large number of sportsmen, among whom were the novelist, Eugène Sue,
Lord Yarmouth, and Mr. John Bowes, who passed most of his life in
Paris. The latter gentleman won the Derby four times. On the first
occasion, in 1835, when Mundig beat Ascot (which belonged to the
writer's grandfather, Lord Orford) by a head, Mr. Bowes was still an
undergraduate at Cambridge--in subsequent years he won it again with
Cotherstone, Daniell O'Rourke, and West Australian.
The French Jockey Club, at its institution, consisted of Royal
Princes, noblemen, ordinary men of property, all persons of
considerable influence interested in horse-breeding and in the
improvement of the breed of horses by means of horse-racing and the
"selection of the fittest." Most of them were good horsemen, who rode
their own horses on occasion. M. de Normandie, for instance, was
the winner of an improvised race which took place at Chantilly in
1833 between himself, Prince Lobanoff, Viscount de Hédouville, and
others. This is said to have suggested the idea of forming the present
beautiful race-course there. This gentleman, who must be ranked as one
of the fathers of the French Turf, frequently acted in the earliest
days of the French Jockey Club as steward, judge, and starter; and
though he does not appear to have introduced any famous strain of blood
into the studs of his country, greatly contributed to establish French
racing on its present prosperous footing.
M. de Normandie is said to have won the first regular steeplechase ever
run in France on English principles. This took place in 1830, near St.
Germain, and in December 1908 a gentleman was still living who was
supposed to have taken part in it.
This was Mr. Albert Ricardo, J.P., who spent his early days in Paris. A
great supporter of sport, Mr. Ricardo, who died on the last day but one
of the year, had won the Cambridgeshire with The Widow as far back as
1847. He had also been a keen cricketer in his youth, and was one of
the two first members of the I Zingari.
There was steeplechasing at the Croix de Bernay as early as 1832, and
at La Marche some little time later.
The Auteuil steeplechase course, which is now the head-quarters of the
sport in France, was not inaugurated till after the war of 1870.
Through the influence of the Duc d'Orléans, the son of Louis Philippe,
who was killed in a carriage accident in 1842, the French Jockey Club
obtained leave to hold regular meetings in the Champs de Mars; and he
it also was who, in 1834, arranged the creation of the race-course at
Chantilly, which, till Longchamps was started in 1856-57, was without
doubt the best course in France. At Chantilly was run the first French
Derby (Prix du Jockey Club) in 1836, and the first French Oaks (Prix de
Diane) in 1843.
The stables of the Duc at Chantilly were presided over by an English
trainer, George Edwards, and his principal jockey was Edgar Pavis. In
1840 his English-bred horse, Beggarman, won the Goodwood Cup. Besides
this the Duc d'Orléans won a number of French races. As a matter of
fact, racing in France, from 1834 to 1842, was more or less of a duel
between the Prince in question and Lord Henry Seymour.
The latter extraordinary personage was born in Paris in 1805, and is
believed never to have set foot in England. Lord Henry Seymour was
said to be related on his mother's side to "Old Q." or George Selwyn,
or both, and from either or both of them he probably inherited some
of his numberless eccentricities as well as his taste for the Turf.
He was a well-known figure in Paris and its neighbourhood, for it was
his constant practice to drive about in a carriage with four horses,
postilions, and out-riders. After _Mardi Gras_, he would sit with other
congenial spirits at the window of the noted "Vendanges de Bourgogne,"
watching the _descente de la Courtille_ (the return from the ball) in
the early morning, when he would scatter heated pieces of gold among
the crowd of returning "maskers." Lord Henry is said to have been the
original of the eccentric character described by Balzac, who delighted
in furtively administering drastic medicines to his dearest friends,
the very unpleasant effects of which afforded him intense amusement. He
delighted also in giving away cigars with something explosive inserted
at the end, afterwards watching the effect of a light applied by the
unsuspecting smoker. He died in Paris in 1859.
In 1856 the French Turf entered upon a new and important era, a promise
being obtained from the Government and the municipality of Paris
that a race-course should be included in the projected plan for the
transformation of the Bois de Boulogne. In the Longchamps meadows, on
the borders of the Seine, an expanse of level and unencumbered ground
was allotted to the Société d'Encouragement, and by an arrangement
with the municipality of Paris, the Société became lessees of the
race-course for fifty years, undertaking to pay an annual rent, as
well as to build stands, which, at the expiration of the lease in
1906, should become the property of the city. The old stands, which
during the last three years have been replaced by magnificent new ones,
were erected by the architects of the city of Paris, at an expense of
420,000 francs (£16,800), and subsequent expenses brought the amount up
to 1,284,981 francs (about £51,395). The race-course was opened on the
last Sunday in April 1857, and the first Grand Prix was run in 1862,
when the Ranger won.
