[A] In the United States of America this perfidious scheme was brought to great perfection, and carried out by the bankers themselves at these establishments.
Robertson, in his Memoirs, thus describes it:—In the centre of the tables for play a mechanical spring is concealed, which, by being touched, can make the ball enter the division of "pair" or "impair" at pleasure.
If "Pair" is the favourite, and large stakes are on it, the spring under the table is touched, and, by tightening by the hundredth part of an inch all the "pairs," the ball is forced to enter the "impairs," which are larger.
Whilst this was going on, the victims were pricking their cards and reckoning their chances of winning, but what could the most learned calculator do against a push of the knee?
[B] Benazet is the name of the proprietor of the gambling-tables.
[C] M. Ancelot.
[D] Two well-known public-houses in the vicinity of the Marché de la Halle.
[E] Pair, Impair, Passe, Manque, Rouge, Noir, and the thirty-eight numbers in Roulette.
[F] To martingale, is to double your stake each time that you lose.
[G] See the interesting work of Edouard Gourdon, "Les faucheurs de Nuit"—the chapter on fetishes.