productive of equally gratifying consequences. And should this effort be received with favor, it is his intention, at no very distant day, to travel and lecture on this subject. And observing, moreover, the kindness and consideration which have every where been generously extended to those novel laborers in the temperance field, he was led to believe, that, if those who have been reclaimed from the destructive vice of gaming, would, in like manner, throw themselves upon the indulgence of the friends of virtue and humanity, they might reasonably expect that they would not be excluded from a share in their kindly regards; nay, that the voice of every such person would be lifted up to bid them God speed. If, however, he should be disappointed in this expectation, he hopes to enjoy what will most amply recompense him for the loss—the approbation of his Maker, and of his own conscience.

I will only add, that the task of the reviser has been a comparatively light one; the work having been fully written out before it was placed in his hands for examination; and thinking, as he did, that it would be much better to let the writer tell his own story in his own way, he has done but little more than correct such grammatical errors, and verbal inaccuracies, as occasionally occurred

in the course of the manuscript. If the reader should take up this volume with the expectation of being fascinated by a display of fine writing, his anticipations will not be realized; he will, nevertheless, it is believed, meet with an intelligible presentation of such revolting and astounding facts, in reference to one of the most abominable evils that ever cursed the civilized world, as will serve to inspire him with an inflexible determination, not only to abstain from it himself, but to put forth his energies in every allowable way, to check its progress, and, if possible, to put an end to its very existence, in every part of our beloved and Heaven-favored country. To every parent, especially, who is solicitous to preserve his sons from the contaminating influence of the vices of the day, the author looks, with much confidence, for the most prompt and cordial encouragement.

GAMBLING.

THE sin of gambling, against which my present efforts are directed, is as great and widely spread as any, which, at this time, exists among us. Scarcely any class of our people are totally exempt from the effects of this deplorable evil. The children gamble, young men and women gamble, the middle-aged father and mother, who are rearing families, gamble, and, to complete the picture of degradation, we may often behold the hoary-headed sire as ardent a votary of this vice as any on the black catalogue of evil doers. And though we live in an age of moral reform, yet how little is being done either by legislative enactments, voluntary associations, or otherwise, to check this mighty evil, which is at once the parent of innumerable other vices of the most disgraceful character! The press, which is, or ought to be, the guardian of our public morals, very rarely alludes to this most abominable practice the ministers of religion have become so accustomed to regarding it as a thing generally practised or tolerated, that they seem to have lost much of that just abhorrence with which it should always be viewed, and but seldom speak of it in their sermons; and the consequence is, that it is left to do its work of destruction almost without an effort to reform the old, or restrain the young. Indeed, in many parts of our country, the people are almost as much addicted to this vice as some of the

The Evil Consequences of Gambling.

ancient Germans, as described by the Roman historian; and yet our moralists allow it to exist and spread in comparative quiet, instead of standing up and deprecating, and battling against its pernicious effects with all their ability, as it is their bounden duty to do.

Gambling is a sin of the deepest dye - one that strikes at the root of every good and virtuous feeling known to our nature. When a young man has imbibed a passion for it, all sense of honor and probity soon becomes eradicated, and every noble quality which elevates man above the brute creation, is prostrated, and generally forever. His whole soul becomes absorbed in the darling vice; and the love of parents, of country, and of his fellowmen, and all the pleasure which he may have formerly taken in literary and scientific pursuits, are completely lost sight of, and soon become annihilated. There is no redeeming quality which the gambler can set up against the crime he is committing. He is fully aware that it is impossible to make his infamous vocation a certain source of gain, unless he will continually practise the vilest artifices and deception, which render the heart callous to every feeling of morality and religion. Let us reflect for a moment on the condition of the man who is constantly making use of such dishonorable means, not only for the purpose of ruining such as chance may throw in his way, but even the bosom friends of his youth; some of whom are almost sure to fall into the snares of the professed gambler. All the finer sensibil

* Some among the ancient semi-barbarous nations, after losing all their property by gambling, including their horses and armor, frequently staked their liberty, and became the slaves of the winners, remaining in servitude for life, unless their masters emancipated them.

The Evil Consequences of Gambling.

ities of our nature become prostituted, or are totally destroyed, in the bosom of the hardened gambler. Has he a wife and family? they are shamefully neglected; and often intemperance and debauchery so weaken or destroy the love of home, that it is almost, if not entirely, deserted. The least run of ill luck so sours his temper, as to render his domestic circle a scene of misery. Is he betrothed by the hallowed vow of fidelity to the woman of his choice? how soon every charm, every tender tie, every enchanting feeling of the heart is dissipated or deadened in the soul of the sordid and polluted gambler! The man who becomes firmly attached to this vice is seldom reclaimed. To acquire a fortune or a competency by industry, or by any of the honest pursuits of life, is a thing that he never dreams of; or, if he gives them a serious reflection, they appear to him so 'oathsome, vapid, and irksome, that it seems to him utterly impossible ever to get the consent of his mind to engage in them. And should an upright or piously disposed acquaintance hint to him the propriety of a reformation, he is apt to put him off by pleading the necessity of his having money by some means, and his inability to follow any other pursuit, from the want of those necessary qualifications, which he has heretofore neglected; and with this, or some other excuse, equally discreditable to his head and heart, does he continue his evil course.

A few years roll away, divided between penury and ill-gotten wealth, though the former is almost certain to become his ultimate fate. His health grows feeble; he is more and more incapacitated to follow his associates through their various routines of midnight revelry, and they desert him. His long habits of life render him