Part 27

In 1856 the French Turf entered upon a new and important era, a promise being obtained from the Government and the municipality of Paris that a race-course should be included in the projected plan for the transformation of the Bois de Boulogne. In the Longchamps meadows, on the borders of the Seine, an expanse of level and unencumbered ground was allotted to the Société d'Encouragement, and by an arrangement with the municipality of Paris, the Société became lessees of the race-course for fifty years, undertaking to pay an annual rent, as well as to build stands, which, at the expiration of the lease in 1906, should become the property of the city. The old stands, which during the last three years have been replaced by magnificent new ones, were erected by the architects of the city of Paris, at an expense of 420,000 francs (£16,800), and subsequent expenses brought the amount up to 1,284,981 francs (about £51,395). The race-course was opened on the last Sunday in April 1857, and the first Grand Prix was run in 1862, when the Ranger won.

The moving spirit in the institution of this race, now the richest in the world, is said to have been the Emperor Napoleon the Third, represented by the Duc de Morny, the creator of Deauville. The first Grand Prix was worth £4000 and an _objet d'art_; the amount of the stakes for the same race in 1909 was some £16,000.

When the Grand Prix was first inaugurated, many vigorous protests were made in England against the race being run on a Sunday, but by these the French declined to be swayed. As a matter of fact, notwithstanding Anglo-Saxon plaints at the iniquity of Sunday racing, the beautiful courses at Longchamps and Auteuil are very popular with visitors from across the Channel on many a fine Sabbath day, when Englishmen, known for their stern and unflinching moral rectitude, are not infrequent spectators on such occasions. One of these, a public man, notorious for his advocacy of every form of puritanical restriction, whilst exhibiting some confusion at being recognised by a friend, could only make the defence: "Well, after all, it doesn't matter, as I am not betting." In all probability, however, he, like other visitors, had backed his fancy!

An important share in the laying-out of Longchamps race-course was taken by the late Mr. Mackenzie Grieves, who, originally an officer in the Blues, took up his residence in Paris, became a member of the French Jockey Club and played a prominent part in the organisation of French racing. Mr. Mackenzie Grieves, whose memory is preserved by an important race to which his name has been given, was personally known to the writer, who retains pleasant recollections of his great charm and dignified appearance, both of which were highly characteristic of one of the last of the fine old school. He was a most graceful rider and a master of the _haute école_.

Though racing in France was naturally suspended during the war, it was once more in full swing in 1872, when the Grand Prix was won by Cremorne. In consequence of the downfall of the second Empire a number of the important races were renamed. The Prix de l'Impératrice, for instance, became the Prix Rainbow; the Prix du Prince Impérial the Prix Royal Oak. The Prix Gladiateur, one of the oldest French prizes, has under its various names strikingly reflected the vicissitudes of French politics. Originally it was the Prix Royal, then Prix National, then Grand Prix de l'Empereur, till, with the rise of the third Republic, it was called after the famous race-horse.

In 1885 there was great jubilation amongst French sportsmen at the victories of Plaisanterie, which won both the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire, as well as twelve out of thirteen events in France.

The appearance of the daughter of Wellingtonia and Poetess in the Cesarewitch was said at the time to be owing to two bookmakers, T. Wilde and Jack Moore, who made it worth the while of the filly's owners (M.H. Bony and Mr. T. Carter) to start her, guaranteeing them 33 to 1, though they themselves had only got 20 to 1 in England. Wilde, it was declared, brought back to France after the race nearly five million francs (£200,000), won by backing Plaisanterie, of which Jack Moore paid out some 600,000 (£24,000) in five-franc, ten-franc, and twenty-franc pieces to French backers who had been on the good thing.

In common with the rest of the fraternity, these two very sporting layers have now long disappeared from the French race-course. Bookmaking in France practically ceased to exist with the introduction of the Pari Mutuel in 1891.

