unenviable reputation as being a veritable Temple of Fraud, an illegal
lottery insurance business being carried on there, which impoverished
the poorer class of people residing in the neighbourhood. The house
in question, which it was said had been specially built, was to all
appearance a square brick tower about fifty feet high--on three sides
it presented not the slightest sign of habitation; towards Grafton
Mews, however, it bore the usual semblance of a stable.
To this place flocked grooms, valets, and all the silly fry of the
district, carrying with them as much money as they could scrape
together. Business was generally over by the afternoon, when the
proprietors, who never made their exit by the door, climbed up to the
top of the tower, and got through a hole in the roof--from which, by
a ladder, they descended to a slated roof of a back place about twenty
feet lower; they then crawled along about twenty feet of wall, and by
an aperture in another, like a gun-port, descended into a back yard,
and completed their cat-like line of march through a house in Hertford
Street. This, to the astonishment of the neighbours, was done regularly
every morning.
The place having become a public scandal, Townshend, with several Bow
Street runners and four carpenters, went to Warren Street one morning,
three hackney coaches being posted at some distance from the scene of
action.
On the arrival of the peace officers, the four proprietors of No. 13
came out through the roof, and planted their ladder; but it gave way,
and they were obliged to jump upon the slated roof twenty feet below
them. By some marvellous chance, however, they escaped uninjured, the
slates only being broken. They then jumped upon an adjacent wall, and
flung their books into the garden of a gentleman's house. No. 17 Warren
Street, and followed themselves; their idea was to escape through his
back door, but the owner was fortunately at home, and resisted this
design. They then leaped the wall of the next house, Drover's, the
hairdresser, with their books, and in this house they were secured. One
of them fired a pistol at the officers, which fortunately did no harm.
The runners had cutlasses and axes, with which they made their way into
the house.
The inhabitants of the district, it may be added, did not exhibit any
enthusiasm for the officers of the law--on the contrary, they showed
considerable displeasure against those who had come there to preserve
most of them from misery and ruin. The informer, never a popular
character, was a lean, cadaverous old woman. She accompanied the
swindlers in the first coach, with the hootings of the rabble in her
ears, and the whole cavalcade moved off the ground, escorted by a very
hostile crowd which accompanied it to Bow Street. Here the four men,
who had been arrested with so much difficulty, were sentenced to six
months' imprisonment each in the house of correction in Coldbath Fields.
It would appear that previous to 1778 gaming was never conducted upon
the methodical system of partnership concerns, wherein considerable
capital was embarked. After that period, the vast licence allowed to
keepers of fraudulent E.O. tables, and the great length of time which
elapsed before they met with any check from the police, afforded
a number of dissolute and abandoned characters many excellent
opportunities of acquiring property, which was afterwards increased
in the low gaming-houses, by nefarious methods at Newmarket and other
fashionable places of resort, and in the lottery. At length, though
these individuals had started without any property, or any visible
means of lawful support, a sum of money, little short of one million
sterling, was said to have been acquired by a class originally (with
some few exceptions) of the lowest and most depraved description.
This enormous mass of wealth was employed as a great and an efficient
capital for carrying on various illegal establishments, particularly
gaming-houses, and houses for fraudulent insurances in the lottery.
Part of this capital was even said to be utilised in subsidising
various faro banks kept by ladies of fashion, whilst a certain
proportion was also devoted to fraudulent insurance in the lotteries,
where the chances were calculated to yield about thirty per cent to the
gambling syndicate, most of the members of which maintained a number
of clerks, employed during the drawing of the lotteries, who conducted
the business, without risk, in counting-houses where no insurances were
taken, but to which books were carried, not only from the different
offices in every part of the town, but also from the "Morocco-men," who
went from door to door taking insurances, and enticing the poor and the
middle ranks to become adventurers.
In calculating the chances upon the whole numbers in the wheels, and
the premiums which were paid, there was generally about £33:1:3 per
cent in favour of the lottery insurers: but when it is considered that
the people generally, from not being able to understand or recollect
high numbers, always fixed on low ones, the chance in favour of the
insurer was greatly increased, and the deluded poor plundered.
