Dangerous Dilemmas
Startling but True
9781465643377
281 pages
Library of Alexandria
Overview
You are in a vein of luck and yet cease to play, said the Dutch banker Oppenheim to me over my shoulder at the roulette table at Spa. Since that bright autumn day both Germany and Belgium have seen the evil results attending public gambling when practised by weak-minded individuals, and have banished the too fascinating game to Monaco, to the great delight of the prince of the smallest kingdom in Europe. Man, being a speculative animal by nature, finding trente et quarante and roulette forbidden by a paternal government, has had recourse to écarté and baccarat, and instead of playing at the kursaal in the sight of everybody he now stakes his money in the seclusion of a club. The facilities for gambling are more numerous than of yore, but you cannot always depend upon the fairness of your opponents' game, nor on realising your winnings. At the public tables there could be no cheating, and when you won you could rely on getting your money. The bankruptcies and suicides accruing from the gambling mania have not diminished, but they are now attributed to other causes. A man does not care to bespatter the Turkey carpet of the club house with his brains, and a severe loss or a grand coup made at a club is not usually the subject of a newspaper paragraph. When a Garcia broke the bank at Baden Baden the fact was commented on by the whole European press. A public gambling table is to some people's thinking an outlet for the over speculative and a check against folly, but what is the use of discussing the question, has not the fatal decree gone forth, and the clink of the ivory ball and the "faites le jeu" of the impassable croupier are no longer to be heard in the richly decorated halls of the kursaal at Spa. But at the time the above remark was made roulette and trente et quarante were in the heyday of their dangerous career. "You are in a vein of luck and yet cease to play," the Baron repeated. "I don't care to waste my mornings at the tables," I replied. "Superior attractions elsewhere?" "No, not what you mean; the bright sunshine lures me out of doors for one thing, and you know I never play long in the morning." "Why?" "Because it would be making a toil of a pleasure. I enjoy my days in the open air and speculate in earnest in the evening." "Perhaps you are wise. At my time of life men are only too willing to profit by the smiles of the fickle goddess, come they at any hour of the day or night; they have had too much occasion to fear her frowns." "They are no doubt right, and I am wrong to neglect my chance, but in the morning I only venture a little to test the fallacy of the last new system, and if possible to win enough money to cover the day's expenses." "Praiseworthy objects both, and if you are satisfied, what say you to get our horses and have dejeuner at the restaurant in the wood. We will find ortolans there, and the trout are quite equal to those of your Loch Leven." "Delighted," was my answer, and in a few minutes we were cantering gaily along the heights above Spa. Before reaching the charmingly situated restaurant we met with an accident which nearly cost my companion his life. When least expected how often in our progress through life do we suddenly come face to face with a grave difficulty which the most acute of intellects would have failed to foresee. Here's an illustration of what I mean. To shorten our journey by about half a mile the Baron and I left the main road and struck into the forest. The shade from the trees was fully appreciated after the heat and dust. There were numerous glades of surpassing loveliness, and we had but little difficulty in finding a path for our horses. We had enjoyed the agreeable change for some time when the question arose whether we had not lost our way. It turned out that neither of us knew anything about the intricate windings of the forest.
