THE HISTORY OF GAMBLING IN ENGLAND All Rights Reserved THE HISTORY OF GAMBLING IN ENGLAND BY JOHN ASHTON AUTHOR OF "SOCIAL LIFE IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ANNE' "A HISTORY OF ENGLISH LOTTERIES," ETC. LONDON DUCKWORTH & CO. 3 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, W.C. 1898 CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY Difference between Gaming and Gambling Universality and Antiquity of Gambling Isis and Osiris Games and Dice of the Egyptians- China and India The Jews Among the Greeks and Romans Among Mahometans Early Dicing Dicing in England in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries In the Seventeenth Century Celebrated Gamblers Bourchier Swiss Anecdote Dicing in the Eighteenth Century ...... CHAPTER I Latimer and Cards Discourse between a Preacher and a Professor The Perpetual Almanack, or Soldier's Prayer Book Origin of Playing Cards Earliest Notice Royal Card Playing . .28 CHAPTER II Legislation as to Cards Boy and sheep Names of old games at Cards Gambling temp. Charles II. Description of a gaming-house, 1669 Play at Christmas The Groom Porter Royal gambling discon- tinued by George III. Gambling in church . .40 CHAPTER III Gambling early Eighteenth Century Mrs Centlivre E. Ward Steele Pope Details of a gaming-house Grub Street Journal on Gambling Legislation on gambling Peeresses as gaming-house keepers A child played for at cards Raids on gaming-houses Fielding . 5 1 CHAPTER IV . Gambling at Bath Beau Nash Anecdotes of him A lady gambler Horace Walpole's gossip about gambling Awful story about Richard Parsons Gambling anecdotes C. J. Fox . 64 vi CONTENTS CHAPTER V The Gambling ladies Ladies Archer, Buckinghamshire, Mrs Concannon, &c. Private Faro Banks - Card-money Gaming House end of Eighteenth Century Anecdotes The profits of Gaming Houses C. J. Fox and Sir John Lade Col. Hanger on gambling . 76 CHAPTER VI The Gambling Clubs White's, Cocoa Tree, Almack's A few gamblers described Stories of high play White's and its frequenters Brookes' and its players Captain Gronow and his reminiscences of gambling Gambling by the English at Paris The Duke of Wellington Ball Hughes Scrope Davies Raggett of White's . 90 CHAPTER VII Hanging, the penalty for losing Suicide Officer cashiered Reminis- cences of an exiled gambler Description of the principal gaming- houses at the in . West End 1817 . .103 CHAPTER VIII Crockford's Club His Life His new Club-house Epigrams thereon Ude and the Magistrate Description of Club-house Anecdotes of Crockford's .... 1 1 8 CHAPTER IX Hells in " the Quadrant, 1833 Smith v. Bond Police powers Confes- " sions of a Croupier . -133 CHAPTER X Select Committee on Gaming, 1844 Evidence . 147 CHAPTER XI and Wagers Betting Samson Greek and Roman betting In the Seven- teenth " Century "Lusty Packington The rise of betting in the Eighteenth Century Walpole's stoiy of White's Betting in the House of Commons Voltaire Anecdotes of Story by betting-3 Law suit the Chevalier d'Eon . concerning . 150 CONTENTS vii CHAPTER XII Gluttonous Wager Walk to Constantinople and back Sir John Lade and Lord Cholmondeley Other Wagers Betting on Napoleon Bet on a Coat Lord Brougham Brunei and Stephenson Captain Barclay Story by Mr Ross The Earl of March's Coach Selby's drive to . Brighton White's betting book . .163 CHAPTER XIII Horse Racing Early mention Thirteenth Century Racing for bells Racing in Hyde Park Newmarket Oliver Cromwell and Running horses Charles II. James II. Anne Her fondness for racing Sporting in her reign Epsom Tregonwell Frampton The three A duel Turf anecdotes of the Georges Eighteenth Century . 173 CHAPTER XIV Match between Mrs Thornton and Mr Flint Its sequel Daniel Dawson poisons horses Origin of Bookmaking Turf frauds The " " "Ludlow" scandal The Plenipo fraud Reports of Select on . Committee Gaming, 1844 . .185 CHAPTER XV Gambling on Race Courses E.O. tables Description of Race Courses Evidence before the Committee Description of the betting-rooms at Doncaster in of 1846 Beginning tipsters and betting-rooms . 199 CHAPTER XVI Betting Houses Their suppression in 1853 Bookmakers and their Clients Defaulters Dwyer's swindle Value of Stakes . .211 CHAPTER XVII The Lottery Its etymology and origin The first in England Succeeding ones Prince Rupert's jewels Penny lottery Suppression and revival Rage for them in Queen Anne's reign Lotteries for public purposes Leheup's fraud ...... CHAPTER XVIII Blue coat boys tampered with The two trials Insuring tickets Curious Lotteries Lever Museum and Pigot diamond Lotteries Little goes Stories of winning numbers Decline of Lotteries The last Its epitaph Modern lotteries . .231 viii CONTENTS CHAPTER XIX Promoters and Projectors Government loans Commencement of Bank of England Character of a Stock Jobber Jonathan's Hoax temp. Anne South Sea Bubble Poems thereon . 