storm
and fury. He tears in pieces whatever comes near him, and, kneeling
down, invokes curses on himself. His next attack is on others--on every
one whom he imagines to have been instrumental in his ruin. The eager
joy of the winning gamester, the attention of the usurer, and the
profound reverie of the highwayman, are all strongly marked in this
wonderful picture.

HOW MANY GAMESTERS LIVE BY PLAY?

It is an observation made by those who calculate on the gaming world,
that above nine-tenths of the persons who play LIVE by it.

Now, as the ordinary establishment of a GENTEEL gamester, as he is
commonly called, cannot be less than L1000 per annum, luck, which turns
out EQUAL in the long run, will not support him; he must therefore LIVE
by what they call among themselves the BEST OF THE GAME--or, in plain
English, cheating.

So much for the inner and outer life of gamblers. And now I shall
introduce Mr Ben. Disraeli, recounting, in the happiest vein of his
younger days, a magnificent gambling scene, quite on a par with the
legend of the Hindoo epic before quoted,(12) and which, I doubt not,
will (to use the young Disraeli's own words) make the reader 'scud along
and warm up into friskiness.'

(12) Chapter II.

A curious phrase occurs in the 9th chapter of 'The Young Duke,' in the
paragraph at the beginning, after the words--'O ye immortal gods!'

Although the scene of the drama is part of a novel, yet there can be no
doubt of its being 'founded on fact'--at any rate, I think there never
was a narrative of greater verisimilitude.

'After dinner, with the exception of Cogit, who was busied in
compounding some wonderful liquid for the future refreshment, they sat
down to Ecarte. Without having exchanged a word upon the subject, there
seemed a general understanding among all the parties, that to-night was
to be a pitched battle--and they began at once, very briskly. Yet,
in spite of their universal determination, midnight arrived without
anything very decisive. Another hour passed over, and then Tom Cogit
kept touching the baron's elbow, and whispering in a voice which
everybody could understand. All this meant that supper was ready. It was
brought into the room.

'Gaming has one advantage--it gives you an appetite; that is to say,
so long as you have a chance remaining. The duke had thousands,--for
at present his resources were unimpaired, and he was exhausted by
the constant attention and anxiety of five hour