In the early part of the eighteenth century, speculative insurance,
which could be effected upon anything, including lives, was a favourite
form of gambling in England. Any one's life could be insured, including
that of the King, and, to such an extent was this carried, that daily
quotations of the rates on the lives of eminent public personages were
issued by members of Garraway's and Lloyd's. The highest premium ever
paid is supposed to have been twenty-five per cent on the life of
George II., when he fought at Dettingen. On the fall of the leaders of
the Rebellion of 1745 very large sums changed hands; whilst a number of
insurance brokers were absolutely ruined owing to the escape of Lord
Nithsdale from the Tower--an exploit which this nobleman accomplished
by the aid of his devoted wife. As time went on these speculative
insurances became a public scandal, and they were finally made illegal
by the Gambling Act of 1774.
At the time of the French Revolution hordes of _émigrés_ of all classes
took up their temporary or permanent residence in London, with the
result that over thirty gaming-places were, more or less, publicly
established in the Metropolis. Here, besides faro and hazard, the
foreign games of roulette and rouge-et-noir flourished, a regular
gradation of houses existing, suited to all ranks, from the man of
fashion to the pickpocket.
The mania for gaming amongst the exiles was confined to no particular
class--high and low alike being affected by it. Nothing, for instance,
could exceed the rage for gambling which possessed the prisoners of war
at Dartmoor. About two hundred of them, including a number of Italians,
having lost all their clothes by gaming, were sent to the prison ships
in the Hamoaze, to be clothed anew, many more being left in rags.
These unfortunate men played even for their rations, living three or
four days on offal, cabbage-stalks, or, indeed, anything which chance
might throw in their way. They staked the clothes on their backs, and
even their bedding. It was the custom at Dartmoor for those who had
sported away the latter article to huddle very close together at night,
in order to keep each other warm. One out of the number was elected
boatswain for the time being, and at twelve o'clock at night would pipe
all hands to turn, an operation which, from their proximity to each
other, had to be simultaneous. At four o'clock in the morning the pipe
was heard again, and the reverse turn taken.
Such of the _émigrés_ belonging to the upper classes as possessed
funds could easily indulge their passion for play in the fashionable
circles where many of them had made themselves popular during previous
and more pleasant visits to England. Many, like the Duc de Nivernois,
had intimate friends in high places. Before the Revolution he had
been Ambassador in England. This nobleman was well known for his love
of chess, which on one occasion led to a very pleasant incident.
Staying with Lord Townshend, the Duc, when out for a ride was obliged
by a heavy shower to seek shelter at a wayside house occupied by a
clergyman, who to a poor curacy added the care of a few scholars in the
neighbourhood. In all this might make his living about eighty pounds
a year, on which he had to maintain a wife and six children. When the
Duc rode up, the clergyman, not knowing his rank, begged him to come
in and dry himself, which he was glad to do, borrowing a pair of old
worsted stockings and slippers and warming himself by a good fire.
After some conversation the Duc observed an old chess-board hanging up,
and asked the clergyman whether he could play. The latter told him that
he could play pretty tolerably, but found it difficult in that part of
the country to get an antagonist. "I am your man," said the Duc. "With
all my heart," answered the clergyman, "and if you will stay and take
pot-luck, I will try if I cannot beat you." The day continuing rainy
the Duc accepted the proffered hospitality, and found his antagonist a
much better player than himself. Indeed, the clergyman won every game.
This, however, in no way annoyed the Duc, who was delighted to meet
with a man who could give him so much entertainment at his favourite
game. He accordingly inquired into the state of his host's family
affairs, and making a memorandum of his address, he thanked him and
rode away without revealing who he was.
Some months elapsed and the clergyman never thought of the matter, when
one evening a footman rode up to the door and delivered the following
note--"The Duc de Nivernois presents his compliments to the Rev. Mr.