Previous to that time bookmakers had pitches provided for them some way behind the stands, where they were allowed to exhibit lists of the horses running in the various races, against which were chalked the odds, the variations in which were thus easily shown. The whole thing was most decorously conducted, and the system worked fairly well. Nevertheless, from time to time, rumours were rife as to an intended suppression of the bookmakers by the French authorities, and at last in 1891 they were definitely bidden to cease plying their business. The new decree was rigorously enforced, crowds of police in uniform and plain clothes being present on the Parisian race-courses, and any one found openly making a bet was ruthlessly arrested--a perfect reign of terror, indeed, prevailed amongst betting-men, and very great dissatisfaction ensued amongst habitual frequenters of the French Turf. On several occasions, notably one Sunday at Auteuil (when the writer was present), a large force of military were on the ground, regiments of cavalry being in reserve outside the race-course. Feeling ran very high, and the races were run amidst hoots, yells, and other demonstrations of indignation, some of which most unjustly took the form of missiles hurled at the jockeys. The cabmen and proprietors of the char-à-bancs who drive the public to the various race-courses around Paris, the keepers of the small restaurants along the various lines of route, loudly complained that the new era of restriction which had dawned would completely ruin them. The saddest people of all, however, were very naturally the bookmakers, most of them English, who for many years had made a living on the French race-courses, for, whilst the public generally were more or less certain that some new method of betting would be devised, they fully realised that the suppression of their business was no mere outburst of outraged morality on the part of the Government, but a well thought-out scheme for appropriating their spoils and diverting them to public purposes. The golden days were gone, and ruin stared them in the face.

In a very short time public indignation was allayed by the announcement that French racing was not, as it had been averred, about to be stamped out by the high-handed brutality of those at the head of the State. Betting would be allowed, but only through the medium of the Pari Mutuel or Totalisator, which would be established on a legal basis on every race-course in France; and after the passing of the law, which definitely laid down the manner in which speculation on the French Turf was in future to be conducted, the beautiful courses round Paris were once more thronged by crowds of relieved race-goers.

The law in question, passed on 2nd June 1891, expressly prohibited any form of betting on race-courses except through the medium of the Pari Mutuel, and strictly defined the conditions on which the latter was to be worked. For a few years after this law came into operation a certain toleration was extended to a few of the principal bookmakers, who still continued to make bets in an unobtrusive way, but of late years the authorities, considering that such a state of affairs tends to decrease the receipts drawn from the Totalisator, have become exceedingly stern in repressing any attempts at such a form of speculation.

The percentage levied on the sums staked at the Pari Mutuel is now eight per cent for the race-courses round Paris and that at Deauville, and ten per cent for race-courses in the provinces. Of this sum the five great Parisian racing associations and that of Deauville are allotted four per cent, the rest being applied to charitable and other public purposes. A different scale applies to the provincial race-courses, where the receipts are naturally not so remunerative.

The official figures issued on 7th June 1909, show that £160,000,000 has been staked by the public by means of the Pari Mutuel since its institution in 1891. During the last eighteen years no less than £4,000,000, produced by the percentage levied on this sum, has been applied to public purposes; besides this, various charities and the Racing Societies have profited to an enormous extent.

To-day, owing to the large sums which are available from this source, there is to all intents and purposes no poor-rate in France--the Pari Mutuel takes its place.

As regards the racing itself, it is shown by the official statistics to be in a more flourishing condition than ever before.

In 1891 there existed in France 253 Racing Societies, which held 526 meetings; on the 31st of December 1904 an official statement showed that 396 societies held 906 meetings. During this period more than twenty-nine millions of francs, considerably more than a million pounds sterling, produced by the percentage levied on the Pari Mutuel, had been devoted to racing prizes and the general encouragement of horse-breeding in France. Since the institution of the Totalisator the race-courses and stands have been much improved, funds being abundant.

As a means of speculation for the casual visitor to a race-course the Pari Mutuel is a most convenient form of betting. An excellent organisation exists on every French race-course for enabling those desirous of backing any horse to do so by taking their ticket at one of the many bureaux, above which are inscribed the amount which any ticket represents.

Separate betting bureaux exist for ladies in the special stands which are on some courses set aside for them, and everything is done to render the public thoroughly comfortable.

A list of the horses running is clearly displayed, and there is when possible place betting. On some race-courses the field can be backed, which, in the event of an outsider winning, is not unprofitable. The lowest sum for which a ticket is issued is five francs, the highest five hundred francs. There is, of course, no limit to the number of tickets which any one who wishes to do so may take. Should a backer not be desirous of changing a winning ticket into cash upon the race-course he can keep it till his return to Paris, where, on presenting it at a Central Office at certain fixed hours (defined on the ticket), he receives his money without any inconvenience. In justice, however, to the French race-course authorities it should be added that, considering the huge amount of money carried by those going racing in France, robberies are extremely rare.

