Fair Italy, the Riviera and Monte Carlo

-The Tables-The moth and the candle-The true story o

azzling and gorgeous concert-room. There was nothing to pay. Plush-liveried servants handed us to our seats, and we enjoyed their soft luxuriance

attendant croupiers, and also on many of the faces of the habitués of the place, which showed that, although this refined and

he gilded and handsome suite of ante-rooms, to the gambling-saloons. The obsequious lacqueys opened the doors to all who wis

my parlour?' said t

g in. Frith's celebrated picture occurred instantly to my mind

eadily. Here sit the yellow-faced, sleepless, hard-eyed croupiers, spinning the fatal ball, and mechanically sweeping in with their rakes the piles of money staked and lost by the infatuated players. These are not limited to those seated at the table and who form but the front row. What a mixture they are! Cadaverous, selfish old women; others, handsome, gay, and reckless, evidently in the interest of the table, an

the table, either for or against the numbers backed turning up. But here was the same sickening sight-mad, selfish infatuation; and we turned away, having had quite enough of the "shady side" of the lovely but too fascinating Monte Carlo, being glad

arrive in time for the evening concert. Residents of Monaco and Monte Carlo are not supposed to be admitted, as it is not desirabl

eatures, are perfectly content to fatten, like over-gorged leeches, on the weaknesses and follies of their prey. What matters it

aming-tables, purposely encouraged by lying reports of people having made their fortunes by a single throw of the dice. After the concert, how natural to stroll into the gay saloons, the liveried servants so politely opening the doors to them! And all this is the most cruel part of the gambling fraternity-Messieurs Blanc and Co., who so heartlessly lay out these alluring baits. Perchance these ladies are accompanied by pure-minded daughters, all unthinking of the frightful contamination of the numbers of so-called "ladies of fashion"-habitués and hi

ave sufficient money to go to Monte Carlo, and in the end it is all lost! Then they return to their homes with mind, health, and nerves completely shattered, to the grief

almost every year, and that he limited himself to ￡100 for the gaming pleasures at Monte

the beautiful little towns along the Riviera, and this fatal trap at Monte Carlo, whereby so many are helplessly ruined, and so many suicides result, should at least have the moral voice of the world against it-in fact, an international protest, for it is a gross scandal and disgrace to the whole of Europe. All who know anything of this gambling Hades-what is done to keep

on be stopped, and she would have the thanks of the civilized world for her good efforts. Italy is not entirely without blame: the late Pope Pius IX. more than winked at

were not long empty. Then, the gambling-houses in Germany having been suppressed, the notorious Blanc-whose family, I believe, are still the proprietors of the tables at Monte Carlo-appeared upon the scene, doubtless accompanied by a few choice friends. The importance of Monaco, from a gambler's point of view, and the natural beauty of the place, were not lost sight of by him. The constant stream of visitors to Cannes, Nice, Mentone, and San Remo, must pass through Monte Carlo and pay there a terr

rather than give Monte Carlo a bad name! Though, frequently, they evade the gens d'armes, and at dawn of day are found in the beautiful gardens lifeless. The glorious sun rises over the dreadful scene, lighting up the lovely coast, and makes it a paradise, in spite of man's wickedness and merciless cruelty. At Monaco itself, there are thousands of pounds given away annually as

he profits, amounting in the gross to some fourteen millions of francs annually. The people of his wretched principality are relieved of all taxes, even for gas and water-which secures their gratitude and

[D] after so many shocking deaths had occurred, or rather to "whitewash" the scandal. The Pope was satisfied with the liberality of the great gambling Cr?sus, and ga

nce and Russia by the family of the Cr?sus Croupier and Co., have enor

. We English, who are so earnest to prevent even small nuisances in our own land, where it is an indictable offence for a poor itinerant Italian organ-grinder to refuse to "move on" when ordered; where the owner of an overloaded dust-bin, vitiating the atmosphere, is called to account;-we, proudly the foremost in suppre

TNO

ll in progress, under the ausp

ppressing it; and it is now my object to draw attention to the immorality of the Monte Carlo gambling principality, with a view to the expo

through the press, for the suppression of this gambling principality-recounting the many terrible suicides so frequently occurring there. But, a still m

jesty's Government will make friendly representations to the Governments of France and Italy, with the view of inducing them to unite for the suppression of the public gambling tables in th

e "Lotto Banks;" and we in England would do well to suppress the little "Mont