors, breaking up furniture, and, in fact, committing all the damage possible. Supt. .Wash- burn had remstered an oath to break up gumbling in Chicago, sad_day and night the campeign was prosecuted. So it occurred to Mr. George Holt, himself the proprietor of a faro bank, to try and argue the matier with tho mu- nicipal executive. As the result of the confer- once was mever in print, 5 TRIBUNE reporter re- cently called upon 3ir. Holt for the purpose of tearning some of the_circumstances connected with that intorview. He found lim enjoying an after-lunch siesta on the sofa in the reception- room of his establishment, but he was uot slow to jump up and extend a cordial welcome, assoon 1s Le ascertained who the vieitor was. The re- porter inquired concerning the state of business, apd was told that it bad been a trifle dull for & day ot two, owing to the fact of the recent open- in of 2 new house near by, which attracied away of his custom. " RO;): orter—I have heard,” Mr. Holt, thal yen onco had an interview with Mayor edill upon the snbject of , gambling. Would you mind re- Jzting the conversation you then had with His Hamb TO MB. MEDILL. HE TALES . 3. Holt—Well, 1 pever expected to make it pablic, but Iwill tryand give you the mamn pointe, L alwars had & high regard for Joo Zledill, and. it occurred tome that ‘poseibly he would like to hear something on our eide of the for it was perfectly evident r lack of informution. He received me embling question, §haz he wes prejudiced fo) So I called on . him one day. - politels, and, in roply to my_solf-introduction, Temarlied that hie had heard of me bofore. With | this left-handed encouragemont, I proceeded to give him my views, which _were, in_substance, that the attitude of the police with reference to tho gambling-houses simply smounted to per- sccution; that -in breaking down doors and smasbing farpiture they were treating gamblers like felons or escaped convicts; that the police ought to make o discrimination between honses whicl: were nuisances and thoso which wore not; and that tho prescut reign of terror was certain 0 produce a reaction in favor of gambling, just a8 many respoctablo citizens favor the proper regulation of the ealo of liquor, but, when prohibition is ' sought to be enforced, they turn aronnd and throw their in~ fluence on the other side. ¥ submitted that it was absurd to_attempt to applr to Chicago the same moral codo that obtained in a small conn- try village; that this was a great cosmopolitau city, and that well-conducted faro banks wero just as much & business and a featuro as were dry-goods houses and the Board of Trade, sud no more injurions. THE MAYOR'S BEPLY. th].).—‘Ve].l, what did the Mayor reply to all is ? Mr. H.—He cxpressed himself as intercsted in my version of the subject, and bad understood that my mode of conducting a pambling-honse was upright and _square, but, as ho demurred to my premisce, ho.must diffor from my conclusion. Ho closed tho intersies by advising mo to shut p my house for 3 time, aud I gave him my word that I wonld do it. R.—Did you shnt up your houso s8 youngreed ? Mr. H—I did. I gave orders that no more cards shonld bo played, sod mono wero played, but in less thon ten days Washbum sent o aquad of polico to raid mo. ~ There wasn't 3 eoul in the houso oxcept the colored man, tnd hadn't been s card played for woels or more, b they smashed in the doors and broke up the furniture just the same. NATURAL WRATH, R.—What effcct did this cheerfal opisode have upon your equanimity? Mr. H.—1 got thoroughly mad, snd swore I wonld run I gambling-bouso in spite of Wasa- barn or Medill. InJune I mot Washburn one evening on Twenty-sccond street, and I fairly begged him not o send any more men to break in my doors, for Iwould not stand it. I had taken eminent legal counsel, and had been ad- ~vised thot they had no right t_break my doors, and that I would be justified in offering armed Tesistance. 5 - R.—Did the police_break in your doors again ? Mr. H.—No, but they kept close watch upon tho house, and detailed men by the week to watch it. One day, when tho house was empty, and no play was going on, Iwasmet at tho fooi of the stairs by an oily-tongued policeman of tho Irish porsuasion, who accosted me with, ¢« How do you do, Misther Holt?" I gave hima pleasant seply, and invited him to como into o Testanrant nnd get & glass of ale with mo. “Thank you, Iwill; but I mustgo up stairs, first.” “You can't go up stairs, sir,” was my re- ply: “there's nobody there, and no gambling ‘has been done there for weeks.” Pulling outa dirty wallet, Lo said: _*I know sou're o porfoct gintleman, and I don’t want to contradict ye; ‘but 71 jist bet yo five dollars thoyiwaere gamblin' up thera sll day yesterday.” I was greatly amus- ed at the delicate manner in which he called mo 2 liar, and I put an end to the confab by walking away. But ho didn’t get up stairs. TIE REACTION. ! R.—So you believo thnt Washburn's ferocity towards the olers_was ono of the things which aseisted in tho defeat of the Luw-and- Order party? - r. H.—I cortainly do think so. A reaction of public opinion was created by it. In one of the People's processions thero was borno this transparency : * No more sledge-bammer law.” SENSIDLE VIEV. R.—Now, that s _truce has boen arranged, I suppose tne gamblers will carry matters with & ‘high hand in Chicago. r. H.~No; I think not; or, atleast, they shonld not be permitted to do so. They should bo_subjected toa rigid accountability by the police, and every act of robbery at cards, whether it be in the shape of bunko or braco faro, should be nnvem‘ycgmushrfl. The polico Imow perfectly well which aro the square and which the brace gamcs, and they ehould sup- press the Intter 8o far a8 it is possibic to do so. Where eatisfactory evidence is furnished that a 1o0n has been harpooned, 1t is 2 very easy matter Tor thepolice torecover the money holost,and pro- vide against further complaints from that source atleast. The 10-cent pames and the kemo- houses ought to be_suppressed, for they rope in boys, who steal to make good what they lose, and men working on small salaries, whoso families suffer when they loso their money. CONSEBVATIVE GAJDLERS. R.—What proportion of the faro bavka in Chicago desl a square game, 88 you call it ? Mr. H.—Oh, s very Inrge proportion. R.—But what I want to get at is, how many are there who don't occasionally work with a two-card box ? Mr. H.