`After the opera-house and theatres are closed, Morrissey's
gambling house becomes very full; in fact, the best time to see

it to advantage is about two or three o'clock in the morning.
`A little below the New York Hotel, and on the opposite side

of Broadway, there is a gambling house, not quite so
"respectable" as the one I have been describing; here the

stakes are not below a dollar, and not more than twenty-five;
there are no refreshments gratis, and the rooms are not so well

furnished. The men to be seen gaming in this house differ but
very little in appearance from those in Union Square, but there

seems to be less disciplineamongst them, and more noise and
confusion. It is a rare thing to see an intoxicated man in a

gambling house; the door-keepers are very particular as to whom
they admit, and any disturbance which might call for the

interference of the police would be ruinous to their business.
The police are undoubtedly aware of everything going on in these

houses, and do not interfere as long as everything goes on
quietly.

`Now and then a clerk spends his employer's money, and if it is
discovered where he lost it then a _RAID_ is made by the police

in force, the tables and all the gaming paraphernalia are carried
off, and the proprietors heavily fined.

`I witnessed a case of this: a young man in the employment of a
commission merchant appropriated a large sum of his

employer's money, and lost it at Faro. He was arrested, and
confessed what he had done with it. The police at once proceeded

to the house where the Faro bank was kept, and the scene, when it
was known that the police were below, beggars description. The

tables were upset, and notes and markers were flying about in all
directions. Men, sprawling and scrambling on the floor, fought

with one another for whatever they could seize; then the police
entered and cleared the house, having arrested the owners of the

bank. This was in one of the lowest gaming houses, where
"skin" games (cheating games) are practised.

`In the gambling house in Broadway, near the New York Hotel, I
have often noticed a young man, apparently of some 18 or 20 years

of age, fashionably dressed, and of prepossessing appearance. On
some days he would play very high, and seemed to have most

remarkable luck; but he always played with the air of an old
gamester, seemingcareless as to whether he won or lost. One

night he lost so heavily that he attracted the notice of all the
players; every stake of his was swept away; and he still played

on until his last dollar was lost; then he quietly walked out,
whistling a popular Yankee air. He was there next day

_MINUS_ his great-coat and watch and chain--he lost again, went
out and returned in his shirt sleeves, having pawned his coat,

studs, and everything he could with decency divest himself of.
He lost everything; and when I next saw him he was selling

newspapers in front of the post-office!
`The mania for gambling is a most singular one. I have known a

man to win a thousand dollars in a few hours, and yet he would
not spend a dollar to get a dinner, but when he felt hungry he

went to a baker's shop and bought a loaf of bread, and that same
night lost all his money at Roulette.

`There is another house on the corner of Centre and Grand
Streets, open during night and day. The stakes here are the same

as in the one in Broadway, and the people who play are very much
the same--in fact, the same faces are constantly to be met with

in all the gambling houses, from the highest to the lowest. When
a gambler has but small capital, he will go to a small house,

where small stakes are admissible. I saw a man win 50 or 60
dollars at this place, and then hand in his checks (markers) to

be cashed. The dealer handed him the money, and said--"Now
you go off, straight away to Union Square, and pay away all you

have won from here to John Morrissey. This is the way with all
of them; they never come here until they are dead broke, and have

only a dirty dollar or so to risk." There was some truth in
what he said, but notwithstanding he managed to keep the bank

going on. There is a great temptation to a man who has won a sum
of money at a small gambling house to go to a higher one, as he

may then, at a single stake, win as much as he could possibly win
if he had a run of luck in a dozen stakes at the smaller bank.

`In No. 102, in the Bowery, there is one of the lowest of the
gaming houses I have seen in the Empire city. The proprietor is

an Irishman; he employs three men as dealers, and they relieve
one another every four hours during the day and night. The

stakes here are of the lowest, and the people to be seen here of
the roughest to be found in the city. The game is Faro, as

elsewhere.
`In this place I met an old friend with whom I had served in the

army of Northern Virginia, under General Lee, in his Virginia
campaign of 1865. He told me he had been in New York since

the end of the war, and lived a very uncertain sort of life.
Whatever money he could earn he spent at the gaming table.

Sometimes he had a run of luck, and whilst it lasted he dressed
well, and stopped at the most expensive hotels. One night he

would sleep at the Astor House; and perhaps the next night he
would not be able to pay for his bed, and would stay all night in

the parks. Strange to say, hundreds live in this way, which is
vulgarly called "scratching" in New York. I afterwards saw my

friend driving an omnibus; and when I could speak to him, I found
that he was still attending the banks with every cent he earned!

`It is amusing to watch the proprietor of this place at the
Bowery; he has a joke for every one he sees. "Hallo, old

sport!" he cries, "come and try your luck--you look lucky this
evening; and if you make a good run you may sport a gold watch

and chain, and a velvet vest, like myself." Then to another,
"Young clear-the-way, you look down at the mouth to-night! Come

along and have a turn--and never mind your supper tonight.' In
this way the days and nights are passed in those gambling

houses.'
There is also in New York an association for the prevention

of gambling. The society employs detectives to visit the
gambling saloons, and procure evidence for the suppression of the

establishments.
It is the business of these agents also to ascertain the names

and occupations of those who frequent the gambling rooms, and a
list of the persons thus detected is sent periodically to the

subscribers to the society, that they may know who are the
persons wasting their money, or perhaps the money of their

employers, in gambling. Many large houses of business subscribe.
In the month of August the society's agents detected among the

gamblers 68 clerks of mercantile houses, and in the previous six
months reported 623 cases. It is stated that there are in New

York and Brooklyn 1017 policy and lottery offices, and 163 Faro
banks, and that their net annual gains are not less than

36,000,000 dollars.
AMERICAN GAMBLERS.

At American gambling houses `it is very easy,' says the same
writer, `to distinguish the professional" target="_blank" title="a.职业的 n.自由职业">professional from the ordinary

gambler. The latter has a nervous expression about the
mouth, and an intense gaze upon the cards, and altogether a very

serious nervous appearance; while the professional" target="_blank" title="a.职业的 n.自由职业">professional plays in a
very quiet manner, and seems to care but little how the game

goes; and his desire to appear as if the game was new to him is
almost certain to expose him to those who know the manoeuvre.