"In the play room might be heard the clear, ringing voice of that agreeable reprobate, Tom Duncombe, as he cheerfully called, "Seven," and the powerful hand of the vigorous Sefton, in throwing for a ten. There might be noted the scientific dribbling of a four by "King" Allen, the tremendous backing of nines and fives by Ball Hughes and Auriol, the enormous stakes played for by Lords Lichfield and Chesterfield, George Payne, Sir St. Vincent Cotton, D'Orsay and George Anson, and, above all, the gentlemanly bearing and unmoved demeanour, under losses or gains, of all the men of that generation. "The old fishmonger himself, seated snug and sly at his desk in the corner of the room, watchful as the dragon that guarded the golden apples of the Hesperides, would only give credit to sure and approved signatures. Who that ever entered that dangerous little room can ever forget the large green table, with the croupiers, Page, Parking, and Bacon, with their suave manners, sleek appearance, stiff white neck cloths, and the almost miraculous quickness and dexterity with which they swept away the money of the unfortunate punters when the fatal cry of, 'Deuce ace,' 'Aces,' or 'Sixes out,' was heard in answer to the caster's bold cry of 'Seven,' or 'Nine,' or 'Five's the main.' "_O noctes cænæque deum!_ But the brightest medal has its reverse, and after all the cost and gaiety and excitement of the night, how disagreeable the waking up, and how very unpleasant the sight of the little card, with its numerous figures marked down on the debtor side in the fine bold hand of Mr. Page. Alas, poor Crockey's! shorn of its former glory, has become a sort of refuge for the destitute, a cheap dining-house.[13] How are the mighty fallen! Irish buckeens, spring captains, 'welchers' from Newmarket, and suspicious looking foreigners, may be seen swaggering after dinner through the marble halls and up that gorgeous staircase, where once the chivalry of England loved to congregate; and those who remember Crockford's in all its glory cast as they pass a look of unavailing regret at its dingy walls, with many a sigh to the memory of the pleasant days they passed there, and the gay companions and noble gentlemen who have long since gone to their last home." [Footnote 13: Gronow probably intimates the time when the interior was redecorated in 1849, and opened for the Military, Naval, and County Service, but was closed again in 1851.] For a good account of Crockford's career, I may refer my readers to _Bentley's Magazine_, vol. xvii., pp. 142-155, 251-264. But to show how prevalent was gaming at this time, I give the following paragraph in the _Times_, January 24th, copied from an evening paper:-- "THE HELLS IN THE QUADRANT.