—That's a very difficult question to answer, and I can only speak for the houses I in wheat, corn, and oats, A losing deal on 'Chenge i8 often followed by a resort to tho bnzara of the cards, on_the privciplo that luck must change. It offen happens that luck fails to recognize the obliantion. THE PROFITS. Among; tho twelve or fifteen faro-banks now in operation, the majority do a paying business, by haok or by crook. _To such of the establish- -ments as are thronged by day and night by men eager to stake their monoy upon the turn of a card, the problem of money-making is easy of golution.” Nothing is plainer than that & well- patronized gambling-house will make largo Profits to its proprietors, who, Iefv o themeelves, rapidly acquire lnrgo fortunes. The legitimate percentage of & faro game to tho baok is gen- erally computed to bo suficient to defray all contingent exponses ; that is to eay, in “aguare™ zames, a8 they are called, in which o dishonest devices aro_resorted to in order to escape all risk of loss by the bank, the “split” money is enough_to pav ordinary expenses, leaving as clear guin all that is Tealized_by the preponder- anco of luck or of capital. But tho grand per- centage, affer all, is tho weakness of humnn mature, Qofielhtr with the disparity of capital. The bank has much moncy with which to pay its losses, and can wait for Inck to tarn; while tho player must stop when ho Thas lost his last cent, and is unablo to reap the ‘benefit of tho turn of Iuck which he might rea- sonably expect to come in his favor soomer or Iater. ‘Dat, 08 wo have raid, the great advan- tage of the bank is in the weakness and folly of human naturo—first, in gambling at all. which is the eheerest of all foolishress ; and, Recond, in the fact thet a man is not willing to lore ag little na he is contented with winning. He will lose all Lie has in cake of an unincky play, but is satisfied with & comparatively small winving in case luck favors him. ROPERS. The rystem of runners or roperais not em- ployed in those houses known as ‘equare.” “They derive their patronage mainly throngh per- £onal acquaintance and ponularity, ns woll as by renson of o roputation for fair dealing, and find it neither necessary nor desirable to solicit ous- tom. Proprictors and attaches take moderate paing to let their acquaintances know whore they are located, snd, in common politeness, in- vito them to call around, provided they want them to come ; but it is the case in nearly all the well-rezulated honses that no ono is ex- ected to call unless invited. or else introduced ¥ one of the regular habitues. Thedoor is invari- ably locked, and tbo colored man who atlends itusually hasinstructions to admit no strangers. There is o good reason for this—not that the proprietor objects to n full honse, but his re- spectable patrons decidedly dislike to be brought in contact with whoever may chance to stumble in. No businers man likes to be acen gambling. unless by eome ono who gambles himeelf. Topers are only employed by the “ braco " honses winch do mo regular businets, but depend for their gaing npon what they can rob from victims cither stupidly drnnk or natarally groen. In this way not a msll number of flashily-dressed yonng men contrive to cke out a hazardous ox- istence, for they get paid only when thoy * ropo in” & “sgucker,” while they run the risk of frequent arrest by tho polico on tho charge of vagraucy. AN ISTERIOR VIEW. Those of onr readers who have never been inside of s gambling-honse, and are never likely to go, will be interested in knowing how ono i8 equipped. We will take as & specimen the largest establishment in the city, and the ono most elaborately furnished. It occnpies the en- tire second floor of & business block on Clark street. Tho visitor opens the onter door, which prosents no_indication of the character of the placo, and finds himself in a small lobby. con- fronting another door which is locked. A bell- pull suffices to bring forth's colored attendant who first peeps through » diminutive opening to £eo who it is that seeks admittsnce,—for thero are always certain nndesirablo persons who have Teen notified that their patronage is unwelcomo, —and then opars tho door, and icads the way to the interior, Tho dealing-room is 95 feet in Iength and 22 feet wide, with ceilings 16 fect in the clear. Dy tho closing of folding doors about onc-third of the room is cut off. This is the parlor, whero poker, loo, otc., aro played upon occasion. It is suporbly furnished with luxurious chairs, tables, with ex- pensive coverings, & gorgeous misror roaching to the ceiling, from which hsngs & crystal chan- delier, whilo the foor falls mpon a French moquet catpet costing 95 a yard, with which the dealing-room also is furnished. Hero thers are two faro tables, surrounded with plavers; o roulotte table, which is occasionally patronized; AN ELATORATE SIDEEOARD containing fine liquors withont _charge, for men who gamblo are very exacting in the matter of drinkables; o Jargo. iron safe, wherein the ro- serve cush ia kept, and where, also, the faro cards aro securely Iccked, to prevent the possi. Dility of their being tampered with by some nn- scrupulous outsider; mirrors and chandeliers in profusion, and the walls and ceilings beantifully ornamentéd with moldings and fresco. At the farther end of the room the dining-table is-get, and every afternoon finds theroon Tave been connected with. Concerning the oth- | a dinmer equal to first-class _hotel ers I have nothing to ay. faro, and which is conmumed by =n R—Why 6o reticont on this subject > You | party of hungry patrons. Tho dinmer is very evidontly know more than you are willing to tell. Why not make war upon the brace, exposo the gvindle, and assist the police in brovkiog it u p!\[r. ‘H.—TFor the very reagon that the commis- sion-men, for example, don't trouble themsolves w unearth and expose the pottv rascalities which are practiced in their businees by dishon- estroen. They-attend to their own affairs, and thus keep out of hot water. There is another resson for a conservative course- on the park of tho squaro gamblers. Sapposo they raise the cry of ‘brace” against some house which has been well thought of. The petrons of that Louse will-be sure to eny that1f suvibing wrong is done there it is also done at Hankins’ and at Holt's; and 80, you sce, the squarest and most reliable suffer with the rest. No,sir; that is just the way to do it. The polico can regulate the matter by {ho prompt unishment of every well-authenticated caso of racing. They should exercise absolute control over the gambling-honses, to the end that as Jittlo mischief o8 possiblo may bo done. Wash- expensive, but, s it is a_powerful attractor of custom, it is considered s jndicious outlay. Half-a-dozen colored men, polite avd attentive to a rematkeble degree, make it their business to seo that everybody’s comfort and convenienca aro studiously looked after. and evervthing is done thet experienco and tact could suggent to render tho place attractive snd_enjoyable. The same order of things obtains in all {he hiouscs, thongh their furnishings aro not 8o elaborate and costly. THE GAME. On ho supposition that a vory small propor- tion of our readers baye a practical Imowledze of the game, we give o descript i is now pleyed. It has been varionsty called Phareon, Pharaoh, Pharo, and TFaro, and much rosemblcs Bassot, 8_gamo extensively played in England two centurics 230, and theo the fash- jonablo gambling game. its otigin, like nearly all games of cards, is French, which language contiibuted most of the technical terms for- merly employed. but which buve now paseed out of wuso nlmost wholly. :The dealer was called burn tried tho suppression policy, and thereby | flio tailenr, snd he bad sn assist- conferred a priceless boon npon the bunko and | not known 8s tue croupicr, whoss braco-robbers, who nover thrived 6o woll aawhen | duty it was to take . snd . pay tlio squaro hotses wero closed. fiohm proposes to try what intelligent diecrimination and control will do. We shall see which plan works the Dest. ¥ GOOD TOL TRADE. R.