seemed, says a contemporary, that a thousand pistoles at that
time were valued less than a _sou_ in the time of Francis I.

The result of this state of things was incalculable social
affliction. Usury and law-suits completed the ruin of gamblers.

The profits of the keepers of gaming houses must have been
enormous, to judge from the rents they paid. A house in the

Faubourg Saint-Germain was secured at the rental of about L70
for a fortnight, for the purpose of gambling during the time of

the fair. Small rooms and even closets were hired at the rate of
many pistoles or half-sovereigns per hour; to get paid, however,

generally entailed a fight or a law-suit.
All this took place in the very teeth of the most stringent laws

enacted against gaming and gamesters. The fact was, that among
the magistrates some closed their eyes, and others held out their

hands to receive the bribe of their connivance.
LOUIS XIII.--At the commencement of the reign of Louis XIII. the

laws against gaming were revived, and severer penalties were
enacted. Forty-seven gaming houses at Paris, which had been

licensed, and from which several magistrates drew a perquisite of
a pistole or half a sovereign a day, were shut up and suppressed.

These stringent measures checked the gambling of the `people,'
but not that of `the great,' who went on merrily as before.

Of course they `kept the thing quiet'--gambled in secret--but
more desperately than ever. The Marechal d'Ancre commonly

staked twenty thousand pistoles (L10,000).
Louis XIII. was not a gambler, and so, during this reign, the

court did not set so bad an example. The king was averse to all
games of chance. He only liked chess, but perhaps rather too

much, to judge from the fact that, in order to enable him to play
chess on his journeys, a chessboard was fitted in his carriage,

the pieces being furnished with pins at the bottom so as not to
be deranged or knocked down by the motion. The reader will

remember that, as already stated, a similar gaming accommodation
was provided for the Roman Emperor Claudius.

The cup and ball of Henry III. and the chessboard of Louis XIII.
are merely ridiculous. We must excuse well-intentioned monarchs

when they only indulge themselves with frivolous and childish
trifles. It is something to be thankful for if we have not to

apply to them the adage--Quic-quid delirant reges plectuntur
Achivi--`When kings go mad their people get their blows.'

LOUIS XIV.--The reign of Louis XIV. was a great development in
every point of view, gaming included.

The revolutions effected in the government and in public
morals by Cardinal Richelieu, who played a game still more

serious than those we are considering, had very considerably
checked the latter; but these resumed their vigour, with

interest, under another Cardinal, profoundly imbued with the
Italian spirit--the celebrated Mazarin. This minister,

independently of his particular taste that way, knew how to ally
gaming with his political designs. By means of gaming he

contrived to protract the minority of the king under whom he
governed the nation.

`Mazarin,' says St Pierre, `introduced gaming at the court of
Louis XIV. in the year 1648. He induced the king and the queen

regent to play; and preference was given to games of chance. The
year 1648 was the era of card-playing at court. Cardinal Mazarin

played deep and with finesse, and easily drew in the king and
queen to countenance this new entertainment, so that every one

who had any expectation at court learned to play at cards. Soon
after the humour changed, and games of chance came into vogue--to

the ruin of many considerable families: this was likewise very
destructive to health, for besides the various violent

passions it excited, whole nights were spent at this execrable
amusement. The worst of all was that card-playing, which the

court had taken from the army, soon spread from the court into
the city, and from the city pervaded the country towns.

`Before this there was something done for improving conversation;
every one was ambitious of qualifying himself for it by reading

ancient and modern books; memory and reflection were much more
exercised. But on the introduction of gaming men likewise left

of tennis, billiards, and other games of skill, and consequently
became weaker and more sickly, more ignorant, less polished, and

more dissipated.
`The women, who till then had commanded respect, accustomed men

to treat them familiarly, by spending the whole night with them
at play. They were often under the necessity of borrowing either

to play, or to pay their losings; and how very ductile and
complying they were to those of whom they had to borrow was well

known.'
From that time gamesters swarmed all over France; they multiplied

rapidly in every profession, even among the magistracy. The
Cardinal de Retz tells us, in his Memoirs, that in 1650 the

oldest magistrate in the parliament of Bordeaus, and one who
passed for the wisest, was not ashamed to stake all his property

one night at play, and that too, he adds, without risking his
reputation--so general was the fury of gambling. It became very

soon mixed up with the most momentous circumstances of life and
affairs of the gravest importance. The States-general, or

parliamentary assemblies, consisted altogether of gamblers. `It
is a game,' says Madame de Sevigne, `it is an entertainment, a

liberty-hall day and night, attracting all the world. I never
before beheld the States-general of Bretagne. The States-general

are decidedly a very fine thing.'
The same delightfulcorrespondent relates that one of her

amusements when she went to the court was to admire Dangeau at
the card-table; and the following is the account of a gaming

party at which she was present:--
`29th July, 1676.

`I went on Saturday with Villars to Versailles. I need not tell
you of the queen's toilette, the mass, the dinner--you know it

all; but at three o'clock the king rose from table, and he, the
queen, Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle, all the princes and

princesses, Madame de Montespan, all her suite, all the
courtiers, all the ladies, in short, what we call the court of

France, were assembled in that beautiful apartment which you
know. It is divinely furnished, everything is magnificent; one

does not know what it is to be too hot; we walk about here and
there, and are not incommoded anywhere:--at last a table of

reversi[53] gives a form to the crowd, and a place to every one.
_THE KING IS NEXT TO MADAME DE MONTESPAN_, who deals; the Duke

of Orleans, the queen, and Madame de Soubise; Dangeau and Co.;
Langee and Co.; a thousand louis are poured out on the cloth--

there are no other counters. I saw Dangeau play!--what fools we
all are compared to him--he minds nothing but his business, and

wins when every one else loses: he neglects nothing, takes
advantage of everything, is never absent; in a word, his skill

defies fortune, and accordingly 200,000 francs in ten days,
100,000 crowns in a fortnight, all go to his receipt book.

[53] A kind of game long since out of fashion, and now almost
forgotten; it seems to have been a compound of Loo and Commerce--

the _Quinola_ or _Pam_ was the knave of hearts.
`He was so good as to say I was a partner in his play, by

which I got a very convenient and agreeable place. I saluted the
king in the way you taught me, which he returned as if I had been

young and handsome--I received a thousand compliments--you know
what it is to have a word from everybody! This agreeable

confusion without confusion lasts from three o'clock till six.
If a courtier arrives, the king retires for a moment to read his

letters, and returns immediately. There is always some music
going on, which has a very good effect; the king listens to the