Page:Life in Mexico vol 2.djvu/196

176 covered with savory meats to appease their hunger, and with generous wines to gladden their hearts; and the gentlemen who surrounded that board, seemed to be playing, instead of Monte, an excellent knife and fork.

You must not suppose that those who hold gambling-tables are the less considered on that account; on the contrary, as the banks generally win, they are amongst the richest and consequently the most respected men in Mexico. These bankers are frequently Spaniards, who have found gambling the readiest stepping-stone to fortune. Señor explained to me one plan of those who hold the banks, a sort of hedging, in which it is next to impossible that they can lose. For example, one of these gentlemen proposes to his friends to take a share in a vaca, each contributing a few ounces. Having collected several hundred ounces, they go to play at his bank. If they win, he receives his share of course; and if they lose, his bank wins the whole. It is proceeding upon the principle of "Heads I win, tails you lose."

At the tables, few words are spoken. The heaps of gold change masters, but the masters do not change countenance. I saw but one person who looked a little out of humor, and he was a foreigner. The rich man adds to his store, and the poor man becomes a beggar. He is ruined, but "makes no sign."

The ladies who have collected ounces and made purses, send their friends and admirers to the tables to try their luck for them; and in some of the inferior houses, the Señoras of a lower class occasionally try