—You seem to think that decently-con- dncted faro-banks are rather a benefit to the city than otherwise. Mr. H.—Certainly I do, from s business point of view. R.—In what way? Mr. H.—Inthis: Numbers of small dealers come hiero o by their goods, to lay in their stocks for the year, or half-year, and when they get here they waut some asmusement, and they look to the wholesale men to provide it for them. They oxpect to bo taken around to the theatres, and saloons, and similar places. They are mway from home, and they want_s little fan. They want to gamble a littlo, and win or lose somo money. If they cannot find these things in_ono city, thoy go to another. If they cen find them in Chicago they will not go to New York to buy. Why, it hnlf ruined tho wholesalo trade of Bos- ton when they started to enforce all their pro- hibitory laws against faro-banks, saloons, cte, Everything went to New York. 1 tell you thnt good gaming-houses are worth several millions & year to the trade of Chicago. It -8 not tho mone;y these fellows lose that helps the city, but ali these attractions serve to bring them here, With this emphatic declaration the interview closed, and Mr. Holt returned to his cigar and ‘This siesta. FARO. An account of illegal gambling in_Chicago should begin with faro. * The game, while an old one, i8 in its present simplificd form the prodnet of American ingennity and Inbor-saving inven- tion. It and poker aro the games on which tho reputation of Americain the card line can eafely rest. Among all the various forms of gaming, faro predominates. There are now in operation in this city between twelve and fittecn houses whero it i8 the chief attraction. The cost of fitting and furnishing the rooms varics from 31,000 to $14,000 1 each case. Gamblers are luxurioua in their tastes, and expensive in their habits. As their money comes easily, it winnings and losines. This functionary is now dispensed with, the dealer performing thoso duties, with an_aesistant, called the lookout, whose business it is simply to ses that no bets are overJooked by tbe desler. Formerly tho cards were tightly Leld in the dealer's band, face downward : now they are contained in s metal box exprestly wade for that purpose. COLIUPTIONS. 1t is interesting to noto the changes which the original technical terms bave nndergona, What i8 now lnown ns o ** turn,” wns then & *coup a “gplit™ wos o *‘doublet;" iho *‘hock,” or last card, was the “hocly;” o “etand-off * was *Tune pour Tautre™ (one Tor tho othor) ; *par- leo " was, variously, “paroli,” ‘“parolet," or “eocking ;" tho * stake,” or amonnt of money bet on a card. was “couche” or “enjou:” a player a8 5 “punter.” Tbe game of faro, like its techpicalitics, has undergone many modifica- tions. DEALING. In playing it, a full pack of cards, fifty-two in number, is ueed, and these, after being thor- oughly shuffied, aro placed in a motallic bos, open at the top ‘g0 as to show the face of the cards, which are dealt face upward, one at a time, through a s&lit or crevica just largo enough to admit of the passago of a siuglo card, Tha dealing-box is fitted with srings, which prevs tho pack up to the rim or flange around tho open faco of the box. The dealing-table is about 6 feetin length, and is usually covered with green broadcloth. On the table is s THE *‘ LAT-0UT,” ) which consiats of o ruit of thirteen cards, ace to king_inclusive, painted in fac simile, and about 2 inches apart, each wey—thus: B, 5 & 8 2 1 E. .8 9 W T Q This is_for tho convenience of players, who bave only to place their bets upon the picturs of the card they wish to bet on, and that action is suflicient for all purposos, as it explains itself. The cards having been placed in the box, face upward, 8o that one is exposed, the deal begins, k8 goes quickly. Costly wearing apparel, valuablo | and then goes on in “turns,” Bya “turn” is Jjewelry, and rich and elaborate surroundings aro | meant that two cards arc pulled from the box, their weakness. The leading faro-bank of this | and then the desler halts s moment city was fumished ot a cost of over | to allow the placing of now bots, or $14,000, and its rooning expenses. includ- ing rent (23,600 per annum), probably excecd that sum in the course of a year. It issitnated on Clark atreet, within & stone's throw of the Board of Trade, of which body one of its pro- priotors is a member, avd from which it derives » largo portion of ite patronage. It is regarded a8 the best and ¢ equarest " conducted gambling- Thouso in tue city, and by far the most valuable erty. - SR THE PATRONS. Tt cortainly takes the lead in tho number and character of its froquenters, who are -for the most part well-to-do businees men, and not pro- fessional gamblers. Indeed, it is upon business ‘men,—sharp, shrowd, sensible men in the ordi- nary offairs of trade,—that faro-banks must de- pend for their support, and the :fact that they are o woll supported in Chicago proves that the passion. for ing is by no mosns con- fined, among busincss men. to ** transactions® tho changing of thoss already mado. The rulo of - the gamo is simplicity itself. The first card shown at the boginning of the denl, of course, goea for mothing. It is called the ‘““sods,” though for what reason is what Dundreary Would call *one of those things no fellow can find out.” A slight ssure of tho finger upon the face of the in sight suffices to alide it throngh the slit or crovice above mef tioned. With the removal of that card *‘action” beging, The next card beneath itis s losing card ; the second is a winner ; and one ** turn ¥ is made. i TIE CHIFS. The players use checks or chips, made of ivory or composition, about the size and thicknoss of a silver dollar, Theso checks, representing different values, are uscd ns & convenience, a8, being of perfectly uniform thicknes, the dealor need not count them, but can “siza up* without fear.of psying too much or too kittle, The play- white checks worth 50 cents cach, or, if he pre- fers them, four red checks at $2.50 each. as the checks rangein value from half adollar for whites to §25 for blues. HOW IT IS DONE. 1t has been said that a *“ turn " consists of the drawing _out of two cards, ome of which is a loser and ‘the other a winner. This mny bo illustrated by supposing that John Jones has placod Lalf 5 * stack,” $5 worth, of whito checks upon the king (**K” inthe above diagram), and Tom Robinson has deposit- ed a like amount upon tho ten-spot (““10” in tho diagram). After the ‘‘soda " card, which connts for nothing until a turn is made, is drawn, the king shows, and then the fen-spot. Tho first card being a loser, the