Well, the administration of
the Kursaal conveyed to that lost English dove and others a note of
warning which struck the senses, as does the immortal warning emblazoned
on the fair brow of that beautiful college; only, in the Kursaal the
warning struck the ear, not the eye. They provided French clocks with a
singularly clear metallic striking tick; their blows upon the life of
Time rang sharp above the chant, the mumble, and the jingle. These clocks
seemed to cry aloud, and say of the hours, whose waste they recorded,
"Pereunt - et - impu-tantur, pere - unt - et - imputantur."
Reckless of this protest, the waves of play rolled on, and ere long
sucked all our characters but Vizard into the vortex. Zoe hazarded a
sovereign on red, and won; then two on black, and won; then four on red,
and won. She was launched, and Fanny too. They got excited, and bet
higher; the croupiers pelted them with golden coins, and they began to
pant and flush, and their eyes to gleam. The old gamblers' eyes seem to
have lost this power--they have grown fishy; but the eyes of these female
novices were a sight. Fanny's, being light gray, gleamed like a panther's
whose prey is within leap.
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