Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 25, April, 1873Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 11, No. 25, April, 1873
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
An English magazine not long since described some of the curious
theories and superstitions which prevail among devotees of the
lottery and the gaming-table, regarding "lucky numbers." There are
traditionally fortunate and unfortunate combinations, and there are
also newer favorites, based very often on figures connected with the
chronology of famous men. The career of Napoleon III. would seem to be
considered by gamblers a specially successful one, for since his death
they have been betting furiously on all numbers supposed to bear a
relation to sundry pivotal events of his life. In Vienna, in Milan, in
Rome, the newspapers notice this universal rage among regular patrons
of the lottery for staking their fortunes on Napoleonic numbers; and,
what is also curious, these numbers have in several instances turned
out lucky. Thus, in a late Vienna paper we read that "the death of the
Man of Sedan has brought good luck to the old women of this city who
give themselves up with unquenchable passion to the lottery." At the
last drawing, as the paper goes on to say, the numbers most eagerly
seized upon were 3, for Napoleon III.; 65, for his age; 20, for his
birthday, it falling on the twentieth of the month; 90, as the highest
number in the lottery, hence interpreted to signify "emperor;" and
finally 52, the year of his accession to the throne. To the joy of all
the old lottery-gossips, the luck fell on these numbers, 3, 20, and
90. At Rome the death of Napoleon. III. has furnished new combinations
for all the devotees of the lottery. At Milan the same infatuated
class have "pointed a moral" of their own from the event--a moral
quite different from the one extracted by sermonizers. They have
been playing heavily on number 20 (a gold Napoleon being worth twenty
francs), and on number 13, which latter, as the proverbially unlucky
one, is interpreted to mean the ex-emperor's death. On the first
drawing after his death these two numbers proved to be the lucky ones
of the lottery, and it was then found that there had been a great
number of winners.
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Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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