dealer reaches out and takes in all the checks thereon, whilo tho sec- ond card, the ten-spot, being tho winner, the dealsr must pay check for chock all that is fonnd on the ten-spot. Mr. Jones loses, and Mr. Rob- inson wins, The only variation to this rule is that the player may desiznate a card to lose— that is, ho may ‘*copper” it, by covering bia checks with s bit of black ebony, which indicates that the card is bot to fall on the losing side, and if it 8o falls the dealer pays. Iuother words, bo bets the bank will win, Once upon a time & young man Came across that touching poem about thio * Fine old Arkan- 888 gentleman, close to the Choctaw line,” and waa greatly perplexed by the closing stanza, whora it is related * Bmg;h;n he heard the checks, he flung the linen off s face, And sung out just exactly s he used to do when be ‘was alive, “ Hold on, Prirdle; don't turn; Iligo twenty on ho king and ‘copper on the ace.” Boing a eeoker after truth, he hunted for a Jongtinie to find how an ace was to bo copperad. Ilo flually_got the information, which cost Lim precisely S15. THE ePLITY. 1t is for the player to guess how the card will come. If Lic gucsses right, Le wins; if wrong, Do loses. The doaler simply takes the negativo in every case, and ina **square™ game his only advantage or’ porcentage is the * aplits"—that is, whon two cards of the same denomination show together in ope turn, the desler is entitled to half the checks bet on that card. So long as thero remain in the box, undrawn, two, three, or four cards of the samo denomination, tho dealer Lias a small percantaga from the chance that two of theso will come together, and a skillfnl manip- ulator can increaso the percentaze by shuflling 60 tbat -splita” will be numerous. But the fim:\t Lulk of the befting is romoved from tho noger of “splits,” as o careful player will wait antil the ¢ becomo single in the box before ho puts down his largo bats. The percentage {rom this sourco is difficult to estimato, but it probably amounts to at least Sjporcentof the win- nings of the bank. In order to eucourage bet- ting upon double cards, the bank always permits the player to put twico as much money upon a double 28 upon o single or ‘“case” card, Tho_prevailing limit in Chicago is S100 to doubles snd 850 to *ecasca” Wo bave shown how and why it was that Alr. Jones lost and 3Ir. Robiuson won, and how the rocess of putting the bit of black ebony would o reversed thatTesult as betwoen tho twoplay- ers. 8o the game goes o, tho dealer making tho “*turus " from the box until all tae cards ere ex- Laueted, when they are shuofiled and a new deal begius. i EXD-CARDS. Tho only variation to this description of the {:hy occurs when but_four cards remain in the 0%, one expozed, and theotherthree concealed. Any one of these may be bet in -the usual way, 28 the tally-shect shows what cards remmmn, thongh their positions aro matters of guess- work. There are six different ways for the cards to come out—aor, rather six _combinations possi- Dlo, for they must come ot as thoy were put in. If there are in the box an ace, douce, and tray, and a player bots that tho turn will como aco- tray-douce, aad happens to ihicit righe, he is paid four for one for tho money he has bet—an. arrangoment not so liberal on tho part of the bank as it at firgt glanco appears, sinco the chiances aro six to one agaiust the player call- ing it correctly, while ho gots paid but four to ove in case hio hita it, and loses what he beta if he faiis. sTRTEYS. Of superatitions, schemos, or *systems” thero is an aimost endlees varicty among faro- players, such as betting a card to come * threo on a side,” #two on n side,” “donble out,” or “ singlo out,” but none of them stand the test of time, and, whichever ono tho player adopte, hois sureto wish he had chosen somo other. In these days of cloverness, no_faro-dealer is considered a master of his trade who cannot shuflle the cards =0 as to defeat any * system.” The defect with all systoms is that the astagon- ists do not stand onan equal footing. Tho amount of money the plnder can stake is limited. Ho cannot keep on donbling up, until o bappy bit makeshim whole, If ho loses 250, he cannot thon bet 100, and losing that follow up with £200, and eo on till he does win. He is playing with limited means against an Gpponent with comparatively unlimited means. The chances are steadily against him, and tho longer he plays tho more ho loscs. It is like that game familiar to childhood, whero one takes the aco of trumps and the other the rest of tho deck, and they pro~ ceed to play agaiost one anotber. It may iake unlimited time, but the holder of the ace finally wins all the cards. DISTONEST GAXMES, As s rule, the keepers of gambling honses ar greedy and graspiog in their cherscier, and aro ready and willing to resort to any practice, short of actual theft, by which the uuwary may be fleeced. Thero are motable exceptions to tha rule, but their very scarcity makes them notable. Terfectly *equsto” gambling houses are a great rarity, and it wonld be a wholesome thing 1t peoplo who occasionally * fight the tiger,” a8 (mprnying is called, would bear this in mind. A knowledge of the rascally devices that aro practiced would, or onghs to, cure any man of the idiotic notion that_he can ** bent the bank.” Ho simply caunot do it. Thero sro numerous modes of flaying him, and, sooner or later, Lo is sure to be skinned. The main reliaoce of gam- blers to tob their victims is tho “braco game,” or faro in which the dealer has it to mako in his gowcr a cord either win or lose. lts application ro- quires special parsphernalia, go constructed as to present tho appearance of ordinary imple- ments. The dealing-box is fitted with a con- cealed spring, the touch of which acts upon a falso slide, and, by enlarging the opening, en- ables the dealer to take out two cards, instead of one, st a time, so_that the card which sbonld have fallen upon the winning side is made to fall upon the losing ome. One-half tho cards are trimmed at one edge and at one ond, just enough to reveal the edge of the card beneath, which is marked with very small dots, their number and Pusiflfln showing the denomination of the card. 'Plhe backs of the marked cards, and the faces of tho unmarked ones, are roughened just a little with sand-paper, whoreby they naturally cling together in pairs, and, a8 tho dcaler can at all times read the cards threo decp below the sur- face, ond by touching the lever can bring out’ ono or two st & time, 28 he chooses, be bas sbsolute control over them, and can make them como whichever wayho likes. It is an actusl fact ibat neacly every faro-bank in Chicago, or in any other city, is supplied with o two-card box and a steck of trimmed and dot- ted cards. These are not often used, to be sure ; never, in fact, when there is any chanco of de- tection; but they are introduccd upon favorable occasions. The two-eard box admits of varions ingenious stratagoms of a like chiaracter, and, in {act, its use is almoet the only scheme known in faro-dealing by which tho chance to win is exclu- sively confined to the bank, Thera are not moro than four houses in the city in which a rigid search of the premises would not reveal tuc presence of ono of theso couvenient inatrn- ments of piunder, for its employment sumply amounts to that. An instance of the ups snd downs of tho lifo of s gawbler is fur- nished in the history of one house. In the month of October. 