242 CHAPTER XX First mention of the Stock Exchange Attempt at hoax Daniel's fraud Berenger's fraud Bubbles of 1825 The Railway Mania 3Oth Nov. 1845 at the Board of Trade The fever at its height The Marquis of Clanricarde pricks the bubble .... 254 CHAPTER XXI " The Comic side of the Railway Mania Jeames's Diary," &c. Universal Speculation, as shown by Parliamentary Return Rise of Discount Collapse Shareholders not forthcoming Widespread Ruin George Hudson ....... 266 CHAPTER XXII Permissible gambling Early Marine Assurance Oldest and old Policies Lloyd's Curious Insurances Marine Assurance Companies Fire Insurance Its origin and early Companies Life Insurance Early of Life . Companies Curious story Insurance . 275 , INTRODUCTORY Difference between Gaming and Gambling Universality and Antiquity of Gam- bling Isis and Osiris Games and Dice of the Egyptians China and India The Jews Among the Greeks and Romans Among Mahometans Early Dicing Dicing in England in the I3th and I4th Centuries In the i;th Century Celebrated Gamblers Bourchier Swiss Anecdote- Dicing in the i8th Century. GAMING is derived from the Saxon word Gamen, meaning joy, pleasure, sports, or gaming and is so interpreted by Bailey, in his Dictionary of 1736; whilst Johnson gives Gamble to play extravagantly for money, and this distinc- tion is to be borne in mind in the of this book perusal ; although the older term was in use until the invention of the later as we see in Cotton's Compleat Gamester (1674), in which he gives the following excellent definition of the " word : Gaming is an enchanting witchery, gotten be- tween Idleness and Avarice-, an itching disease, that makes some scratch the head, whilst others, as if they were bitten a are themselves to death by Tarantula, laughing ; or, lastly, it is a paralytical distemper, which, seizing the arm, the man cannot chuse but shake his elbow. It hath this ill property above all other Vices, that it renders a man incapable of prosecuting any serious action, and makes him unsatisfied with his condition he is either always own ; lifted up to the top of mad joy with success, or plung'd to the bottom of despair by misfortune, always in extreams, in a storm this minute the Gamester's countenance always ; is so serene and calm, that one would think nothing could disturb it, and the next minute, so stormy and tempestuous that it to itself others as threatens destruction and ; and, he is transported with joy when he wins, so, losing, is he tost \ JISTORY OF upon the billows of a high swelling passion, till he hath lost sight, both of sense and reason." Gambling, as distinguished from Gaming, or playing, I take to mean an indulgence in those games, or exercises, in character and which chance assumes a more important ; my object is to draw attention to the fact, that the money motive increases, as chance predominates over skill. It is taken up as a quicker road to wealth than by pursuing honest industry, in it the and everyone engaged it, be dabbling on Stock Exchange, Betting on Horse Racing, or otherwise, hopes to win, for it is clear that if he knew he should lose, no fool would embark in it. The direct appropriation of other people's property to one's own use, is, undoubtedly, the more simple, but it has the disadvantage of being both vulgar and so we either our dangerous ; appropriate neighbour's goods, or he does ours, by gambling with him, for it is certain that if one gains, the other loses. The winner is not reverenced, and the loser is not pitied. But it is a disease that is most contagious, and if a man is known to have made a lucky coup, say, on the Stock Exchange, hundreds rush in to follow his ex- ample, as they would were a successful gold field discovered the warning of those that perish by the way is unheeded. Of the universality of gambling there is no doubt, and it seems to be inherent in human nature. We can understand its being introduced from one nation to another but, unless it developed naturally, how can we account for aboriginals, like the natives of New England, who had never had inter- * course with foreign folk, but whom Governor Winslow describes as being advanced gamblers. "It happened that two of their men fell out, as they were in game (for they use as much as and will gaming anywhere ; play away all, even the skin from their backs and for their ; yea, wives' skins also, although they may be many miles distant from them, as myself have seen), and, growing to great heat, the one killed the other." 2 1 Good . Newsfrom New England. Written by E. W. Lon. 1624. 2 See Longfellow's Hiawatha, for Indian gambling. GAMBLING IN ENGLAND 3 The antiquity of gambling is incontestable, and can be authentically proved, both by Egyptian paintings, and by the materials in tombs of undoubted finding genuineness ; and it is even attributed to the gods themselves, as we read " in Plutarch's 'Icidog xa/ 'Onpido$.