The moving spirit in the institution of this race, now the richest
in the world, is said to have been the Emperor Napoleon the Third,
represented by the Duc de Morny, the creator of Deauville. The first
Grand Prix was worth £4000 and an _objet d'art_; the amount of the
stakes for the same race in 1909 was some £16,000.
When the Grand Prix was first inaugurated, many vigorous protests were
made in England against the race being run on a Sunday, but by these
the French declined to be swayed. As a matter of fact, notwithstanding
Anglo-Saxon plaints at the iniquity of Sunday racing, the beautiful
courses at Longchamps and Auteuil are very popular with visitors from
across the Channel on many a fine Sabbath day, when Englishmen, known
for their stern and unflinching moral rectitude, are not infrequent
spectators on such occasions. One of these, a public man, notorious
for his advocacy of every form of puritanical restriction, whilst
exhibiting some confusion at being recognised by a friend, could only
make the defence: "Well, after all, it doesn't matter, as I am not
betting." In all probability, however, he, like other visitors, had
backed his fancy!
An important share in the laying-out of Longchamps race-course was
taken by the late Mr. Mackenzie Grieves, who, originally an officer
in the Blues, took up his residence in Paris, became a member of the
French Jockey Club and played a prominent part in the organisation of
French racing. Mr. Mackenzie Grieves, whose memory is preserved by an
important race to which his name has been given, was personally known
to the writer, who retains pleasant recollections of his great charm
and dignified appearance, both of which were highly characteristic of
one of the last of the fine old school. He was a most graceful rider
and a master of the _haute école_.
Though racing in France was naturally suspended during the war, it
was once more in full swing in 1872, when the Grand Prix was won by
Cremorne. In consequence of the downfall of the second Empire a number
of the important races were renamed. The Prix de l'Impératrice, for
instance, became the Prix Rainbow; the Prix du Prince Impérial the
Prix Royal Oak. The Prix Gladiateur, one of the oldest French prizes,
has under its various names strikingly reflected the vicissitudes of
French politics. Originally it was the Prix Royal, then Prix National,
then Grand Prix de l'Empereur, till, with the rise of the third
Republic, it was called after the famous race-horse.
In 1885 there was great jubilation amongst French sportsmen at
the victories of Plaisanterie, which won both the Cesarewitch and
Cambridgeshire, as well as twelve out of thirteen events in France.
The appearance of the daughter of Wellingtonia and Poetess in the
Cesarewitch was said at the time to be owing to two bookmakers, T.
Wilde and Jack Moore, who made it worth the while of the filly's owners
(M.H. Bony and Mr. T. Carter) to start her, guaranteeing them 33 to
1, though they themselves had only got 20 to 1 in England. Wilde,
it was declared, brought back to France after the race nearly five
million francs (£200,000), won by backing Plaisanterie, of which Jack
Moore paid out some 600,000 (£24,000) in five-franc, ten-franc, and
twenty-franc pieces to French backers who had been on the good thing.
In common with the rest of the fraternity, these two very sporting
layers have now long disappeared from the French race-course.
Bookmaking in France practically ceased to exist with the introduction
of the Pari Mutuel in 1891.
Previous to that time bookmakers had pitches provided for them some
way behind the stands, where they were allowed to exhibit lists of
the horses running in the various races, against which were chalked
the odds, the variations in which were thus easily shown. The whole
thing was most decorously conducted, and the system worked fairly well.
Nevertheless, from time to time, rumours were rife as to an intended
suppression of the bookmakers by the French authorities, and at last
in 1891 they were definitely bidden to cease plying their business.