1873, it was completely “broke,” having lost upwards of 20,000 in four monthe. Then tho tide turned, and the three brothers bave netted a ronnd $30,000 since the 1st of November. The bznk always wina in the long ran. Let faro players stick a pin there. THE ‘' LAST-TURN " GWINDLE. The propensity to render hazard n certainty is by no means confined fo faro-dealers. It i8 n weakness common to humanity to “bet on a sure thing,” and it ia done, in different forms, by those who would be the quickest to resent snd dony any imputation of their iategrity in ordinary matters. But the temptation to ** get the best of it " is too strong to be resisted. Ono of the latest and most ingenious of robbing echemes at faro is based upon this common fail- ing. It may be called the * last-turn swindle.” Eleewhere in this article will be found a detmled explanation of the operation of the last turn when equarely administored—how there are six different commbinations possible, and the bank pays four to one to the player who guesses tho right soquence. e bank having a cleen percentage of 162 per cent on all calls of the last turn, the player is allowed to bet a8 high as $50 on the ¢ and thus win £200, if it comes bis way. In addition, he may play one of the cards to lose, and the second to win, for 850 each, 8o that it is possible for bim to win $300 on the turn. The privilege of boing told in advance how the last turn is tocome, 18 something that would be seized by almost sny ployer, whether professional ler or otber- wise, and the queer part of it is that some of the best posted ones have jumped at it to their eor- row. For the successful operation of the scheme, a littlo preliminary figuring is necessary. Aroom is secured and fitfed up with faro-tools at a mod- oratocost. Of course the two-card box and marked cards are essential. The victim is sin- gled out from among that numerous clags of men who, thoupzh not gamblers by occupation, are in tie habit of frequent dalliance with the fickle pasteboards, and who have large sums of money at their command. Such a man is opproacted by a dealor employed in the recently-opened house. He i8 acquainted with him, and fistens ia good faith {o the propo- sition Dhe makes, viz.: that the dealer is to ‘“give away " tho last turn, and enable him to win with absoluts certainty. The excuse for making the smposu\ is, gencrally, that the denl- er has played away a considerabie sum of money belonging' to the bank-roll, which must be re- placed before it is missed. ' They are to share alike in the proceeds of his troachery to his em- ployer’s interests aftor thoy have won enough to mako good the deficiency. Tho victim sees money in this plan, and readily assents, being cautioned by the dealer to bet his money frecly throngh the deal, 80 as not to_excito suspicion, trusting to bis certainty on the last turn to ena~ ble him to keep largely shead. Supposing the ‘victim, to avert suspicion, plays the limit, $50, on each single or **caso "-card, the dealer, with his two-card box and foul deck. makea him loge so many of theso bets that he caunot get even on thelast turn with a limit as low as 350, and on every deal, which usnally oceapios about ten minutes, he loses from 350 to €100. In a fow héurs ho has lost & larga eum of monoy, having been encouraged, meanwhile, by the expectation of better luck, and he finds out, all too late, that his own intention to form a dishonest conspiracy to defraud the proprietor of tho bank hag been cunningly mado the means to fleeco him. Bomething like £30,000 was what itcost a well-known Chicago politician, & short time 2go, to ftnd out that something beside o sure thing on the last turn is necded to boat an “artist " who can pull one or two cards a3 occa- sion requires. 'The swindle Lias been successlal- ly played in New York, as s few Chicago gnntxblel's-pm(esflioms, too—know to their cost. If the policy adopted by Mr. Rehmand the ““ People’s Party ” isto have no bLetter result than has been obsorvable o far,—that of an in- creaso in faro, kono, aud other gambling houses, without, any additional protection,—thesooner it is abandoned tho better. Lot Rehm follow the example of Lis more illustrions countryman, Bismarck, and ascortain whethor the eradication of public gambling is not possible in Chicago, as it has been proved to be in the principrisities of the German Empiro, ——— NORWAY AND SWEDEN, To the Editor of The Chicago Tribune: Stz : There appeared in your issuo of tho 23th of last month an articlo with the above heading, uihd credited a4 correspondence of tho Scientific American,” in which the writer unjustly com- pares Norway with Sweden. He says that nover could moro dissimilar nations be united under one Government than Norway zod Sweden. Never before, I believe, bas the Scientific Ameri- can received a moro misgniding correspondence than this one, as it openly shows that tha writer is quite ignorant of what he uuderfakes to write about. Iathe first placo, it is ridicalous to say the two nations are dissimilar, 58 every oue who knows ever so little about them will give an opposite opinion. Secondly, they are not united under ono Government, but under ono King, who rules with very limited powers. ‘The ono Government acts i relation to its do- mestic cffairs just a8 independently of the other a8 do tho Governments of the United States and the Dominion of Canada. Each country has Constitution and a Legslative Body of its own. That they have a Joint Committoe to deal with Toreign affairs is a matter of course, that might have been understood by anybody, oven if he did not make a tour through, or stay m, said countries. The writer next says that Norway clings with the most absurd tenacity to old things und old ways of doing them, while Sweden is ready to advance with tho rest of tho world. To provo his absurd asgertions, Lo tries to show 3 * striking difference” on the line of sailroad between tho two Capitals,—Christiania, in Norway, aud Stockholm, in Sweden,—which, Lo says, ia 400 miles long,—100 iz Norway and 300 in Sweden ; the {rain Tunning through in twenty hours,— cight bours for tho Norwegian length. of ling snd twolve for the Swedish. This is not eo. The train runs with oqual speed from Stockholm to Christinnia and vice verss, excopt that it takes the Nurwegi:n train a little longer timo to run up to tho Swedish boundary, on account of the considerablo rising of the ground. It takes the train about eight hours to run from Christianie to tio City of Arvics, the coly place of any con- sequenoe after passing tho_frontier, aad wWhero it stops for refreshments. I presume tho writer mistakes thia