of the champagne, which he drank eagerly from time to time,
to stimulate his passion for play.

As I turned from the _rouge et noir_ table, I remarked that every now
and then some person left the room by a small door, which, concealed by
a mirror, had escaped my attention when I entered. On inquiry I found
that this passage led to a secret part of the establishment, which only
a certain set of players frequented, and where the tables were kept open
during the entire day and night. Curious to see the interior of this
den of greater iniquity, I presented myself at it, and on opening found
myself in a narrow corridor, where a servant demanded my billet. Having
informed him that I was merely there from motives of curiosity, I
offered him a napoleon, which speedily satisfied his scruples. He
conducted me to the end of the gallery, where, touching a spring, the
door opened, and I found myself in a room considerably smaller than
the salon, and, with the exception of being less brilliantly lighted,
equally splendid in its decorations. Around on all sides were small
partitions, like the cells in a London coffee-house, where tables were
provided for parties to sup at. These were now unoccupied, the greater
attraction of high play having drawn every one around the table, where
the same monotonous sounds of the croupier's voice, the same patter of
the cards, and the same clinking of the gold continued unceasingly. The
silence of the salon was as nothing to the stillness that reigned here.
Not a voice save the banker's was ever heard; each player placed his
money on the red or black square of the table without speaking, and the
massive rouleaus were passed backwards and forwards with no other sound
save the noise of the rake. I remarked, too, that the stakes seemed far
heavier; crumpled rolls of _billets de banque_ were often thrown down,
and from the muffled murmur of the banker I could hear such sums as
'seven thousand francs,' 'ten thousand francs,' called out.

It was some time before I could approach near enough to see the play;
at last I edged my way to the front, and obtained a place behind the
croupier's chair, where a good view of the table was presented to me.
The different nations, with their different costumes, tongues, and
expressions so strangely congregated, were a study that might have
amused me for a long time, had not a chance word of English spoken close
by me drawn off my attention.

Immediately in front, but