there was not a ground or
anything that even remotely resembled one, within the city limits.

The rain that had caused the postponement of the carnival did not
prevent us from leaving the hotel, however, and the entire party put in
the day visiting the great gambling halls of Monte Carlo, which are
today as famous on this side of the water as they are on the continent,
and where the passion for gambling has ruined more people of both sexes
than all of the other gambling hells of the world combined. A more
beautiful spot than Monte Carlo it would be hard to imagine, the
interior of the great gambling hall being handsomer than that of any
theater or opera house that we had seen, and furnished in the most
gorgeous manner. The work of the landscape gardener can here be seen at
its best, no expense having been spared to make the grounds that
surrounded the building devoted to games of chance the handsomest in the
world. In its great halls one sees every sort and variety of people.
Lords and Ladies, Princes and Princesses, Dukes and Duchesses, gamblers
and courtesans, all find place at the table where the monotonous voices
of the croupiers and the clinking of the little ivory ball are about the
only sounds that break the silence.

The majority of the members of our party tried their luck at the tables,
as does everybody that goes to Monte Carlo, no matter how strongly they
may condemn the practice when at home, and some of us were lucky enough
to carry off some of the bank's money, Mr. Spalding, Mrs. Anson and
myself among the number. There is as much of a fascination in watching
the faces of the players around the tables as there is in following the
chances of the game, and the regular habitues of the place can be
spotted almost at the first glance. One day at Monte Carlo was quite
enough for us and we were glad to get back to Nice and out of the way of
temptation.

The second day after we arrived at Nice the flower festival took place,
and luckily the weather was almost perfect. All the morning for a
distance of some twenty blocks the Avenue des Anglaise, where the battle
of flowers is annually held, the decorators had been busy preparing for
the event, and by afternoon decked in flowers and gaily-colored ribbons,
bunting and flags, the scene that it presented was a brilliant one. By
three o'clock it was crowded with elegant equipages filled with men,
women and flowers, the two former pelting each other with blossoms to