The Central News declares that a young American lady brought
her fortune of £50,000 to Monaco a few days since, and on September 3rd won £4,000 at the tables. She always played on a single number, 24, and in three days lost 244,000. Next day, however, the luck changed, and, recovering her whole fortune, Miss Armstrong announced her intention never to play again. Nevertheless, she recommenced on Monday, still staking on Number 24, and by evening she had lost £54,000, her entire fortune and her winnings. She went to her room in the hotel with nothing left, and before morning -shot herself with a revolver. We suspect the story, aslthe Bank rarely continues play after such large losses on-any one lay; but if it is true, Miss Armstrong must be accounted a typical gambler of the half-insane kind. She must have in. tended to stake her whole fortune, or she would not have brought it with her ; she trusted to the recurrence of a single number—that is, to pure luck—and no " system " of any kind, and, when she had lost all, she killed herself. The opponents of Monaco could hardly wish for a better object-lesson on the results of gambling. They are quite right ; but the odd thing is, they will not admit that, if Miss Arm- strong had joined a syndicate to " corner " bacon, had lost her money, and had killed herself in her disappointment, she would have done precisely the same thing—perhaps a worse one, for her winnings would then have been gained by taxing the hungry.
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