A work recently published in Paris, gives the following description of
the establishment of a famous gentleman whose history is more like a
romance than a reality.
JOHN MORRISSEY'S HOUSE.
"My companion nodded to a servant standing in the hall," says the
writer referred to, "and we were allowed to enter. We went through an
elegantly furnished parlor, in which were many frequenters of the
house, either conversing or reading newspapers. We next entered a large
room lighted by numerous gas-jets. In the centre of this apartment was
a long table covered with green cloth. The room was crowded with
persons busily engaged in gambling. Different games of chance are in
vogue in the United States; but the favorite game of European gamblers,
roulette, was not tolerated in the establishment we were then visiting.
In almost all the States, games of chance, for money, no matter what
its amount, are prohibited, and gambling houses, being considered as
contrary to good morals, are forbidden. Gambling for money was not,
therefore, ostensibly carried on. The stakes consisted of counters or
checks provided by the establishment. The gamblers settled their losses
by means of these checks or counters, representing an understood value.
In this manner, it appears, the letter, if not the spirit of the law
was satisfied. In case of a sudden descent from the police, it was
impossible to prove that the persons engaged in the games were playing
for money, as no money, in fact, was apparent.
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