elsewhere. Nothing must be done quickly, lest somebody on one
side or other should try to do somebody else. Altogether Spa is
not a pleasant place to play in, and as, moreover, the odds are
as great against you as at Ems, it is better to stick to the
promenade _de sept heures_ and the ball-room, and leave the two
tables alone. Outside it is cheery and full of life. The Queen
of the Belgians is here, the Duke of Aumale, and other nice
people. The breeze from the hills is always delicious; the
Promenade Meyerbeer as refreshing on a hot day as a draught of
iced water. But the denizens, male and female, of the _salons de
jeu_ are often obnoxious, and one wishes that the old Baden law
could be enforced against some of the gentler sex.

`By way of warning to any of your readers who propose to visit
the tables this summer, will you let me tell a little anecdote,
from personal experience, of one of these places--which one I had
perhaps better not say. I took a place at the Roulette table,
and had not staked more than once or twice, when two handsomely
dressed ladies placed themselves one on either side of me, and
commenced playing with the smallest coins allowed, wedging
me in rather unpleasantly close between them. At my third or
fourth stake I won on both the colour and a number, and my
neighbour on the right quietly swept up my coins from the colour
the instant they were paid. I remonstrated, and she very
politely argued the point, ending by restoring my money. But
during our discussion my far larger stake, paid in the mean
while, on the winning number, had disappeared into the pocket of
my neighbour on the left, who was not so polite, and was very
indignant at my suggestion that the stake was mine. An appeal to
the croupier only produced a shrug of the shoulders and regret