Craze for eccentric wagers at end of eighteenth century--Lord Cobham's insulting freak and its results--Betting and gaming at White's--The Arms of the Club--The old betting-book and its quaint wagers--Tragedies of play--White's to-day--£180,000 lost at hazard at the Cocoa Tree--Brummell as a gambler--Gaming at Brooks's--Anecdotes--General Scott--Whist--Mr. Pratt--Wattier's Club--Scandal at Graham's--Modern gambling clubs--The Park Club case in 1884--Dangers of private play 103 V Talleyrand whilst at cards announces the death of the Duc d'Enghien--"The curse of Scotland"--Wilberforce at faro--Successful gamblers--The Rev. Caleb Colton--Colonel Panton--Dennis O'Kelly--Richard Rigby--Anecdotes--Strange incidents at play--Aged gamesters--A duel with death--General Wade and the poor officer--Anecdote of a caprice of Fortune--Stock Exchange speculation--A man who profited by tips 137 VI Colonel Mellish--His early life and accomplishments--His equipage--A great gambler--£40,000 at a throw!--Posting--Mellish's racing career--His duel--In the Peninsula--Rural retirement and death--Colonel John Mordaunt--His youthful freaks--An ardent card-player--Becomes aide-de-camp to the Nawab of Oude--Anecdotes--Death from a duel--Zoffany in India and his picture of Mordaunt's cock-fight--Anecdotes of cock-fighting 167 VII Prevalence of wagering in the eighteenth century--Riding a horse backwards--Lord Orford's eccentric bet--Travelling piquet--The building of Bagatelle--Matches against time--"Old Q." and his chaise match--Buck Whalley's journey to Jerusalem--Buck English--Irish sportsmen--Jumping the wall of Hyde Park in 1792--Undressing in the water--Colonel Thornton--A cruel wager--Walking on stilts--A wonderful leap--Eccentric wagers--Lloyd's walking match--Squire Osbaldiston's ride--Captain Barclay--Jim Selby's drive--Mr. Bulpett's remarkable feats 204 VIII Gambling in Paris--Henry IV. and Sully--Cardinal Mazarin's love of play--Louis XIV. attempts to suppress gaming--John Law--Anecdotes--Institution of public tables in 1775--Biribi--Gambling during the Revolution--Fouché--The tables of the Palais Royal--The Galeries de Bois--Account of gaming-rooms--Passe-dix and Craps--Frascati's and the Salon des Étrangers--Anecdotes--Public gaming ended in Paris--Last evenings of play--Decadence of the Palais Royal--Its restaurants--Gaming in Paris at the present day 235 IX