Small sums in silver are always forthcoming to almost any
extent, and a clever man who has no more than L100 capital to start with
may pitch his tent almost anywhere, and make sure of getting plenty of
custom. People speak of the Italians as gamblers, but in Italy gambling
is not nearly so prevalent as in England. In Manchester alone one
sporting journal has a morning and evening edition, and there are daily
papers in most of the large Yorkshire towns. In the North-country I have
often watched the workmen during the breakfast half-hour, and found that
they did not care a rush for anything in the paper save the sporting
news. In London two great journals are published daily, and twice a week
each of them issues a double number. Every line of these papers is
devoted to sport, and each of them is a rich estate to the proprietor.
The mania for betting grows more acute every day, the number of wealthy
bookmakers increases, and the national demoralisation has reached a
depth which would seem inconceivable to anyone who has not lived with
all sorts and conditions of men.
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