Bentinck, and as a remembrance of the good drubbing he received at
chess, begs that he will accept the living of X----, worth £400 per
annum, and that he will wait upon his Grace the Duke of Newcastle on
Friday next, to thank him for the same." The good clergyman was some
time before he could imagine this missive to be more than a jest, and
hesitated to obey the mandate; but as his wife insisted on his taking
the chance, he went up to town, where to his unspeakable satisfaction
he found that his nomination to the living had actually taken place.
The habits of dissipation which had prevailed at Versailles in
some measure affected the English upper classes, many of whom were
thoroughly versed in the amusements so popular in France.
For a time a positive rage for gaming seized fashionable London, and
a number of ladies kept what were practically public gaming-tables to
which any one with money could obtain comparatively easy admission.
Faro is supposed to have been invented by a noble Venetian, who
gave it the name of _bassetta_; and for the evils resulting from it
he was banished his country. In 1674 Signor Justiniani, Ambassador
from Venice, introduced the game into France, where it was called
_bassette_. Some of the princes of the blood, many of the _noblesse_,
and several persons of the greatest fortune having been ruined by
it, a severe law was enacted by Louis XIV. against its play. To elude
this edict, it was disguised under the name of _pour et contre_, "for
and against"; and this occasioning new and severe prohibitions, it
was again changed to the name of _le pharaon_, in order to evade the
_arrêts_ of Parliament. From France this game soon found its way to
England, where it was first called basset, but in the fashionable
circles, where at that time it enjoyed a great vogue, it was invariably
known by the name of faro.
Faro, pharo, or pharaoh, which was Fox's favourite game, was supposed
to be easy to learn, fair in its rules, and pleasant to play. Two packs
of cards were used, and any number of people could play, one pack
being for the players whilst the banker had another. Fifty-two cards
were spread out, and the players staked upon one or more which they
might fancy. The banker dealt out his pack to the right, which was for
himself, and to the left (called the _carte anglaise_) for the players,
who instead of their pack often used a "livret," specially adapted for
staking. The "livret" consisted of thirteen cards, with four others
called "figures." The "little figure" had a blue cross on each side,
and represented ace, deuce, and three. The "yellow figure"--yellow
on both sides--signified 4, 5, and 6. The "third figure" had a black
lozenge in the centre, and stood for 7, 8, and 9. The "great figure"
was a red card, and indicated knave, queen, and king. The banker won
all the money staked on any card corresponding with a card dealt by
him to the right, and had to pay double stakes on any card dealt to
the left which players had selected in their own pack. If he dealt two
equal cards (called a doublet) he won half of all the money staked
upon the card of that value, and on the last card of his pack, did the
players win, he only paid even money. In reality the chances were very
favourable to the holder of the bank.
Complaints were very rife as to the way in which these faro parties
were conducted. An especial grievance was "card money," a small sum
paid by each visitor into a pool for every new pack of cards used.
This money was supposed to be a perquisite of the servants, though
malicious rumours declared that it never reached them. The advent of
French _émigrés_ after the French Revolution was also the cause of
considerable irritation, it being declared that many of the exiled
_noblesse_ completely monopolised some of the tables, round which they
formed a circle, and excluded English ladies and gentlemen from taking
part in the game.
The losses of many of those who played at faro were so heavy and
constant that the banks contracted many bad debts; and in addition the
fashionable parties in time became full of little tricks and artifices
which were to the detriment of those holding the bank. Some of the
latter found it advisable to employ eight croupiers instead of the
four usually attached to each faro table, for the pigeons were all
flown and those who remained were little better than hawks.
Faro, in the female circles of fashion, had given way to a more
specious and alluring game called lottery, which, instead of wheels,
consisted of two bags, from which prizes and blanks were drawn. The
holder of the bank derived an advantage of upwards of thirty per cent.
About 1794 some of the ladies who gave gambling parties in St. James's
Square began to add roulette as an increased attraction to those fond
of gaming. It was remarked at the time that this was merely the old
game of E.O. under a different name. As a matter of fact the two are
somewhat alike, though roulette is a far more complicated and amusing
method of losing money.
An E.O. table was circular in form and as a rule four feet in diameter.
