FROM THE ARCHIVES:High society in England was agog in early 1891 with what became known as the Royal Baccarat Scandal involving the then Prince of Wales in illegal gambling and a major cad, Sir William Gordon-Cummings, in allegations of cheating. The Irish Times'sLondon correspondent relayed the breaking news with obvious relish. – JOE JOYCE
The skill which must have been exercised, and the precautions which must have been taken to keep dark so interesting an affair, must have been phenomenal, considering the ladies in the case have actually held their tongues about it all this time.
The leading facts are as follows. During the St. Leger week the Prince of Wales was one of the house party at Doncaster of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wilson.
They were gay times with racing all day and baccarat in the evening – not too heavy play but with the stakes of from £1 to £5 a time, which perhaps was quite high enough even for the pockets of a prince after the bookmakers had been at them all day.
There were about a score at play with the prince including a well-known baronet and who is an intimate friend of the Prince. On the Monday night of the Doncaster week some of the party, after consulting together, came to the conclusion that he was cheating.
They believed he was practising what on the Continent is called the “poussette” – which may be translated as the “push”. It consists of pushing money over the stake line, or drawing money back after the decision of the event – increasing the stake of a winner, and decreasing it if a loser. In the excitement and bustle of the play it is said to be a somewhat easy method of swindling to a player with a strong nerve.
However, some of the party reckoned they had caught this baronet at it and they resolved themselves into a committee to watch him the following night. There were five on this committee – two ladies and three gentlemen – one of whom was a brother officer in the baronet’s battalion.
As a result of their Tuesday night’s private detective and confidential inquiry sort of operations, they decided to confront the accused with their charges. The baronet repudiated the charges with all the indignation and emphasis he could get into language fit for the ears of Royalty.
At his Royal Highness’s intercession an arrangement was come to by which the world was never to know he had been mixed up in a baccarat row. The baronet, still denying the charge, there and then gave a written undertaking never to play cards again, and his accusers signed documents promising on their words of honour never to mention the matter again.
Months went by, and then the secret, which everyone thought had been successfully strangled and buried, came out of the its grave in the bosoms of that noble company, and its ghosts began to walk the clubs with the persistency of all ghosts.
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