Admission to the "pesage," the best and most expensive enclosure, is only 20 francs for a man, 10 francs for a woman. There is also a cheaper stand, and admission to the course costs a franc.

Though a certain number of heavy betters complain of the lack of bookmakers, the general public appears satisfied.

On the Grand Prix day of the present year, when the race was for the first time won by a French jockey, £185,326 passed through the Pari Mutuel at Longchamps, out of the percentage levied on which the poor received no less than £3700. Whatever may be urged against the Totalisator in France, it is bound to benefit a certain number of people, which is a good deal more than can be said for any other form of betting, gambling, or speculation.

* * * * *

Those who in the pages of this book have wandered through the gaming-houses of Europe, and have briefly surveyed the careers of most of the chief gamblers of the past, will, it is hoped, do the writer the justice to admit that he has in no wise sought to minimise the grave evils which are the almost inevitable result of worshipping the goddess of Chance.

Nothing, indeed, is more striking than the almost universal ruin which has ever overtaken the vast majority of gamblers, except the complete failure which has invariably attended all attempts to stamp out this vice by means of coercive measures.

The futile and ineffectual results which, during the last two hundred years, have invariably followed all drastic repression, are clearly demonstrated by hard facts; at the present time speculation, gambling, and betting all flourish as they never flourished before.

In open combat, the strong arm of the law is resistless; but there is no possibility of its ultimate triumph or power of eradicating the desire of gaming from the human mind; and more especially in a country where speculation on the Stock Exchange is regarded with the greatest tolerance by those who denounce the race-course and the card-table.

The anathemas of well-meaning and unworldly ecclesiastics, the plaints of zealous philanthropists, the strident declamations of social reformers, who call for legislative measures of drastic restriction, can only cause the philosophic student of human nature to deplore that so much well-meaning effort should be devoted to such a futile end.

In sober fact the gambling mania is one for which no specific remedy exists--it is possessed by those who are well aware of its dangers, and realise that in the ordinary course of events it must prove ultimately destructive. Repress it in one direction and it reappears--more often than not worse than ever--in another.

It is impossible to dragoon human nature into virtue. The leopard cannot change its spots, or the Ethiopian his skin. Man with his craving for strong emotions will assuredly find means of gratifying them, and it is mere hypocritical rubbish to assume that in the future milk and water is to be the elixir of life.

The well-meaning altruist, who looks with contempt on the frivolous occupations which appear to amuse a great part of mankind, should remember that they, on the other hand, are equally at a loss to account for the pleasure which he derives from the more elevated pursuits in which their lower mental capacities forbid them to indulge.

As a matter of fact the strongest motive with all mankind, after the more sordid necessities are provided for, is excitement. For this reason gambling will continue--even should all card-playing be declared illegal and all race-courses ploughed up.

Repugnant as the idea may be to the Anglo-Saxon mind, regulation, not repression, is without doubt the best possible method of mitigating the evils of speculation; and, moreover, such a system possesses the undeniable advantage of diverting no inconsiderable portion of the money so often recklessly risked into channels of undoubted public benefit.

The time is not yet when English public opinion is prepared to face facts as they are; but though it may be at some far distant day, that time must come, when a wiser and more enlightened legislature, profiting by the experience of the past, will at last realise that the vice of gambling cannot be extirpated by violent means. Reluctantly, but certainly, it will endeavour to palliate the worst features of gambling by taking care that those who indulge in it shall do so under the fairest conditions, whilst at the same time paying a toll to be applied for the good of the community at large.

Such is the inevitable and only solution of a social problem which from any other direction it is absolutely hopeless to approach.