The outside edge formed the counter on which the stakes were placed,
the letters E.O. being marked all round it. In the centre was a
stationary gallery in which the ball rolled, and an independent round
table moving by means of handles on an axis. The ball was started
in one direction and the table rotated in the other, there being
forty compartments of equal size, twenty marked E and twenty marked
O, the whole principle being that of roulette without a zero. This
very necessary adjunct to a successful bank, was in time furnished by
the adoption of "bar holes" into which two of the forty spaces were
converted, the practice being that the banker won all the bets on the
opposite letter whilst not paying over that into which the ball fell.
With such a proportion of two in forty, or five per cent in its favour,
the banks did very well.
Gaming raged throughout Society at this time, and it was even declared
that young ladies were taught whist and casino at fashionable
boarding-schools, where their "winning ways" were cultivated in
this direction. One schoolmistress, it was averred, was in despair
at the dullness of her pupils, who were quite unable to grasp the
comparatively easy intricacies of faro. Gillray was quick to grasp
the opportunity which such a state of affairs afforded to his powers
of satire, and was pitiless in his caricatures of female gamblers.
"Faro's Daughters, or the Kenyonian Blow-up to Gamblers," published
in 1796, was one of the most striking of these. In this Lady Archer
and Mrs. Concannon were shown in the pillory, upbraiding one another.
Lord Kenyon had made some very scathing comments upon the vice of
gaming during a recent trial to recover fifteen pounds won at play on
a Sunday, and had declared that the highest society was setting the
worst example to the lowest, being under the impression that it was too
great for the law. He himself, he added, should the opportunity arise,
would see that any gamblers brought before him, whatever their rank or
station, should be severely dealt with if convicted, and though they
might be the first ladies in the land they should certainly exhibit
themselves in the pillory.
Gambling in the West End of London amongst ladies had indeed become
a public scandal, and in due course the authorities found themselves
bound to take action.
In 1797 a regular crusade was made against faro, and the Countess
of Buckinghamshire, Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, Mrs. Mary Sturt, Mr.
Concannon, and Mr. O'Burne, were charged at Marlborough Street with
having "played at a certain fraudulent and unlawful game called faro,
at the house of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, in St. James's Square."
With them was also charged Henry Martindale, who had financed the
bank--the four or five people employed to run the table were each paid
half a guinea a night by him, tenpence out of which was deducted for
the use of the maids.
A witness, Joseph Evatt by name, deposed that he had seen Lady
Buckinghamshire play every Monday and Friday, as regular as the days
came. Her ladyship, said he, used to continue _punting_ and betting,
paying and receiving, from night till morning.
The lady's counsel, Mr. Onslow, endeavoured to invalidate this man's
testimony by showing that he was a terrible democrat, and disaffected
to His Majesty's person and government; and also by proving that he
wanted to palm an old suit of livery on his master, and to persuade
the tailor to charge for a new one, and give him part of the money. To
prove the first charge Mr. Onslow examined the witness Evatt himself,
and asked him if he had not declared that the Government was a bad one,
and that he should like to cut the King's head off? The magistrate, Mr.
Conant, would not suffer him to answer such a question. To prove the
latter, the foreman of Mr. Blackmore, a tailor, said that Evatt having
saved a suit of livery as good as new, wanted Mr. Blackmore to take it,
allow him four guineas, and send it home as a new suit. The magistrate
did not consider this such a notorious piece of fraud in a footman, as
to prevent his being believed on his oath.
Joseph Burford swore to the fact of Lady Buckinghamshire playing
repeatedly.
Mr. Onslow ended by saying that he trusted the magistrate would not,
upon the evidence of such men as Evatt and Burford, convict Lady
Buckinghamshire, and hold her up as an object for the finger of
democratic scorn to point at.
Notwithstanding this defence, the lady was sentenced to pay a fine of
fifty pounds, as were Lady Elizabeth Luttrell, Mrs. Mary Sturt, and Mr.
O'Burne. The case against Mr. Concannon was quashed owing to his having
been described as Lucas Concannon instead of Lucius.