The new decree was rigorously enforced, crowds of police in uniform
and plain clothes being present on the Parisian race-courses, and
any one found openly making a bet was ruthlessly arrested--a perfect
reign of terror, indeed, prevailed amongst betting-men, and very great
dissatisfaction ensued amongst habitual frequenters of the French
Turf. On several occasions, notably one Sunday at Auteuil (when the
writer was present), a large force of military were on the ground,
regiments of cavalry being in reserve outside the race-course. Feeling
ran very high, and the races were run amidst hoots, yells, and other
demonstrations of indignation, some of which most unjustly took the
form of missiles hurled at the jockeys. The cabmen and proprietors
of the char-à-bancs who drive the public to the various race-courses
around Paris, the keepers of the small restaurants along the various
lines of route, loudly complained that the new era of restriction which
had dawned would completely ruin them. The saddest people of all,
however, were very naturally the bookmakers, most of them English,
who for many years had made a living on the French race-courses,
for, whilst the public generally were more or less certain that some
new method of betting would be devised, they fully realised that the
suppression of their business was no mere outburst of outraged morality
on the part of the Government, but a well thought-out scheme for
appropriating their spoils and diverting them to public purposes. The
golden days were gone, and ruin stared them in the face.
In a very short time public indignation was allayed by the announcement
that French racing was not, as it had been averred, about to be stamped
out by the high-handed brutality of those at the head of the State.
Betting would be allowed, but only through the medium of the Pari
Mutuel or Totalisator, which would be established on a legal basis on
every race-course in France; and after the passing of the law, which
definitely laid down the manner in which speculation on the French Turf
was in future to be conducted, the beautiful courses round Paris were
once more thronged by crowds of relieved race-goers.
The law in question, passed on 2nd June 1891, expressly prohibited any
form of betting on race-courses except through the medium of the Pari
Mutuel, and strictly defined the conditions on which the latter was to
be worked. For a few years after this law came into operation a certain
toleration was extended to a few of the principal bookmakers, who still
continued to make bets in an unobtrusive way, but of late years the
authorities, considering that such a state of affairs tends to decrease
the receipts drawn from the Totalisator, have become exceedingly stern
in repressing any attempts at such a form of speculation.
The percentage levied on the sums staked at the Pari Mutuel is now
eight per cent for the race-courses round Paris and that at Deauville,
and ten per cent for race-courses in the provinces. Of this sum the
five great Parisian racing associations and that of Deauville are
allotted four per cent, the rest being applied to charitable and
other public purposes. A different scale applies to the provincial
race-courses, where the receipts are naturally not so remunerative.
The official figures issued on 7th June 1909, show that £160,000,000
has been staked by the public by means of the Pari Mutuel since its
institution in 1891. During the last eighteen years no less than
£4,000,000, produced by the percentage levied on this sum, has been
applied to public purposes; besides this, various charities and the
Racing Societies have profited to an enormous extent.
To-day, owing to the large sums which are available from this source,
there is to all intents and purposes no poor-rate in France--the Pari
Mutuel takes its place.
As regards the racing itself, it is shown by the official statistics to
be in a more flourishing condition than ever before.
In 1891 there existed in France 253 Racing Societies, which held 526
meetings; on the 31st of December 1904 an official statement showed
that 396 societies held 906 meetings. During this period more than
twenty-nine millions of francs, considerably more than a million
pounds sterling, produced by the percentage levied on the Pari Mutuel,
had been devoted to racing prizes and the general encouragement of
horse-breeding in France. Since the institution of the Totalisator the
race-courses and stands have been much improved, funds being abundant.
As a means of speculation for the casual visitor to a race-course
the Pari Mutuel is a most convenient form of betting. An excellent
organisation exists on every French race-course for enabling those
desirous of backing any horse to do so by taking their ticket at one of
the many bureaux, above which are inscribed the amount which any ticket
represents.
Separate betting bureaux exist for ladies in the special stands which
are on some courses set aside for them, and everything is done to
render the public thoroughly comfortable.
A list of the horses running is clearly displayed, and there is when
possible place betting. On some race-courses the field can be backed,
which, in the event of an outsider winning, is not unprofitable. The
lowest sum for which a ticket is issued is five francs, the highest
five hundred francs. There is, of course, no limit to the number
of tickets which any one who wishes to do so may take. Should a
backer not be desirous of changing a winning ticket into cash upon
the race-course he can keep it till his return to Paris, where, on
presenting it at a Central Office at certain fixed hours (defined
on the ticket), he receives his money without any inconvenience. In
justice, however, to the French race-course authorities it should be
added that, considering the huge amount of money carried by those going
racing in France, robberies are extremely rare.
Admission to the "pesage," the best and most expensive enclosure,
is only 20 francs for a man, 10 francs for a woman. There is also a
cheaper stand, and admission to the course costs a franc.
Though a certain number of heavy betters complain of the lack of
bookmakers, the general public appears satisfied.
