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are disposed of by known facts. We have said, however, that experience confirms our theory. It chances that a series of experiments have been made on coin-tossing. Buffon was the experimenter, and he tossed thousands of times, noting always how many times he tossed ' head' running before 'tail' appeared. In the course of these trials he many times tossed, head' nine times running. Now, if the tossing 'head' nine times running rendered the chance of tossing a tenth head much less than usual, it would necessarily follow that in considerably more than one-half of these instances Buffon would have furled to toss a tenth head. But he did not. In about half the cases in which he tossed nine ' heads' running, the next trial also gave him
' head'; and about half of these tossings of ten suc-
cessive 'heads' were followed by the tossing of an eleventh ' head.' In the nature of things this was to be expected.
And now let us consider the cognate questions suggested by our sharper's ideas respecting the person who plays. This person is to consider carefully whether he is 'in vein,' and not otherwise to play. He is to be cool and businesslike, for fortune is invariably adverse to an angry player. Steinmetz, who appears to place some degree of reliance on the suggestion that a player should be 'in vein,' cites in illustration and confirmation of the rule the following instance from his own experience :--'I remember,' he says, 'a curious incident in my childhood which seems very much to the point of this axiom. A magnificent gold watch and chain were given towards the building of a church, and my mother took three chances, which were at a very high figure, the watch and chain being valued at more than 1001. One of these chances was entered in my name, one in my brother's, and a third in my mother's. I had to throw for her as well as myself. My brother threw an insignificant figure; for myself I did the same; but, oddly enough, I refused to throw for my mother on finding that I had lost my chance, saying that I should wait a little longer--rather a curious piece of prudence' (read, rather, superstition) ' for a child of thirteen. The raffle was with three dice; the majority of the chances had been thrown, and thirty-four was the highest.' (It is to be presumed that the three dice were thrown twice, yet 'thirty-four' is
a remarkable throw with six dice, and 'thirty-six' altogether exceptional.) 'I went on throwing the dice for amusement, and was surprised to find that every throw was better than the one I had in the raffle.
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