poimt for tho boundary. (By the way, in building narrow- gaugo railvays, one of the leading Rorwegin civil engineers, Mr, Pilil, hasboen in- vited o visi¢ Dritish Columbia, whero railway companies have adopted this mode of structure.) To sny Norway does not advance with the rest of tho world, is not only a_ballucination, but a falsehood. Tho historian knows that that coun- try had been connected with Denmark until 1814, for about threo consocutive centurics, aud ruled despotically by that Kingdom's autocrats. ‘Thess rulers did pot_trouble themselves much with Norway's_intellectual and material develop- ments. Infact, when they had their foithfal officers to gather taxes and revenues, that most- 1y found their woy into the Daaish treasury, they noglected to do good for land and pation. Butit is now happily conceded that Norway is one of tho civilized nations which, in tho last fivo or six decades, has advanced conspicuonsly in enlightenment, culture, scienco, andart. Her industry has also kept pace with tho time, notwithstanding thoe absence of raw matorials. She can frankly refer to the differ- cnt International Expositions, at which sho bas Bonorably competed with_otber pations in the distribution of medals and honorablo mentions, Her insufficient resources, small home marlet, and Nature’s capricious treatment on the world's ‘map, compel her toapply caution in the adoption or introduction of overy conceivable invention of which tho present century is 8o rich. Be it admitted, as the writer says, that tho Swedes aro a cantriving and mechanical peoplo, and in such things ahead of their neighbors,— attributable, mainly, to their easy access to mnative metals; etill, it is not koown that tho Norwegions arc iodebted to their neighbors in this or othor fields. The Iatior cast and manufacture their own machinery, etc., and build their own vessels and steamers, which visit every port in the world. Norwayhas its own line of stoamors plying between this country aud Europe. Sho bas also expanded tho cosmopolitan telograph-wire from the British coast to her own, and continued it to the upper- most point of the Europesn continent, North Cape, in 71deg. Iatitude, throngha sparsely- populated and partly-siorilo country. In the mountainous regions, where the building of rail- wey is impracticable, there is builé turnpikes— chaussees—over almost impassable ground and mountains, that have astouished more than one foreign travelor. In short, sho trics to improve, aud does progress, in every respect, 80 far a8 her means permit. Indeod, if the accom- modations wcro not good, forsign travelors— zmong which the Inglish aro very -numorons— would not styarm over the country in the sum- 1mer-season like butterflies. Contrary to the writer's statement, the roads are not under Government care, but under care of the community they lead through. The very old-fashioned carioles, according to his expres- sion, are ns eerviceable Lo the maturo of the rround og some other vebicles to other gronnd. The traveler must bo a very poor driver if ho fiammt *“push ” more than six to seven miles an our. That the American Consul in Christiania does ot succeed very well in introducing American mowers and roapers is very likely, 28 those implements are about ns much fit for Norwayas a fifth wheel is fora wagon. Still, they aro used insome of the lower parts of tho land, where the ground issomewhat Hat and fréo from stone, Tha they are more applicable and more used in Sweden is probable ; but, to judge from such a theorythat the Swedes are tho best kind of peoplo America could have, i3 childish. Before a man should make such an assertion, he ought to take a trip through the sottlements of the different nationalities, sce which are the most prosperous, and compare the mechanics, mercantile men, and those in other occupations of hife, in order to find out who are the best citizens. 0. L. MorsTap. —The fourth volume of the * American Cyclo~ predin” Las been issued by D. Appleton & Co, This volume continues the letter C from the word “Carmons” to *Coddington,” and in- cludes more than 1,500 titles, a considerable number of which are entirely new articles, Be- sides the maps thers are 256 engravings, intro- duced in all cases to elucidato tho texc. The cities are generally written by residents in the localities described: * Cincinnatl,” by Mr. John B. Chamberlin, and * Chicago,” by Mr, E. VICTOR HUGO. The Poet, Dramatist, and Nov. elist of France. Some Incidents of His Remarkabls Career. His Progress from Bourbonism to Communism, Paris Correspondence of ths New York Herald. , The death of Victor Hugo's last son and the imposing popular demonstration which marked the latter’s burial withont religions rites bave excited much talk round France’s great poet. Victor Ougo's beteavemont falls upon him just at the time whon ho is about to reappear before. the public with a long-announced political novel, “NINETY-THREE.” 2nd as the novel is cortaia to ba flercely assailed by all—and they are many—who do not share the author's republican sentiments, thero is something painfulin tho thought that the aged poet will bave to face the anger of his enemies alonc, upsupported by tho filial sumpathy and admiration which 60 often cheered him in former battles ; for thestrifes which Victos haa stirred up, both o8 & wnter and a pol have been numerons and desperste. Thera is no man—~not being a crowned despot or a place- man—who bas been so cordially hated 28 ho ; and, by all accounts, his coming novel is not calculated to allay any of this hatred, harbored chiefly by tho narrow-minded half of the French community. As Victor Hugo's novel is sure to bo widely read in America, I jot down a fow notes about tho man who, with Lonfellow and Tenogson, makes up that glorious trium- virate which rnlo over the living repub- lic of Ietters. Americans may be interested in learning how a poet, who began with an odo to the Bourbon family, became » Peer of Franco nnder Louis Philippe, and sspired in 1849 to be a Minister of Louis Napoleon's, has devcloped into a republican 80 extremo and enthmsiaatic that the whole tenor of his writing has been rev- olntionized. Tho author of “ Ninety-threo " bogan with A ODE TO THE DOTRBONS and it shonld bo remembered that he i a Vis- count, sou of a General of the First Napoleon, and descendant of an Italian family, who emi-~ grated to France in the sixtcenth century. Not only hLis birth but his education prepared him to bo a royalist. He was piously bronght up by n Catholic mothor, and from his eatliost boghood took a mystic pleasure in visiting churches, sitting somelimes for hours alone in s deserted nave after service was over, wrapped in con-~ templation a8 ecstatic as a monk’s. One even- ing bo gavo himself the strange treat of Jurking in A confessional at tho hour for closing Notre Dame de Paris, sad passod tho whole night in the huge, empty cathedral. He had sclected a night when tbe moon wasatits full, and the weird lizht that streamed through the siained glaes windows, throwing tall shadows