d again with marvelous luck. At one period, it
is said, his credit balance amounted to no less than 1,850,000 francs;
but from that moment Dame Fortune ceased to smile upon him. He lost
steadily from 200,000 to 300,000 francs a day, until, recognizing that
luck had turned against him, he had sufficient strength of will to turn
his back on the tables and strike for home with the very substantial
winnings that still remained.

"On another occasion a well-known London stock broker walked off with
little short of L40,000. This remarkable performance occasioned no small
amount of excitement in the gambling rooms, as such an unusual incident
does invariably.

"Bent on making a 'plunge,' he went from one table to another, placing
the maximum stake on the same number. Strange to relate, at each table
the same number won, and it was his number. Recognizing that this
perhaps might be his lucky day, the player wended his way to the
trente-et-quarante room and put the maximum on three of the tables
there. To his amazement, he discovered that there also he had been so
fortunate as to select the winning number.

"The head croupier confided to a friend of the writer who happened to
be present that that day had been the worst in the history of the Monaco
bank for years. He it was also who mentioned the amount won by the
fortunate Londoner, as given above."

It is prudent of the space-writers to ascribe such "information" as this
to "the head croupier," because it is precisely the like that such an
authority would give out. People upon the spot know that nothing of the
kind happened, and that no person of that name had appeared upon
the scene. The story on the face of it bears to the knowing its own
refutation, being absurd in every detail. As if conscious of this, the
author proceeds to quality it in the following:

"It is a well-known fact that one of the most successful players at the
Monte Carlo tables was Wells, who as the once popular music-hall song
put it, 'broke the bank' there. He was at the zenith of his fame, about
twenty years ago, when his escapades--and winnings--were talked about
widely and envied in European sporting circles and among the demi-monde.

"In ten days, it was said, he made upward of L35,000 clear winnings at
the tables after starting with the modest capital of L400. It must
not be forgotten, however, that at his trial later Wells denied this,
stating that all he had made was L7,000 at four consecutive