Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-06-14

placid surface, TO be succeeded by Paueflns
rain drops, and the ripping play OF RULED wa
ter. Thus pleasure for while lights. up the
gamester's face, the features glow as It passes
over them, and then relapse into the emotions
Of deep rooted melancholy Miserable feelings
are not only betrayed in the counienance; they
are perceived in each movement OF the hana,
the 2eevish grasp of,he dice box, or the duoi,
Gus selection ola card, in the arrangement OF
the tricks, and the disposition OF the counters;
his whole air denotes mental struggle. sup
pose he be the momen,ary winner; even lheh
his delight is but mockery OF felicity, whiie
the losing adversary awes down It's demonslra-
ton by the livid contortions OF his 'lsage, ana
the patient sternness OF avarice wrilhlng for
speedy retaliation.
ale who enGures the pangs OF unmeri'ea
woe, may have hopeless lol; but the very co"-
seriousness Of its being undeserVed, is source
ola flful consolation. As the day-god, which
amid the dark thunder clouds that overShade
his empyreal radiance, will sometimes gieam
through the cleft gloom, so is the heart OIL the
guiltless mourner occasionally snone upon, oy
that sweet beckoner, Hope. But what source
of consolation has the gamester? What reier-
ing balm when tortured by his wrelchedness!
HIS soul is then volcano Of rioting passions
and remorseless fires. The past is scene that
Yields no retrospective calm; the present is but
its faithful commentator. Suppose, as II ire
quenlly happens, that during bis gambling
course he has risen on the ruins oil fallen VIC
tim, and the wrecks Of decayed youth and blast
ed genius-what then are the phan,oms OF mi
serv that hover round his reflections! 10 have
ruined ones self is a doleful contamination; bu:
add the remembered distraction Of those we
have traduced, and there is nothing equivalent
10 the recollection of the circumstances. can
easily imagine such one before me-picture
him attempting TO repose within the curtalned
loneliness of his chamber. There is but little
sumber to visit his eyeiids! liz is haunted
like the murderer, by the shadowy resemhances
of the murdered. The poisoning hopes he
blightcd, the promise Of years that he wrecked,
anrl he one light bosom lie burdened with
afflict,on now fell by his own-all throw a
gnas,ly nue. on his imagination, and wake
IN the phrensIes Of his brain. Perhaps he
was the elder, and once would have shndder-
ed d, the idea of tempting 10 destruction the
counselled associate Of his early days He
NAV have behed the mothers sainted fond
ness for her son, the fathers united cares tor
the welfare of their ofspring-what are the
horrors of his recollections! Who was It that
deadened by despair the sympathies OF hon
or and friendship, alured him from his princi-
ples,and charmed away the bashful regret on
his first appearance at the haunt OF the gam
blers? Himself: and can he forget the dreari-
ness of his aspect the wildness of his stare, and
the commissions of his person, when he last
rushed, like maniac, from his presence strip
ped of honor, virtue, and happiness? Convict
ing conscience condemns him as the seducer
of the experienced, and answerable for all the
unknown woes of his after life. Then, as for
himself-what is he? the perpetrator OF his
own destruction-a reduced, degraded wreck
of guilt and crime that seem too deep for peni
tence to absolve. 1t is probable, too ne may
be the destroyer of domestic felicity, that de-
pended on his welfare for its continuance.
He maylo round and meet the gaze OF
broken wife-observe the clingng chill
dren whose beggary he has earned-a parent
whose hoary fondness claimed his most pious
solitudes. Methinks / can see the remorse
full victim with the cold sweat OF anguish on
his brow, and hear his whispered groans as he
turns restlessly on his bed! There is nothing
overdrawn here: many are his resemblances III
the metropolis at this hour.
And what can the successful gamester pos.
sess to create his happiness? If happiness, as
we are told arise from the mind, the gamester's
is too inhuman TO be of mental nature Sup
pose him a swindler-wfll not The :read OF oe-
lection harrow his bosom and corrode his soul!
Will the gripping clutch of hundreds from dc:
frauded novice, repay him Tor his moments OF
uncommunicated torture? The Transform flush
OF Joy for fortunate, guile, is succeeded by the
vengeance Of conscience, that ELECTS toriures
even amid his struggles of fancied delight -
Then, what dreary shadows Of rem1rse are ever
floating before his Imagination! Miserable, in
deed, is peni,ence wrestling with fondness Tor
crime. If virtue be pursued, the haunts OF
guilt must be deserted; the dice box and long
accustomed fellowships are to be rellnquished,
and the singing Jeers of insulting folly must be
endured; nor is this all. Tears must be the
precursors of resolutions, and his plundered
victims must be repaid, or peace resides MOI in
his breast. But where are the thousands which
honor and justice are to restore?-lavIshed in
dissipation, or rendered the purveyors OF crlml-
nal delight. The gambler, therefore, feels it
easier 10 practice than to forsake crime; and
thus his heart, after lowering, like the descend
ing eagle, between remorse and love for vice re.
n