Squatter sovereign., 1855-11-13

II .-a =
smote him. She was all love and gentle
ness. sincerity and confidence. and he had
basely deceived her. fFsf.' .s'a.s
Should he not return, throw himself at
her feet, and beg her forgiveness Such
a course was certainly the most grateful to
his erring. penitent soul; but he had made
a '.bad speculation, and while there was
a hope of retrieving himself. the demon of
mammon within, prompted him to sin
again. h aa 10 yl3s
Turning down Park Place. he entered
one of those gambling hells, which are
the curse Of enlightened America. Again
he paused on the steps o. the magnificent
establishment. to silence the upbraidings
of his conscience. The beautiful loving
expression Of his wife, languishing away
the tedious hours of his absence in lonely
misery, haunted him.
But the usual consolation, the oft-re-
peated resolve of the erring soul, "only
this time and then will forever abandon
the way Of the transgressor," came to urge
him on. e a.tt -.4....f.s, tf.su sr
BY the gas light in the street. he observed
dark form, closely mhffled IN the ample
folds OF Spanish cloak, approaching the
spot where he stood. The stranger paused
by his side, glanced intently at him. and
then entered the saloon.
He followed him; the hall flashed with
brilliant lights, and the gay and fashiona-
bic of the metropolis thronged the scene.
Men smiled as tho the place was not the
gate Of hell itself. The old and respecta-
bic of the bar and the forum, and the ex-
| change, were there countenancing by their
presence and example the iniquity prac-
ticed within those gilded walls. a.t a.s
Robert Wilson shuddered as he entered
the saloon. Yet why should he shrink
from the scene in which the respectable
men of the community hestatcd not to min
fgles
Poor, simple young man! his soul had
not yet come TO believe that wealth, sta
tion. and the honors Of the world can sat-
isiy sin and hallow iniquity. 2,a
In an unguarded hour he had been lured
into this "dcn of thieves by a man of
good standing in society-the importer
from whom he had purchased many of his
goods, and who held his notes in payment
OF them. @
He had hazarded few dollars. though
his conscience smote him all the while
He won; he was in the hands of those
who were experienced in the management
of unsuspecung dupes. He went away
with his pockets well lined with the fruits
of his unhallowed gains. 49,
Inflated by the ambition to become sud-
denly rich, he went again, and again he
won.
The devil lured him on. With firm
resolution to abandon these visits when he
should have added the gains OF one more
night to his previous accumulation, he
went a third time. If he succeeded on
this occasion as lie had on the two previous
nights, he should be able to pay the only
remaining note he owed. the prospects
of freeing himself entirely from debt, sud-
denly and without labor. tempted him to
engage once again in the exciting game.
But the gamblers had let him run the
whole length of his rope. On the third
night he lost-Iost all he had before won !
All his fine fancies were thus dashed to
the ground. But the hope of freeing him
self from debt had taken strong hold of his
imagination, and he could not so easily
resign it.
Again he went. trusting tina, the chances
of the game would again favor him-again
and again he went. till all his available
means were sacrificed. The gamblers
adroitly permitted him to win few dol
lars occasionally, and thus his hopes were
kept buoyant.
All were gone, bu, the passion Of gam
ing had gained intensity as his worldly
substance melted away @
Uneasily he strolled among the gam
bling tables. now pausing to glance for an
instant at the game, and then hurrying
nervously on again. ..,s
He had two hundred dollars in his pock-
e., and --humiliating reHecsion!-it had
been given by his wife. He must be care
full Of Il; he could hope for no more.
AS he paced the gaily thronged hall. he
discovered the dark looking stranger. who
had confronted him at the entrance Of the
saloon, alone at one OF the marble tables.
The eye of the dark stranger being sud-
denly rested sharply upon him. It was a
dark. deeply expressive. blue eye-is
seemed not unfamiliar TO him. The
glance. he knew NOT whv. had fivesed him