A Sequel to Don Juan — page 122: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

DON JUAN. 113 CXITM. The parson was most knowing, to be sure : No Greek could bridge* the cards so well—and none With dice was half so able to secure :+ By him a flat was certain to be done. His vein of luck seemed ever to endure ;— And ’tis enough to puzzle any one How amongst sharps and blacklegs the old parson Night after night could carry such a farce on. * To ‘bridge the cards’ is to bend any number of them in such a manner, but still so slightly as to be unapparent to one who is not initiated, that an antagonist will take up in cutting the quantity so bridged, or curved, and thus suit another pre arrangement of the sharp,’’ who by these means possesses himself of the king or other high card at ecarte, &c. ‘* Bridging” is now so well known, that few ‘‘ Greeks’’ (sharpers) ever have recourse to it; but fifty years ago the practice was only understood by a small] number of persons. + To “‘secure’ is to retain one die in the hollow of the hand which holds the box, while the other die is rattled sharply and only for a few moments in the box, so that the absence of one is not perceived by the ear. Then, when the ‘* Greek” proceeds to throw or cast his dice, he turns up any number he chooses with the one ‘“‘ secured’’ in his hand. In order to give to one die rattling in the box the sound of two dice, a raised rim or hoop is cut inside the box, about half way down. This speces of hoop is, on the other hand, an auxilary towards rendering the box a fair one, as the dice must turn in passing it, and consequently a player cannot pre-arrange the numbers he intends to throw by placing the dice in a certain way iu the box so that when cleverly turned over such numbers may appear upwards. The hoop in the box is therefore an aid to the ‘* Greek** who ‘‘ secures’?—and a guarantee of fair play when that practice is nat had recourse to. i | CONnnicloOoOkxs co 5}