Dusaulx states that he was told the fact by a
lieutenant-general, who was an eye-witness.
It is well known that gamblers, like dogs that bite a stone flung
at them, have eaten up the cards, crushed up the dice, broken the
tables, damaged the furniture, and finally 'pitched into' each
other--as described by Lucian in his Saturnalia. Dusaulx assures
us that he saw an enraged gambler put a burning candle into his
mouth, chew it, and swallow it. A mad player at Naples bit the
table with such violence that his teeth went deep into the wood;
thus he remained, as it were, nailed to it, and suddenly expired.
The other players took to flight; the officers of justice visited
the place; and the corpse was deprived of the usual ceremony of
burial.[10]
[10] Gazette de Deux-Ponts, du 26 Novembre, 1772.
The following strange but apparently authentic fact, is related
in the Mercure Francois (Tome I. Annee 1610).
'A man named Pennichon, being a prisoner in the Conciergerie
during the month of September, 1610, died there of a wonderfully
sudden death. He could not refrain from play. Having one day
lost his money, he uttered frightful imprecations against his
body and against his soul, swearing that he would never play at
cards again.
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