Martindale was fined two hundred pounds, and in consequence of the
scandal produced by the whole affair was eventually made a bankrupt,
by which the ladies of the fashionable world were thrown into a state
of considerable alarm. Martindale it was who supplied the beautiful
Duchess of Devonshire, and many other dashing women of distinction,
with sums to support their gambling propensities. His assignees were
said to have claims on some of the first families of England to the
amount of £180,000, and the curious disclosures which were made
engrossed much attention in all the sporting circles.
Many of the great ladies of that day lived only for pleasure, spending
enormous sums in dress, and also in carriages and horseflesh, it being
a point of honour amongst them to possess a superb turn-out. One lady,
well known for the splendour of her equipage at race meetings where she
cut a distinguished figure, once apologised to a friend for appearing
at Doncaster with a humble four-in-hand and four out-riders, saying
that her coachman wished to come with six horses as usual, but she
thought it right, in such hard times, to come "incog."
The gambling ladies of that day came into contact with all sorts of
shady characters, many of whom were very unpolished diamonds. Such a
one was the man known as "Old Nick," whose principal revenue was drawn
from a hazard table where strangers were treated with a hospitality
which they generally had good cause to remember.
Old Nick also had a considerable interest in a number of lottery
insurance offices, lent money, and gambled himself when able to get in
contact with any unplucked pigeon. Having once stripped a young man at
cards of about £100, with which he had been entrusted for the purpose
of paying a bill for the beautiful Duchess of Devonshire, her Grace
applied in person to the winner to refund the whole, or, at least, a
part of his booty. Old Nick's answer was: "Well, Madam, the best thing
you can do is to sit down with me at cards, and play for all you have
about you; after I win your smock, so far from refunding, I'll send you
home _bare_--to your Duke, my dear."
One of his friends being under trial for a very serious charge and
having no defence left but his character, produced Old Nick in order to
vouch for his respectability. The latter's ready eloquence represented
him as the most amiable and innocent of the creation. The counsel for
the prosecution having smelt a rat, began to ply the witness with such
questions as he positively refused to answer. Being asked the reason,
he answered honestly for once in his life: "My business here was to
give the man a good character, and you, you flat, imagine that I'm come
to give him a bad one."
[Illustration: THE BEAUTIFUL DUCHESS THROWING A MAIN.
By Rowlandson.]
In the early part of the year 1805 the West End was much excited by
a statement in a morning paper referring to the supposed discovery
by the Duke of Devonshire of immense losses at play, principally to
gamesters of her own sex, incurred by his lovely Duchess. Her Grace's
whole loss, chiefly at faro, was declared to amount to £176,000,
of which a private gentlewoman and bosom friend, Mrs. ---- was said
to have won no less than £30,000. The discovery was made to the Duke
one Sunday; the Duchess rushed into his library, and, in a flood of
tears, told him she was ruined in fame and reputation, if these claims
of honour were not instantly discharged. His Grace was thunderstruck
when he learned the extent of her requisition, and the names of the
friends who had contributed in so extraordinary a manner to such
extreme embarrassments. Having soothed her in the best manner he was
able, he sent for two confidential friends, imparted to them all the
circumstances, and asked them how he should act. Their answer was
promptly given--"Pay not one guinea of any such infamous demands!"
and this advice, it was supposed, would be strictly adhered to by the
Duke. Her Grace was said to have executed some bonds, to satisfy, for
a moment, these gambling claimants; but, of course, they could be of
no avail. Two gentlemen and five ladies formed the snug flock of rooks
that had so unmercifully stripped this female pigeon of distinction.
A few days later, however, _The Morning Herald_, which was responsible
for the startling news, declared that the fiction of the female
gamblers of distinction in a house fitted up near St. James's Street
for their ruinous orgies, began to die away; for it had been discovered
that the supposed pigeoned Duchess, declared to have sacrificed half a
million sterling of her lord's fortune, had never gambled at any game
of chance, whilst her amiable companion, who was a pattern of domestic
propriety, instead of having helped to pluck her Grace, had never
played for a guinea in the course of her life. This denial was probably
inspired from influential quarters.