them at an earlier period by a royal ordinance. No indemnity is
to be allowed to the persons holding concessions.'--_Feb_. 23,
1868.

A London newspaper defends this measure in a very successful
manner.

`Prussia has declared her purpose to eradicate from the
territories subject to her increased sway, and from others
recognizing her influence, the disgrace of the _Rouge et Noir_
and the Roulette table as public institutions. Her reasoning is
to the effect that they bring scandal upon Germany; that they
associate with the names of its favourite watering-places the
appellation of "hells;" that they attract swindlers and
adventurers of every degree; and that they have for many a year
past been held up to the opprobrium of Europe. For why should
this practice be a lawful practice of Germany and of no other
country in Europe? Why not in France, in Spain, in Italy, in the
Northern States, in Great Britain itself? Let us not give to
this last proposition more importance than it is worth. The
German watering-places are places of leisure, of trifling, of
_ennui_. That is why, originally, they were selected as
encampments by the tribes which fatten upon hazards. But there
was another reason: they brought in welcome revenues to needy
princes. Even now, in view of the contemplated expurgation,
Monaco is named, with Geneva, as successor to the perishing
glories of Hombourg, Wiesbaden, and the great Baden itself. That
is to say, the gamblers, or, rather, the professionals who live
upon the gambling propensities of others, having received from
Prussia and her friends notice to quit, are in search of new