On the Grand Prix day of the present year, when the race was for
the first time won by a French jockey, £185,326 passed through the
Pari Mutuel at Longchamps, out of the percentage levied on which the
poor received no less than £3700. Whatever may be urged against the
Totalisator in France, it is bound to benefit a certain number of
people, which is a good deal more than can be said for any other form
of betting, gambling, or speculation.
* * * * *
Those who in the pages of this book have wandered through the
gaming-houses of Europe, and have briefly surveyed the careers of most
of the chief gamblers of the past, will, it is hoped, do the writer the
justice to admit that he has in no wise sought to minimise the grave
evils which are the almost inevitable result of worshipping the goddess
of Chance.
Nothing, indeed, is more striking than the almost universal ruin which
has ever overtaken the vast majority of gamblers, except the complete
failure which has invariably attended all attempts to stamp out this
vice by means of coercive measures.
The futile and ineffectual results which, during the last two hundred
years, have invariably followed all drastic repression, are clearly
demonstrated by hard facts; at the present time speculation, gambling,
and betting all flourish as they never flourished before.
In open combat, the strong arm of the law is resistless; but there is
no possibility of its ultimate triumph or power of eradicating the
desire of gaming from the human mind; and more especially in a country
where speculation on the Stock Exchange is regarded with the greatest
tolerance by those who denounce the race-course and the card-table.
The anathemas of well-meaning and unworldly ecclesiastics, the plaints
of zealous philanthropists, the strident declamations of social
reformers, who call for legislative measures of drastic restriction,
can only cause the philosophic student of human nature to deplore that
so much well-meaning effort should be devoted to such a futile end.
In sober fact the gambling mania is one for which no specific remedy
exists--it is possessed by those who are well aware of its dangers, and
realise that in the ordinary course of events it must prove ultimately
destructive. Repress it in one direction and it reappears--more often
than not worse than ever--in another.
It is impossible to dragoon human nature into virtue. The leopard
cannot change its spots, or the Ethiopian his skin. Man with his
craving for strong emotions will assuredly find means of gratifying
them, and it is mere hypocritical rubbish to assume that in the future
milk and water is to be the elixir of life.
The well-meaning altruist, who looks with contempt on the frivolous
occupations which appear to amuse a great part of mankind, should
remember that they, on the other hand, are equally at a loss to account
for the pleasure which he derives from the more elevated pursuits in
which their lower mental capacities forbid them to indulge.
As a matter of fact the strongest motive with all mankind, after the
more sordid necessities are provided for, is excitement. For this
reason gambling will continue--even should all card-playing be declared
illegal and all race-courses ploughed up.
Repugnant as the idea may be to the Anglo-Saxon mind, regulation, not
repression, is without doubt the best possible method of mitigating
the evils of speculation; and, moreover, such a system possesses the
undeniable advantage of diverting no inconsiderable portion of the
money so often recklessly risked into channels of undoubted public
benefit.
The time is not yet when English public opinion is prepared to face
facts as they are; but though it may be at some far distant day,
that time must come, when a wiser and more enlightened legislature,
profiting by the experience of the past, will at last realise that the
vice of gambling cannot be extirpated by violent means. Reluctantly,
but certainly, it will endeavour to palliate the worst features of
gambling by taking care that those who indulge in it shall do so under
the fairest conditions, whilst at the same time paying a toll to be
applied for the good of the community at large.
Such is the inevitable and only solution of a social problem which from
any other direction it is absolutely hopeless to approach.
