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Show . . GAMBLING AMONG THE ROMANS. ! Kvielence of its Prevalence Found in Kxca-vations Kxca-vations Kverywliere. So intense was the love of the Romans for games of hazard, says a writer in the North American Smeut, that wherever I have excavated exca-vated the pavement of a portico, of a basilica, basil-ica, of a bath or any flat surface accessible to the public, I have always found gambling gam-bling tables engraved or scratched on the marble or stone slabs, for the amusement of idle men, always ready to cheat each othei out of their money. The evidence of this fact is to be found in the Forum, in the Basilliea Julia, in the corridors of the Colis-I Colis-I i -uui. on the temple of Venus and Home, in the square in front of the portico of the twelve j gods, and even in the house of the vestals after af-ter its secularization in 303. Gamiug tables arc especially abundant in barracks such as those of the seventh battalion of vigiles near by S. Ciitogono, and of the police at Ostia and Porto, and of the Roman encampment near Guise in the department of Aisne, Sometimes, Some-times, when the camp was moved from place to place, or else from Italy to the ; frontier of the empire, the men would not j hesitate to carry the heavy tables with their I luggage. Two, of the pure Roman make, j have been discovered at Rusicade in Nil-I Nil-I Dtidia and at Ain-Kebira in Mauri tania Naturally enough they could not be wanting want-ing in the Pr;rtoriau camp and iu the tav-I tav-I ems patronized by its turbulent garrison, j where the time was spent in reveling and ! gambling and in riots ending in tights and j bloodshed. |