INDEX

Abingdon, Lord, befriended by Mr. Elwes, 16; and O'Kelly, 145

Adolphus, Mr., and Duke of Wellington, 11

Aix-la-Chapelle, gaming at, 282; an Italian's adventures at, 282-4; a royal gambler at, 284-6

Alvanley, Lord, 110

Ambassadors use their mansions as gaming-houses, 248-9

Ancre, Maréchal d', the wife of, 10

Anne, Queen, supporter of the Turf, 389

Annuities, paid by Brooks's, 116; paid by gamblers as compromise, 171

Antoinette, Marie, 209, 419

Archer, Lady, 56

Ardesoif, Mr., roasts a game-cock to death, 196; his just reward, 196

Arlington, Earl of, 39

Arnold, Mr., his cruel wager, 225

Arthur's, Mr. Elwes a member of, 15

Artois, Comte d', his bet with Marie Antoinette, 209, 210; his conduct on the Turf, 418

Ashburnham, Lord, 39

Ass and chimney-sweep race, 205

"Athenæum," a notorious gaming-house, 89; confused with real Athenæum Club, 93

Atkins, a bookmaker, last authority on hazard, 81

Atkinson, Bartle, a famous trainer, 175

Atkinson, Joseph, 42

Aubrey, Lieut.-Col., his maxim, 157; his distinguished antagonists and associates, 157

Australian story, an, 159-63

Author, a lucky, and his method of speculation, 164-6

Avarice combined with passion for play, 13

Baccarat, decision _re_, 129, 130; single tableau, 313, 317, 318

"Bad houses, beware of," 43

Baden, ex-Elector of Hesse gambles at, 287; M. de la Charme at, 287, 288; society at, 288, 289; croupiers at, 289, 290

Bagatelle, the building of, 209, 210

Baggs, Major, his luck at hazard, 82; his adventures abroad, 83; and Lord Onslow, 83; a skilful swordsman, and man of culture, 83; his generosity, 84; wins from the King, 84; falls a victim to gaming, 84

Baily, Mr., of Rambridge, 145

Barber, the Canterbury, 34-37; an Indian, as balloonist, 190

Barclay, Captain, pedestrian, 232

Barucci, Madame Julia, a card scandal at the house of, 304-7

Basketing, 199

Basset, 53

Bassette, 52

Bathing adventure, a, 194

Beauclerk, Topham, 27

Bedford, Duke of, and Nash, 31, 32; horsewhipped, 150

Bellasis, Theophilus, 42

Benazet, M., farmer-general of gaming-houses, 264; proprietor of rooms at Baden-Baden, 286, 287

Bennet, Captain, trundles a hoop, 224, 225

Bentinck, Lord Frederick, beat by Col. Mellish in a foot-race, 170

Bentinck, Lord George, and Lord Kelburne, 382, 383; his large winnings, 383, 384

Bentinck, Rev. Mr., and the Duc de Nivernois, 51, 52

Berkeley, Captain, and his game-cock, 202, 203

Bertie, Lord Robert, 15

Betting-houses started, 99, 100; fraudulent proceedings illustrated, 100; suppressed, 102

Billiards, a one-eyed player, 64

Bingham, Mr., his horse leaps Hyde Park wall, 219

Biribi, method of play, 247

Blackmail, keepers of gaming-houses subject to, 42; at the Palais Royal, 251, 252

Blanc, M., starts gambling-tables at Homburg, 298; plays for a parasol, 301, 302; victim of a stratagem, 302; a croupier's scheme, 303; and Garcia, 303, 304; opens a Casino at Monaco, 319

Bland, Sir John, 108; squanders his fortune and shoots himself, 109

Blind cock-fight enthusiast (Lord Bertie), 199, 200

Blind horse wins a leaping contest, 219

Blo' Norton Hall, 33

Blücher, Marshal, fond of gambling, 11; passion inherited by his son, 11; wins his son's money, 12; at the Palais Royal, 265

Blythe, Captain Carlton, a frequenter of Monte Carlo, 329; his method of play, 329

Boarding-schools, gaming taught at, 56

Bond, Ephraim, 89; takes over "Athenæum," 92, 93

Boothby, Mr., his opinion of Fox, 27

Borsant, M., a generous gaming-house proprietor, 272; revelations, 274

Bouillotte, 270

Bow Street troops, 44

Bowes, Mr. John, four times Derby winner, 421

Brampton, Gawdy, 33

Brelans, 235

Bridge, 135, 136

Bristol, Lord, turns the tables on Lord Cobham and Mr. Nugent, 104

Brooks, Mr., ready to make advances, 114; dies poor, 114

Brooks's, unlimited gambling at, 114; Fox's large losses at, 115; annuities granted to ruined members, 116; the betting-book at, 116; favourite games at, 116; relics preserved at, 117

