the above cabalistic formula.

Roulette is a very much more complicated affair; for this, a table is
required with a basin in the centre, containing a spiral tube with an
orifice at the top, through which the ball passes, and falls into one of
the thirty-eight holes in the basin, which are respectively marked with
figures, and alternately painted red and black. There are four
projecting pieces of iron, one of which the croupier twirls, crying,
"Faites votre jeu, messieurs;" when he says, "Le jeu est fait, rien n'va
plus," no more money can be put down. In the middle of the table are the
numbers, from one to thirty-six, going regularly downwards, in three
rows, while at the head of them are the two "zeros"--rouge single and
noir double. On either side of the numbers are three divisions; on one
hand, marked "rouge, impair et passe," on the other, "noir, pair et
manque." Besides these, there are three compartments at the end of the
columns, for the purpose of backing the numbers contained in the column;
and three others on each side of the numbers, in which to bet on the
first, second, or third series of twelve. The odds are regulated in the
following fashion. If a player back a single number, he receives
thirty-five times the amount of his stake, in the event of its coming
up; if he back three at once, he only gets eleven times; if six, only
five times the amount. For either of the other compartments he receives,
if he gain, the simple amount of his stake, with the exception of the
divisions at the end of the columns, and the series of twelve, when he
receives double if he win, as the odds are two to one against him. The
banque has a most iniquitous advantage in the two zeros, which are
calculated to recur once in nineteen times; if the single rouge turn up,
they sack all the money, except that placed on the red; if double zero,
they take all.

The amount of the stakes at roulette is limited to two hundred louis
d'or on a color, and six on a single number; the lowest stake allowed is
a florin. Though it may be supposed that a run at "trente et quarante"
would be a much more likely occurrence than at roulette--and, indeed, we
can remember at the former game the "noir" passing two-and-twenty times,
though no one had the courage to take advantage of such an
extraordinary circumstance--yet it is a very frequent thing at roulette
for the ball to have a predilection for a certain series of
numbers--probably through the croupie