TWO MASTERS OF THE ART.
A Frenchman who had become notorious for the unerring
certainty with which he won from all who ventured to play with
him, at length found himself unable to induce persons to sit down
to the table with him, there being not the slightest chance of
winning against his play. After being thus idle for some time,
an Englishman, who had heard of his triumphs, expressed his
readiness to enter the lists against him. They sat down, and
played for three hours without intermission, and at the end
of that time were exactly in the same position
as when they begun. They at length paused to take some
refreshment. `Sare,' said the Frenchman, in a sort of whisper,
to a party who accompanied his antagonist, `your friend is a very
clever man at de cards — deuced clever, sare.' `He is a very
clever fellow,' observed the Englishman. `I shall try him
again,' said Monsieur; and as he made the observation he
proceeded to the room in which they had been playing, and which
was fixed on as the scene of their continued contest. He had
scarcely quitted the place when the other made his appearance,
and observed that the Frenchman was the most skilful player he
had ever met with. The parties again met, and the cards were
again produced. The game was renewed at eleven o'clock, and
continued without intermission till six o'clock on the following
morning, at which time they found, to the surprise of each other,
that they were still as they began. `Sare,' said the Frenchman,
`you are the best player I ever met with.' `And you, Monsieur,'
returned the other, `are the only gentleman I ever played with,
from whom I could win nothing.' `Indeed, sare!' said Monsieur,
hesitatingly. `It is a fact, I assure you.' `Sare,
I am quite astonished at your skill.' `And I'm not less so
at yours, Monsieur.' `You're de most skilfullest man at de cards
in England.' `Not while you are in it, Monsieur,' replied the
Englishman, with a smile. `Sare, I
cheated, and yet could
not win from you!' remarked the Frenchman, hurriedly and with
much emphasis, feeling it impossible any longer to conceal his
surprise at the circumstance of being unable to play a winning
game with the Englishman. `And, Monsieur, I did the same thing
with you, and yet you are no loser!' remarked the other, with
corresponding energy of tone.
The problem was thus solved: both had been cheating during
the whole night, and were exactly equal in dexterity, both being
unconscious of the dishonest practices of each other; and the
result was that each got up from the table with the same amount
of money as he had when he sat down. The cheats cordially shook
hands, apparently much gratified that they had at length
ascertained how it had happened that neither could pluck the
other.