Brummell, Beau, plays heavily, 112; his promise to the brewer, 112; his superstition, 113

Buckeburg, Count de, rides his horse backwards from London to Edinburgh, 205

Buckingham, Duke of, 39; Quin's story of the, 39

Buckingham Palace, 39

Buckinghamshire, Earl and Countess of, 57, 58

Bullock, Mr., 195

Bulpett, Mr. Charles, his remarkable feats, 233, 234

Bunbury, Sir Charles, 402

Burge, known as "the Subject," 89; his passion for the gaming-table, 90, 91

Byng, Hon. Frederick, on gambling, 94, 95

Byng, Sir John, his dispute with "T' au'd un," 381

Byron, Lord, a frequenter of Wattier's, 122

Calzado, Signor, cheats at cards, 305-7; sentenced to imprisonment, 307

Canterbury barber, the, 34-37

Card-money, 54

Carlisle, Lord, 105; a high gambler, but warns Selwyn, 106

Carriage race, a, 213

Casanova, his card duel with d'Entragues, 21-24; his meeting with Fox, 26

Cavillac, Marquis de, accuses Law of plagiarism, 242

Chabert, M., opens houses at Baden-Baden, Wiesbaden, and Ems, 286

Champeiron, la Comtesse, 246

Chance, the laws of, 6; in roulette, 9; public tables offer best, 10; tradesmen devotees of, 33

Chaplin, Mr., his fortunate Derby, 375

Charles II., founder of the English Turf, 386; an experienced rider, 386; his house at Newmarket, 386; Nell Gwynne's threat, 387; his witty answer to Sir Christopher Wren, 387; his amusements at Newmarket, 387, 388; his generosity, 388

Charme, M. de la, at Baden, 288

Chartres, Duc de, 209, 419

Cheating, methods of, 78

Chesterfield, Lord, 39

Chesterfield Row, 65

Chetwynd, Sir George, his _Recollections_, 82

Cibber, Colley, 108

Clarke, Vauxhall, his cock-fighting match with Col. Lowther, 196

Clavering, Sir John, appoints Mordaunt his aide-de-camp, 182

Clergyman, a betting, 209

Cleveland, Duke of, and Billy Pierse, 381, 382

Cobham, Lord, makes a vulgar bet, 103; forced to make public apology, 104

Cock-fighting in England, 195; some great patrons, 195; a famous battle at the Cock Pit Royal, 196; a cruel monster, 196; betting, 197; unexpected winners, 197; celebrated London cockpits, 198; Royal Cockpit taken down, 198; punishment for foul play, 199; a specimen challenge, 200; present-day fights, 200; famous trainers, 201; the last of the cock-fighters, 201; courageous birds, 201-3

Cocoa Tree, big stakes at the, 111

Codrington, Mr., 212

Colonel, the English, and his wife's ear-rings, 158

Colton, Rev. Caleb, a successful gambler, 138; his publications, 138; his affairs become involved and he decamps, 139; settles down at Palais Royal, 139; studies gambling, 139; commits suicide, 140

Combe, Alderman, 112

Combe, Hervey, 20, 21

Concannon, Mrs., 56, 62; Mr., 57, 58

Conolly, Rt. Hon. Thomas, 218

Cook, a fortunate, 262

Cookson, Mr., owner of Diamond, 413

Copley, Sir Joseph, 110

Cornwallis, Lord, and Mordaunt, 191

"Corpse" card-player and the Parisian banker, 156, 157

Countess, an eccentric, 291, 292

Court, gambling at, 38

Craps or Creps, an old French game, 263; survives in America, 264

Cribb, Tom, pugilist, his fight with Nicholl, 177

Cribbage, a fashionable game, 62

Cricket ball, a letter sent by, 211

Crockford, William, 96; wins large sum, 97; founds his famous Club, 97; profits made by, 98; his views on gaming, 98

Crockford's, Duke of Wellington becomes member of, 11; large tips to waiters, 94; blamed for increase of gambling-houses, 94; magnificence of, 97; expense of running, 98; heavy losses at, 113

Crofton, Sir Edward, high leap at Phoenix Park, 227

Croupiers, stoicism of, 290; at Monte Carlo, 354, 355; a school of, 354, 355