from the Ei“:‘.m and glimpses of siiver rays into chancel, aptistery, and lateral chapels, scrved him to conjure up the wholo pageantry of royal coronations. weddinga, stata “Te Deums.” penances, and the splendid sights which Notro Dame had witnessed in the past. From this night of hallucination germinated Victor Huago's beautifal novel “NOTRE DAMEZ " (* ESYERALDA ), the most artistic work of prose fiction which tho Trench literatare of the present century lias produced. Among his family and school fricnds young Hugo was reckoned a little 0dd, as mauy other budding peniuses have been before him, and his distaste to the military career for which he was being trained was imputed to him from efiminacy. When he was 16, however, an ovent occurred whick convinced Tugo's relatives that his voca- tion for postry was one whichit world bo naeless and, indeed. inexpedient to combat. Tho boy having written an odo in praise of the Royal Touse of Bourbon forwarded it to tha Academie Francaise to compete for a prize. The odo was returned with a note to the effect that * grown. upmen, and especially writers of established eminence, wero precluded from tho contest, aud that it was ovident that the odo in question was too good to be the work of a boy, but mnst be the work of some well-known genirs, perhana Chateaubriand.” It is not every young poot wio 1abors under the disadvantage of TEING THOUGHT T0O GOOD. Victor Hugo had some difficalty in proving his claim to authorship, and when at length he anc- ceeded—by writing ethgm'e in the presence of bis judges » sonnet on a themo they gave him— then ho was rowarded with tho prize, and found himself of & sudden famous. Aunact of courage- ons genorosity, perpetrated by him throe yoars afterwards, set the seal to his precocious reputa- tion. A conspiracy for tho overthrow of the Bourbons having been organized, a formerschaol- friend of Hugo's was involved in it, and the Judges launched a warrant against him for high treason. To be tried for high treason in those times meant certain denih, and it was also s capital offense to afford refuge to suspocted traitors. Nevertheless, Victor Hugo, knowing of his friend's hiding place. wrote to 'bim, sug. | ed that a young author should talk in sy having foiled in this, set mak; Victor Hugo feel ridicuions lxyl" enallta mtttyg LAUGHING AT HIS ODDLY-C) One dsx, at & relicareal, sho looked wo-rsy poet st eid. uugline, “Why, ‘e 3 Sk D 13 q Ui :a, lopsieur Hugo. You make me saytg ‘Vous etes mon lion. superbe et genereny, I can nover call that sctor ¢ mon fions 8ay ‘mon‘ seigneur.”” *‘Pardon me,n ra!?(:n Hugo ; “*mon lfon* wonld bo absuss o s2led i ur brother actor; but you arg oy’ dressing s brigsnd chif, and if you cannot pyoc yourself to ramembor this I will thanp”, 228 band over your part 10 somoone- elee B0 *Queen ” of the Theatro Francats was gatopil® he toher; but Victor Hogo spoke so famis 11 womanlike, eho bad the tact. ta R, Ak that ho 'was mot to be. trifed N The first performance of ““Ernani” topk o2 amudst tumultious confusion, shouts of s, ter, groans and catcalls from tho “ olaseioa oLy uproarious cheering from the “ Romaatica’ pis ,}r:rt?\.ergr flf muu;.l %m, tho writer's own friendys ad theza ter i Vi % o Ehe eud th prevailed. Victor Higo THE FIRST POET OF THE DA zad the “B&maln‘lic sek:ool oy Ydavenha and from that day forth wit increas; lu_;!m“co. 'y with dazly ivcreasiny ow Victor ugo towered aboye i men of Lanis Plibppe's im bccamn:lg:nlfibm o polished circles fite Gusta! Plancke, wielded 3 sort of royal influence much Liko Voltaises moid last ceutuiry, and ‘was eventually promoted 1o the Houso'of Peers, aro facts woll knowme| There can be no doub? that hio was tho one; fuator of that steady doterforation in Fronty: Literature which has Leen obsersable since 1353 Himeolf ho was perfect, and 0 wero his firsil tmtcators ; but baviog tet at nanght all tho lagt which had formerly kept writers in snbjection’ o the priacipics of g0 tasto aod senso ho vas utalin gonerating a new 8ol i aratare, not oaly lawless, Redoat gb i B BUT LICENTIOTS. ,This has becn chiefly noticozble 1n stage liter- ature. Fronch novelsof the modern Tomaaus school are wild enough, Lut Irench tragedies have gono bosend tha furthst couGines of wild: uees, and border on the burlesque. They baye! oven ceased to bear the uame of tradegy, and! the term *‘melodrama” was coined for the; benofit, Tho melodrama Jed. to- parody o parody to extravaganzs, ia which history, anciang and micdemn, religion, Kingy, diguitarics~overy- thing, in short, thab is venerable—rwero encepe.! sively turned iuto ridicule. For this Vietarh Hugo is indirectly esponsible. . But bis theorioy in_ litersturs Saturally pre. pared bis mind for conversion to oxtzeme viowa in politics. Tho revolution of 1313 bronght bim| into contact with M. Emile de Girardin, and this! famous journalist had the morit of consincing him that royclies were as superannuated 1y politics as claseic regulations woro on the etage.| at poets sefdom go half way in 2, an Vietor Hngo, who bad been a rovatist oer in) Janaary, 1515, revealed himself in December of the same year as TIE UTMANITARIAN S0CIALIs who was strongly inclined to Isr movoments, howarer res certain madoesd in his phil D 20d Lows Nzpoleon, who was a jadge of men refused to confer upon Victor Hugn tho post of Education Minister, which tho lat:er coveted. Tor thia tho peet never forgavo him, Having underrated Louis Napoleow's capacities ss s statesman l:6 was stung to find that he was him- i colf mado light of a8 a “dresmar | and this explains how, ofter Baving i bored with al his might to sccurs' Lonis Napoleon's clection to ihe Presidency, he! wentintoa twenty-years' exilo after the coup’ detal of 1851. No doubt Vietor Hagzo sbom.! inated the coup d'efat, for its own sake, and i would be unfair to ascrino hix gelf-imposed cxils® &+ altogother to wounded vanity. Bat the anther §; of * Notre Dame” was aman who migathave F condoned & good deal in tho wav f arbi Tingahip had he beon i the esufidenca of the despot. Ha is one of thoso philanthropists who rather like to AMAKE PEQRLE RAPPY RY STSTCMI, even compulsory, than to let them ba Lappy i their own way. Liberty, a8 bo understands it, is the libzcty to think and set as Hugo thinks and acts, aud people who object to this formala he regards, not angrily, perhapy, bat pitringly and impaticntly, as imbeciles. Snch is the Victor Hugo, who after writing *Les Oriontales” “Ernani”- and * Notro Dame,” bes piren ts *Les Chatiments,” *Napoloon lo Potit,” and “TLes Miserabice.” In * Ninety-Three” bo mil probablv throw off his last mask altogether aad procisim himself o Commanist—not becansa ke ikes disorder, but because lawlessness bas be- come gort of religion with him. * SR e HANNAH. "Two eyes of blus Th: ‘A3 fair 23 rose “That ever graced a garlsnd: Who would notbe - A siavo to thee, And worship his tormentar, Must own 3 heart Love’s subilest dact Can never picrce or enter, Tho rosy red That eve doth shed Ers Heaven's vaulia are stacllty Ia faint to trace The blooming