roke, 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 i