r twisting the machine with the
same force each time--and on such occasions a good deal of money may be
won by a careful observer. One young Englishman, who was perfectly
ignorant of the game, we saw at Wisbaden place a five-franc piece on the
last series of twelve, and he left his money down six times, winning
double the amount of his stake every turn. He then discovered the money
was his, by the croupier asking him if he wished to stand on the whole
sum; but he never gave the banque another chance, for he picked it up,
and quickly went off with it.

Every player at roulette seems to have a different system: some powder
the numbers with florins or five-franc pieces, in the hope of one coming
up out of them; others speculate merely on the rouge or noir. One
Spaniard at Ems, we remember, made a very comfortable living at it by a
method of playing he had invented. He placed three louis-d'or on the
manque, which contains all the numbers to eighteen, and two louis on the
last series of twelve; that is, from twenty-four to thirty-six. Thus he
had only six numbers and two zeros against him. If manque gained, he won
three louis and lost two; if a number in the last twelve came up, he won
four and lost three; but a continuation of zeros would have ruined his
calculation. Some, again, back the run, others play against it; a very
favorite scheme, and one generally successful, being to bet against a
color after it has passed three times; but then, again, there is no law
on the subject, and a man may lose heavily in spite of the utmost
caution. In short, the best plan by far would be, if play one must, to
stick to "rouge et noir," which bears some semblance of fairness.

The _habitues_ of the rooms are well known to the croupiers. At
Baden-Baden we had for many years the old ex-Elector of Hesse, who made
his money by selling his soldiers to England at so much a head, like
cattle, during the American war, and who was easily to be recognized by
the gold-headed and coroneted rake he always had in his hand. He was,
indeed, a most profitable customer to Monsieur Benazet. But, alas! the
superior attractions of Homburg led him away, and we never saw him again
in Baden; the revolution of 1848 frightened, or angered, him to death.
Wisbaden boasts of a banker from Amsterdam, who usually plays on
credit--that is to say, he pockets his winnings, but, if he loses,
borrows money of the banquier, squaring his account, which is generally
a heavy