gr2 . Of those bright lips of scarlet: Who would not dis For one swect sigh, And biess the generous donor, Must own a breast Ne'cr touched or pressed By beauty, love, or bonor. Tho sun that beams 0On hills and streams, gesting that_be would bo safor in his (Hugo's) Todgings, and that he could Jio_by there ill tha hunt after him was ovar. This lotter fell into the King's hands throngh the amency cf that famons post-office dopartment, the ** Cabinat Noir,” and as His Majesty was nos tender-heart- ed towards conspirators, it was supposed by the Police Minister that young Victor Huro's arrest and that of his friend wonld be ordered there and then. But Louis XVIIL, after holding tha lostor in his hands for atime exclaimed: *‘This Hugo is A NOLLE YOUNG MAY, I forgive his friond for his sake. Sco that neither of them are molestcd.” And shortly afterwarde, without knowing why, Victor Ilugo Teceived a ponsion of 3,000 franca and the Cross of the Legion of Honor. He was then 19, bat De looked 8o much younger than hoe was, and his tastes wero in somo respects go boyish, that a conntry gendarme who saw lum chasiog butter- {fles ono summer afternoon with the red ribbon in his button-hole arrested him indig- nantly, under the impression that ha was_wearing insignis to which he had Do title. Just as he had baon obliged to prove at 15 that he was a veritable poet, 80 at 19 Victos Haugo was compslled to afirm by evidenca that e was & true kuight, and more than that, a Stato ponsioner. A succession of poemsand a conple of novels, published botween his cighteonth and twenty. fifth vears, nchieved for Victor Hugo a rapid popularity, but also oxposed him to tho most 8avago literary attacks, for the etylo ho was in- augurating in poetry and prose was quite a new one. Itisnotnecessary to go at length hero into tho dispute between “‘cLASSICS™ AND * ROMANTICS " (a disputo nat yet rottled, by the by), but, to sum up the merits of tho question, it may be briefly stated that writers of the old echool charged Victor Hugo with broaking through all literary Jaws of unity and propriety. and, in fact, with debasing literatare. Thus, it bad becn s time- honored tradition that Kings and Queens intro- duced into fiction should be made to speak in a pompous sile, suitablo ta their high position. ictor Hugo made his Kings speak collo- quinlly, and—vworss crime than all — con- ceal themselves in cupboards, climb up balconies on rope Iadders, and cut bad jokes neither more nor less than their humble subject; This conld not be endured at all, and when Vi tor Hugo, fresh from the triumph which his * Qricntales ” had brought him, submitted his tragedy of * Marion Dolorme " at the Theatro Francais the Acndemy rose like one man nnd caused the picce to be interdicted. The grava- maen of their accusation against it was that it dealt with events too modern for s tragedy. Corneille, Racine, and Voltaire had taken care always to lay tho scemes of thoir tragedies in classic times, or at least in ~such outlsndish conntries as Turkey. ‘This was deemed eesential to the very decency of theatrical performance; for to introduce Kings of France, buried scarce two centunes g0, was to bring the pablic upon A DANGEROUS GROUND of historical criticism. So st Jeasi asid the classio writers, and the Secretarics of Stato agreed with them. For all this, when Victor [ugo had written his ** Ernsni,” it was found 1mpossible to leave it unperformed; and, in- deed, Charlea X. flatly refused to allow the poet to bo gagged sny longer. Bat then s coslition of the actresses of the Thestre Francais, headed by Mlle. Mars, was formed againat the author. Bllle. Mars, being & high and mighty lady, with pretensions to in- Tallibility in_ the matter of literary judgment, forcsaw that thero would be a riot at every per- formance of *Ernani,” sod to play before a howling and derisive audience did ‘not suit her. She tried first to get the piece rejected, bu, On lIeaves and flowzrets tender, Ts not more fair Than thy gold hatr, That flows in graceful spiendor: To me you se>m. A post’s dream, A queen in foiry Edea; And eoul of mize, At thy bright shrine, 1s inepiration-laden, Cmaaco. Jasczs Lavsons, LCVE AND TIHIE. There's a story old, By wise oncs told, How a heart was once by young Love brakan 3 But, witen the feat He'll fain repest, Xind advice, by Vodus spoken, 1d the carelces urchin's bow: ttiy, my boy ! for, well you kxow, Your totich” upon tl:e fairy thius, ; Time must effaco it with Lis wing, ¢ “ Hearls were not mado ™ (So Venus said) 4 For such as you to trampls o'er 3 Just lightly play, Then stesl awny And leave thein lovely 38 before " “ Slother,” he sighed, * 'His vaix ; for £e3y Howcver light my todch may te, ines tnat once my £agers trace cver, never can effaca " —Harper's Magazive for February. —_——— A French Marriagc. A French paper tells a singnlar story of ami~ ringe 1 high circlcs shat comes quite up to o American ways of marriage and divorce: A et tain Count X., it scems, was desperately in lore with a besutiful zirl, and finally indacod bes to Dbecome bis mistross. He would have herif it had not been for the versistent 0ppo sition of his parents to any alliance with oue of the bourgeois class. e kept up his relatim with the girl for somo time, ali the while botber- . ing his brains to find out a way in which &8 could marry her with tke conseut of his pareait, { Finally he poured out bis troubles to a triond of ready wit, who at onco mrivge!tu'l a tolntios. 3 banlirapt young Connt ¥., of ancicnt fsaill waos just then haunting tho streets of Pm:'pe b i g € the ~ suggeation was that this H theitt b hired to marry the git sod thus make her a Countess. No sooner e | than done. Count Y. was found asd odlf ; too glad to make $1,000 and two diamond stus the faiter being stipulated for by him in adde tion to the ready money, bocause he foresaw '3,: probability of pawniog something aftor ot money ehould havo been epent. The codin wos accordingly drawn up, its chief provisi® being thot Count Y. obliged bimself, ~* o2t b diately after tho marriage, to coda his wife 528 3. the enid Coont X., zod immediately mmflfi to institate a suit for divorco on _the grousd willfal desertion.” The marriags then place, and the pretty girl, now Countess i'.,h‘;; tarned with Count X. to ber lodgings, tho W: S party having first enjoyed o splendid dinoer, which Count Y. was the gayest of the gaj. % faithfally kept his word ; a divorce was 300347 tained, and Count X. told bis parents thit 3 would marry no other person than Couniest 3o No objection could be interposed, and every was mada kappy. —Henry Holt & Co., New York, having ’fi before Christmas the entire edition of 1A% “ Pyrenecs,” illastrated by Doro, will immeEy Iy publish the toxt separately. = It will h&’fl librarr-adition, something like the same soti, “#Notes on Eogland,” and will bosold 854 over oquarter of thoprice of tho oy volumo. It is remarkable that, in the Iy volume, tha work of the author Las sti*C ‘more attontion than the embellishments fossi ed by the artist and publisher.