INDEX
Abingdon, Lord, befriended by Mr. Elwes, 16;
and O'Kelly, 145
Adolphus, Mr., and Duke of Wellington, 11
Aix-la-Chapelle, gaming at, 282;
an Italian's adventures at, 282-4;
a royal gambler at, 284-6
Alvanley, Lord, 110
Ambassadors use their mansions as gaming-houses, 248-9
Ancre, Maréchal d', the wife of, 10
Anne, Queen, supporter of the Turf, 389
Annuities, paid by Brooks's, 116;
paid by gamblers as compromise, 171
Antoinette, Marie, 209, 419
Archer, Lady, 56
Ardesoif, Mr., roasts a game-cock to death, 196;
his just reward, 196
Arlington, Earl of, 39
Arnold, Mr., his cruel wager, 225
Arthur's, Mr. Elwes a member of, 15
Artois, Comte d', his bet with Marie Antoinette, 209, 210;
his conduct on the Turf, 418
Ashburnham, Lord, 39
Ass and chimney-sweep race, 205
"Athenæum," a notorious gaming-house, 89;
confused with real Athenæum Club, 93
Atkins, a bookmaker, last authority on hazard, 81
Atkinson, Bartle, a famous trainer, 175
Atkinson, Joseph, 42
Aubrey, Lieut.-Col., his maxim, 157;
his distinguished antagonists and associates, 157
Australian story, an, 159-63
Author, a lucky, and his method of speculation, 164-6
Avarice combined with passion for play, 13
Baccarat, decision _re_, 129, 130;
single tableau, 313, 317, 318
"Bad houses, beware of," 43
Baden, ex-Elector of Hesse gambles at, 287;
M. de la Charme at, 287, 288;
society at, 288, 289;
croupiers at, 289, 290
Bagatelle, the building of, 209, 210
Baggs, Major, his luck at hazard, 82;
his adventures abroad, 83;
and Lord Onslow, 83;
a skilful swordsman, and man of culture, 83;
his generosity, 84;
wins from the King, 84;
falls a victim to gaming, 84
Baily, Mr., of Rambridge, 145
Barber, the Canterbury, 34-37;
an Indian, as balloonist, 190
Barclay, Captain, pedestrian, 232
Barucci, Madame Julia, a card scandal at the house of, 304-7
Basketing, 199
Basset, 53
Bassette, 52
Bathing adventure, a, 194
Beauclerk, Topham, 27
Bedford, Duke of, and Nash, 31, 32;
horsewhipped, 150
Bellasis, Theophilus, 42
Benazet, M., farmer-general of gaming-houses, 264;
proprietor of rooms at Baden-Baden, 286, 287
Bennet, Captain, trundles a hoop, 224, 225
Bentinck, Lord Frederick, beat by Col. Mellish in a foot-race, 170
Bentinck, Lord George, and Lord Kelburne, 382, 383;
his large winnings, 383, 384
Bentinck, Rev. Mr., and the Duc de Nivernois, 51, 52
Berkeley, Captain, and his game-cock, 202, 203
Bertie, Lord Robert, 15
Betting-houses started, 99, 100;
fraudulent proceedings illustrated, 100;
suppressed, 102
Billiards, a one-eyed player, 64
Bingham, Mr., his horse leaps Hyde Park wall, 219
Biribi, method of play, 247
Blackmail, keepers of gaming-houses subject to, 42;
at the Palais Royal, 251, 252
Blanc, M., starts gambling-tables at Homburg, 298;
plays for a parasol, 301, 302;
victim of a stratagem, 302;
a croupier's scheme, 303;
and Garcia, 303, 304;
opens a Casino at Monaco, 319
Bland, Sir John, 108;
squanders his fortune and shoots himself, 109
Blind cock-fight enthusiast (Lord Bertie), 199, 200
Blind horse wins a leaping contest, 219
Blo' Norton Hall, 33
Blücher, Marshal, fond of gambling, 11;
passion inherited by his son, 11;
wins his son's money, 12;
at the Palais Royal, 265
Blythe, Captain Carlton, a frequenter of Monte Carlo, 329;
his method of play, 329
Boarding-schools, gaming taught at, 56
Bond, Ephraim, 89;
takes over "Athenæum," 92, 93
Boothby, Mr., his opinion of Fox, 27
Borsant, M., a generous gaming-house proprietor, 272;
revelations, 274
Bouillotte, 270
Bow Street troops, 44
Bowes, Mr. John, four times Derby winner, 421
Brampton, Gawdy, 33
Brelans, 235
Bridge, 135, 136
Bristol, Lord, turns the tables on Lord Cobham and Mr. Nugent, 104
Brooks, Mr., ready to make advances, 114;
dies poor, 114
Brooks's, unlimited gambling at, 114;
Fox's large losses at, 115;
annuities granted to ruined members, 116;
the betting-book at, 116;
favourite games at, 116;
relics preserved at, 117
Brummell, Beau, plays heavily, 112;
his promise to the brewer, 112;
his superstition, 113
Buckeburg, Count de, rides his horse backwards from London to
Edinburgh, 205
Buckingham, Duke of, 39;
Quin's story of the, 39
Buckingham Palace, 39
Buckinghamshire, Earl and Countess of, 57, 58
Bullock, Mr., 195
Bulpett, Mr. Charles, his remarkable feats, 233, 234
Bunbury, Sir Charles, 402
Burge, known as "the Subject," 89;
his passion for the gaming-table, 90, 91
Byng, Hon. Frederick, on gambling, 94, 95
Byng, Sir John, his dispute with "T' au'd un," 381