The Trinity journal., 1856-02-23

MAKE YOUR GAME, GENTLEMEN.-W were
passing along Stockton street few days ago
smoking q three cent cigar and thinking
about things celestial, mot Chinese, when
most promising train of thought was snap
ped short off by our being brought up sud
denly against the concave side of a semi
circular gaming table which, in the process
of removal from large brick building near
by, had been left on the possibly
for the purpose Of eliciting this paragraph,
but probably in waiting for a hand-cart to
convey the unsightly thing out Of the way
The half-consumed Manila fell from our lips,
and in moment, with hands resting ear
nestlv on the green covering OF tins lmple-
meut of Mammon, we were plunged into
profound philosophical comathematlcal calcula-
ton, during which we guessed at the prob
ole amount of money which had changed
hands over it, surmised concerning the pc
cuniary misery it had occasioned, reasoned
in regard to the proportionate extent Of its
instrumentality in perverting from respec-
table morality gold-worshipping people,
speculated as to its possible influence upon
the worlds future history and finally turn
ed back few pages Of the past, blotted and
scratched with the scarcely legible recollec-
tions of the romance, rain and sunshine Of
California as it was, and there saw hun
dreds of tables like the one we were then ia
c:ng-not only tables, but men gathered
around them-men with bags OF gold in
their hands, and knives and pistols in their
belts-men who were drinking bad whskey
by the pint and betting their last dollar on
the deuce-men who, i'll many instances, had
been the expounders of Gods goSpe. in the
older States, and moral luminaries to the viz
tue-seekng world The more pages we turn
ed back, the more numerous became the Glm
outlines of both square and crescent-shaped
gambling tables, mingled more and more
densely with huge purses, red flannel shirts,
Bowie knives, eghtnch revOlverS, canvas
shanties and slapjacks until at last they
alone were visible on the half-Obliterated TO
lios of the past. In our involuntary retro
spection we reached page first upon which
were once stamped the earliest life scenes III
Ell Dorado. 1t was an unintelllgble chaos
of ghost-lke fancies and half faded reall-
ties-almost too strange to be true, yet by
far too vivid to be otherwise. Leaf by leaf
we then retraced our steps and as we pro
ceeded, ciap-board cabius gave way to brick
and stone habitations, pistols to prayer
book, pork and beans to porter-house steaks
and buckwhcat cakes, long purses and gold
en- ounces to empty bags and ten-cent pieces
flannel shirts to standing collars, slouchec
wool hats to silk plugs, and finally the jing
ling Of money upon the gambling tables II
the highways became less and less distinct
all down, gentlemen, all down ? sent its last
echo through the crowded streets, and We
. imagined ourself leaning against the last rel
ic Of the times that tried mems integrity
Entirely wrapped up in the yastness OF the
theme we were mentally discussing, we die
not notice that a crowd Of boys had collect
ed around, and were irreyerently giggng al
our abstraction, until one bawed out, al
most in our ear, | say old toppy, are ycl
waitin' for a layout ? We would have pul
led that youngsters ears had he been with
in reach but he wasn't ana thus praise
worthy resolution was thwartcd.-Golde'
Era.