Then the young man remarked that revenge was a fool’s luxury, and that the New Testament precept about turning the other cheek, was not only sound in religion, but was the highest good sense, as religion always is. To nurse a hatred is more expensive than to keep a horse in feed or a fine watch in repair.
The gambling came to an end finally, and the romance of Baden-Baden with it. A decree withdrew the privilege of the establishment, another prohibited the establishing of other places, and on one fateful night in 1872, at twelve o’clock, the bankers turned off their lights, and Baden-Baden as a gambling resort was no more.
The old gambling house is now called the Conversationhaus and is used for concerts and balls, and is the favorite rendezvous for the fashionable world, especially during the time the band plays, in the morning, afternoon and evening. Then the wealth and fashion residing in Baden and representing all nationalities promenades the beautiful avenues, or, making little parties, sips beer and laughs and flirts to its hearts’ content.
Near the Conversationhaus is the “Trinkhalle,” where invalids, and those who wish to be thought invalids, drink the famous mineral waters that have made Baden celebrated all over the world. The rooms are magnificently furnished, and on the arcade in front of the building are some fine frescoes illustrating different legends of the Black Forest.
IN FRONT OF THE KURSAAL, AT BADEN.