striving to bolster themselves up for another year with the
waters, and may be heard crowing out lamentations over her fatal
passion for play, interspersed with bits of moss-grown scandal,
disinterred from the social ruins of an age long past: Radetzky,
Wratislaw (le beau sabreur), the two Schwarzenbergs (he of
Leipsic, and the former Prime Minister), Paul Eszterhazy,
Wrangel, and Blucher were friends of her youth; judging from
her appearance, one would not be surprised to hear that she
had received a "poulet" from Baron Trenck, or played whist with
Maria Theresa. She has outlived all human friendships or
affections, and exists only for the chink of the gold as it
jingles on the gaming table. I cannot help fancying that her
last words will be "Rien ne va plus!" She is a great and
convincing moral, if one but interpret her rightly.'[83]


[83] Daily Telegraph, Aug. 15, 1868.


The doom of the German gaming houses seems to be settled. They
will all be closed in 1872, as appears by the following
announcement:--

`The Prussian government, not having been able to obtain from the
lessees of the gaming tables at Wiesbaden, Ems, and Hombourg
their consent to their cancelling of their contracts, has
resolved to terminate their privileges by a legislative measure.
It has presented a bill to the Chamber of Deputies at Berlin,
fixing the year 1872 as the limit to the existence of these
establishments, and even authorizing the government to suppress