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e followed and believed in, while their success seems to last.
The scene is laid in one of the most celebrated German Kursaals.
'What a sudden influx of people into the room ! Now, indeed, we shall see a celebrity. The tall light-haired young man coming towards us, and attended by such a retinue, is a young Saxon nobleman who made his appearance here a short time ago, and commenced his gambling career by staking very small sums; but, by the most extraordinary luck, he was able to increase his capital to such an extent that he now rarely stakes under the maximum, and almost always wins. They say that when the croupiers see him place his money on the table they immediately prepare to pay him, without waiting to see which color has actually won, and that they have offered him a handsome sum down to desist from playing while he remains here. Crowds of people stand outside the Kursaal doors every
morning, awaiting his arrival, and when he comes following him into the room, and staking as he stakes. When he ceases playing they accompany him to the door, and shower on him congratulations and thanks for the good fortune he has brought them. See how all the people make way for him at the table, and how deferential are the subdued greetings of his acquaintances! He does not bring much money with him, his luck is too great to require it. He takes some notes out of a case, and places maximums on black and color. A crowd of eager hands are immediately out- stretched from all parts of the table, heaping up silver and gold and notes on the spaces on which he has staked his money, till there scarcely seems room for another coin, while the other spaces on the table only contain a few florins staked by skeptics who refuse to believe in the count's lack.' He wins; and the narrative proceeds to describe his continued successes, until he rises from the table a winner of about one hundred thousand francs at that sitting. The success of Garcia was so remarkable at times as to affect the value of the shares in the Privilegirte Bank ten or twenty per cent. Nor would it be difficult to cite many instances which seem to supply incontrovertible evidence that there is something more than common chance in the temporary successes of these (so- called) fortunate men. Indeed, to assert merely that in the nature of things there can be no such thing as luck that can be depended
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