A woman with gray hair and large diamonds in her ears picked up her winnings and added them to the stack of silver on the table in front of her, and the croupiers with wooden rakes raked in scores of coins that had been laid on losing numbers.
At some of the tables in the magnificent apartments of the Casino the stakes were higher, twenty franc gold pieces being used, and at these tables, eager players, infatuated with the game, hazarded handfuls of gold on the turn of the wheel.
"The chances to win or lose appear to be about even," said the Californian. "They must, however, be in favor of the Casino; for the company requires a large income to meet the enormous expenses incurred in keeping up this handsome palace and grounds with thousands of employees, croupiers, guards, gardeners, and care-takers. In addition, the company pays a heavy tax to the Prince of Monaco, and yet is said to have large profit."
THE POPULAR PROMENADE OF THE CITY.
When our coach arrived at the hotel in Nice some one remarked: "You appear to be enthusiastic over your drive." We were; there was no doubt about it, and we might well have added that we were just as well pleased with the whole trip to the Orient. We started with great expectations and we were not disappointed.
At Nice, when the Moltke sailed for New York, we parted with feelings of regret from many pleasant friends and companions whose acquaintance we had made during the trip, and with whom we had been agreeably associated on sea and on land.
Transcriber's Note:
Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note. Some pages have two illustrations with captions for both underneath. These have been split into two separate captioned illustrations. The moving of some illustrations for smoother reading has caused some page numbers to be missed.
Noteworthy corrections:
Pausanius => Pausanias (p. 110)
re-remarked => remarked (p. 254)
cavaran => caravan (p. 281)
Mahmond => Mahmoud (p. 338)
symphathize => sympathize (p. 380)
millionaries => millionaires (p. 381)
exlaimed => exclaimed (p. 386)