ten o’clock in the evening
I was certainly very wild in England ; but then young men , you know , Grey ! and I did not leave a card , or call , before I went ; and the English are very stiff and precise about those things ; and the Trevors had been very kind to me . I think we had better take a little coffee now ; and then , if you like , we will just stroll into the REDOUTE . '' In a brilliantly-illuminated saloon , adorned with Corinthian columns and casts from some of the most famous antique statues , assembled , between nine and ten o'clock in the evening , many of the visitors at Ems . On each side of the room was placed a long narrow table , one of which was covered with green baize , and unattended ; while the variously-coloured leathern surface of the other was closely surrounded by an interested crowd . Behind this table stood two individuals of different appearance . The first was a short , thick man , whose only business was dealing certain portions of playing cards with quick succession one after the other : and as the fate of the table was decided by this process , did his companion , a very tall , thin man , throw various pieces of money upon certain stakes , which were deposited by the bystanders on different parts of the table ; or , which was much oftener the case , with a silver rake with a long ebony handle , sweep into a large inclosure near him the scattered sums .