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260 T : te Leader and l Saturday AnaZyst...
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Rome, February 25, 18C0. PAPAT ^ LOTTERI...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Foreign Correspondence. (Special.) Paris...
the Reverend Father Lacoedaike , who , as everybody knows , about a month ago was elected a member of the Academy—the forty immortals , as they are called . _ / - . , , ;' The event which is looked forward to with the liveliest interest is the approaching trial of the Bishop of Orleans for libel on the Sk ' cle * It ougjit to have opened on Monday , but , on account of the indisposition—( of a very voluntary nature , I am told ; like the indispositions , as was supposed , of Mr . GiaDstoke)—of one of the advocates , it is postponed till to-morrow , the 15 th . Mons . Ducpanlotjf ' s antecedents do not prejudice one in his favour . He was born in 1802 , afca small Village in Savoy , and in 1815 was sent to school in Pari 3 . Even at this age * and in the position of schoolboy , he found more than one opportunity of displaying that turbulent spirit which has just now found vent in defaming his dead predecessor . In 1825 he was ordained priest , and soon attained great eminence as a preacher ; and his success was siveh , that his superior , accusing him of self-seeking in the business , desired hint to cease a certain course of lectures . But Dupanlotjp was only too pleased to have a quarrel with anybody , and the consequence was an obstinate warfare for some months , which was only ended by the curate finding a better " place" at the church of St . Roche , where he acquired most of that Jearning which has come in so opportunely , or , . some might think , so inopportunely , during the present crisis . The Revolution of 1830 was an annoyance to Dupanlotjp , who had been made chaplain to the Duke of Boedeaitx , in which capacity he doubtless had , or speedily would . have had , no small influence upon ecclesiastical affairs . However , like all truly great men , the . priest •¦ y ielded to the force of circumstances , especially as such a concession was rather favourable than otherwise to his temporal prospects , and he was appointed to open the conferences of Notre-Dame , which he did with great eclat , in 1834 . When the archbishopric of Piiris was vacant ,. Mi Dtjpanlotjp vehemently opposed the election of M . Afpre , but in vain . The new prelate , however , bore him no animosity on this account , and sent him , oil an important mission to Rpme , al the . same time raising : him to _ the rank of titular grand vicar . On his return to the Eternal City , M . Dtjpaslottp passed through Piedmont , and the King of Sardinia promised him a mitre if h « would remain in . his dominions . This was refused , either because he was alarmed at the thought of so loftv a dignity , or because he thought a bishopric in France better than one in Piedmont . In 1841 the Abbe DupanLoup \ vas made professor of sacred eloquence at the Sorbonne , where his lectures were thinly attended , and he proved a desperate failure . His next rise was to become Superior of the Seminary of St . Nicholas , and , during all the latter part of the reign of Lotjis Piiitii ' rE , we find < his name mixed up with every agitation of the time ; and the violence of his articles which appeared in L'Ami de la Reltgzon drew upon him universal remonstrance ; to which the reverend gentleman replied somewhat paradoxically , " We do . not insult , but we do not respect . " He was an object of great dislike to the King , and lie was fully aware that his only hopes of preferment lay in a revolution . This revolution came to pass in 1848 ; and on the 6 th of August , 1849 , Felix DrrAN ^ bf 3 ? became Felix Oh : lea .: ns . As bishop he has been incessantly active , seeing much society , frequently writing on the topics of the day , unwearied in the cause of theological education , having even opened a school in the episcopal palace ; but ; tinder all circumstances , he has been uninterruptedly quarrelling with somebody or other . In 1854 lie was chosen an Academician , for motives somewhat similar to those which suggested to Father Lacordaiue "to renew tlie ancient alliance between the Church and literature , between tho Episcopate ond the French Academy . " His only work which is not of a fugitive character is one on . ediicationi which somebody has called the finest educational monument of the century . His productions pn the Papal question are nbsolutely frenzied ; but they are too well known to call for any description . Tho Parisians are very angry affiu ' nst Nature just now tor a reason besides the cold weather . Half of Paris went hist Thursday to Havre , Dieppe , Boulogne , Cherbourg , to see la grando income the highest tide there has not been for a hundred years ; the special - trains wore crowded with an eager public , and landed the ^ aideager public duly , but to and behold ! what was their disgust to find old ocean much as usual ; with perhaps a laugh upon his watery countenance at their credulity . At Boulogne , however , a few hours after the departure of the special train and its disgusted cargo for Paris , amounting to about four thousand souls inveighing savtvgely against the railway companies , and vowing never again to trust the , predictions ol'lidologiBtB--T \ vhilst 1 hoy were doing all this v strong wind rose , and there was a inagnificont sea , whi'dh came rushing m with iririmense force , sweeping ri ^ ht up to the clifl ' s . Otherwise , la f / raitdo marte must seem to'have been got up by JBarnum . * ' . . i .
260 T : Te Leader And L Saturday Anazyst...
260 T te Leader and Saturday AnaZyst . L ^ - ^ 03 17 > I 860 . turns in
Rome, February 25, 18c0. Papat ^ Lotteri...
