His luck changed, and he won thrice
as much as he had lost. Then his 'great sack' was brought to
him: it was a BEAR-SKIN SACK he used as a cloak!
In the madness of gaming the player stakes everything after
losing his money--his watch, his rings, his clothing; and some
have staked their EARS, and others their very LIVES-- instances
of all which will be related in the sequel.
Not very long ago a publican, who lost all his money, staked his
public-house, lost it, and had to 'clear out.' The man who won
it is alive and flourishing.
'The debt of honour must be paid: 'these are the terrible words
that haunt the gamester as he wakes (if he has slept) on the
morning after the night of horrors: these are the furies that
take him in hand, and drag him to torture, laughing the while. .
. .
What a 'sensation' it must be to lose one's ALL! A man,
intoxicated with his gains, left one gaming house and entered
another. As soon as he entered he exclaimed, 'Well, I am filled,
my pockets are full of gold, and here goes, ODDS OR EVEN?'
'Odds,' cried a player. It was ODDS, and the fortunate winner
pocketed the enormous sum just boasted of by the other.
On the other hand, sudden prosperity has deranged more heads and
killed more people than reverses and grief; either because it
takes a longer time to get convinced of utter ruin than great
good fortune, or because the instinct of self- preservation
compels us to seek, in adversity, for resources to mitigate
despair; whereas, in the assault of excessive joy, the soul's
spring is distended and broken when it is suddenly compressed by
too many thoughts and too many sensations.
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