Rome , February 25 , 18 C 0 . PAPAT ^ LOTTERIES . IF over anybody had cause to regret the suppression of lottoviefi , it is the whole tribe of writers and authors . Nevei' will there bo found a " Deus cxiwctotnnd " so serviceable or so unfailing as tho lottery . If your plot wanted a solution , or your intrigue a iH ^ iottenxmt , ov your novel a termination ,-you could always out through all your difficulties by tho medium of a lottery ticket . 1 ho virtuous but impoverished hero became at once u very Croesus , \ v In Jo the stern and worldly-minded parent bestowed liie duuyhtor and his blcsflintf on tho fiuccoeslul gambler , who , by the , way , never purchnsod his own ticket , but always hiul it bequeathed him as a legacy . Alas ! lottery tickets , lilso Indian uncles and pluces umler
government , have gone out of date . The iond glance or memory vain towards the . good old times , " Consule Giorgio , " when lotteries were in their glory . It is , however , some comfort to reflect that jf , as devout Catholics assert , the Papacy is eternal , then , in Ron , e at least , the lottery is eternal also . In truth , tlie lottery is a great , I might almost say the great Pontifical institution . It is a trade not only sanctioned , but actively supported by the Government . Partly , therefore ,: as a matter of literary interest ,, and partly as ^ a curious feature in the economics of the Papal States , I have made ^ various r researches into the working of tlie lottery system , and shall endeavour to irive you the practical , not the pecuniary , result ot my ' investigations . . ' During the year 1858 , the receipts from the lottery were up wards of one million scudi , or nearly a tenth " of the whole Pontifical revenue . This source of income , therefore , is a very important one , and is jealously guarded as a Government monopoly . There are no public gambling tables allowed in the Papal States , Even high play in private houses is suppressed , if known to the police authorities . In fact , if you want to - gamble , you must gamble at the tables , and on the terms of the Government . The very sale ot foreiq-n lottery tickets is , I believe , illegal . To this rule , however , there is one exception , and that . is in favour of Tuscany . Between the Grand Ducal , and the Papal Governments , there long existed an entente cprdiale on the subject of lotteries . There is no bond , cynics say , so powerful as that of common interest ; and this sayingseems to be justified in the present instance . Though the Court of Rome is at variance on every pohit of politics and faith with the present revolutionary Government at Florence , yet in matters ot money they are not divided ; and so the joint lottery system flourishes as of old . Tjie lottery is drawn once a fortnight . at ^ iouu * , and once every alternate fortnight at Florence or Leghorn ; , audf as far as the speculator is concerned , it makes no difference whether . his ticket is drawn for in Rome or Tuscany , though the losses or gains of each branch are kept separate . These lotteries are not ot the good plain old stamp—in which there were , suppose , ten thousand tickets , and ten prizes of different value ; and the remaining nine thousand ' nine- hundred and ninety ticket-holders drew blanks . ¦ .- ¦ .. The-- system of speculation in vogne here is far more hazardous and complicated ..- '~ To any one acquainted w . itfi the German gambling places it is enough to say , that our lottery system is exactly like that of a roulette table . , with the single , exception that the chances in favour of the Bank , instead of being about thirty-seven to thirty-six , as they are at Baden or Hombourg , are in the proportion of three to one . For the benefit of those to whom these terms convey no meaning , I will try to explain the system as shortly as I can . ' ' . . ;' ¦ . „ . numbers
In a Papal or Tuscan lottery , tliqre are ninety , rrom one up to ninety ; and of these nunabers five are drawn . You may therefore stake your money on any one , any two , or any three numbers turning iip amongst the five drawn , which is termed playing at the eletlo , aliiho , and terno respectively ; or you may -finally play ol esiralto , that is , you may . not only speculate on the particular numbers drawn , but on the order in which they may happen to be drawn ; this , however , is rarely done . Now , a very slight process of calculation will show you that the chances against your naming- one number out of the five , drawn is eighteen to one , against vour predicting two about four hundred to one , and against your hitting on three nearly twelve thousand to one . Supposing , therefore , the game was played with ordinary fairness , and twenty-iivo per cent , were deducted off the winnings for working expenses and profits ; if you staked a scudo , for instance , and got an cleilo , ambo or terno , you ought to win , say in round' numbers , fourteen , throe hundred , and nine thousand scudi respectively . In reality , you would win , if ( a very great " if" ) indeed you did wjn , not more than four , twenty-five , and 3 CO 0 scudi . In fact , if there ever was a game in the world at which the paying , "hends yoiVwm and tails I lose '' holds true , it is playing at the Papal lottery . If the number you bnoic does not turn up , you lose your stake ; if it does , you nro docked of about seventy-live per cent , of your winnings , h or my part , I would sooner play ' at tfiimWerig on Epsom downs , or dominoes with Greek- merchants , or at three cavds " with a casua and communicative follow traveller of sporting cast . 1 should infallibly bo legged in either caso ; but at any rate I should get some amusement for my money . Still , oven those gentlemen who play with loatjed dice , ov marked cards , may havo a run ot lucU against them . Spiritual infallibility itself cannot decide whether u halfpenny tossed into the air will come down man or , womun ; and the law of chances cannot be regulated by n moiu proptuo . U ih possible , though not probable , that on any occasiPn tho majority ot gamblers may fortuitously stake their money on one series of numbers j and if thoso numbers did happen to turn up , tlion the loss to tho lottery , even with all deductions , would bo a serious one , nijiU the Papal ' Exchequer is not prepared to bear any heavy drain . I }> consociucnco , measures are taken to avert this calamity . J ' -acli office reports daily what sums have been staked , on what number .- ; and if any numbers are regarded with undue partiality , orders ma issued from tho head department to recoive no moro money on ththo numbers or scries of numbers . I have assumed all uloij ^ ( hat 11 . o numbers aro drawn fairly ; and , without a very high opinion as to . the integrity of tho Papal rulore , I am disposed to think they iuv . In tho iirst placo , any suspicion aa to tho fairness of tho drawip , ^ would bo fatal to the futuro success of the speculation ; and in Ilm second , by the usual rule of averages , it will ho found that on ihu whole people stake protty ' equally on ono number or oombinntion us on another ; and thoruforo tho fluqation , which numbers turn up , id of 1 cb 8 pruoliu / ul importance to thq lottery than ono would nt luwti
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 17, 1860, page 16, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_17031860/page/16/
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