Gazette and sentinel., 1860-05-19
The Timely Warning.

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Tales Of Masonic Life was committee
to paper as an encouragement TO oil
Masons TO perform that positive and
bounden duty Of giving due and timely
notice 70 o brother whenever lie needs
it:
ut was about a year since I was
travelling on q s~tern-wheeler from Cairo
10 Memphis and a slow and painful con.
vcyance 1t proved TO me. The bill Of
fare was trightfully scanty, the bedding
bug haunted, the company protilgatc.
Gambling was going on from sunrise 10
midnight, and every hour or two o fight
settled the game, after which a new
deck Ot kecrds, as the gamblers uncouth-
~ styled them was 'totch on another
round began to terminate as before.
Among the passengers had observ-
cd a young man of that gentle, amiaLle
cast Of countcnance which young men
even al this day sometimes wear, who
have been raised in pious families, IN
der the hand Of loving mothers and
praying fathers. How such a man got
TO the gambling table, | have never
ascertaincd; but rising one night
awhile before twelve, after vainly at
tempting TO snatch asleep among the
reaches and more offensive yerlnin, |
discovered him there, excited with H.
our, furiouSly excited with the gam
bicrs madncsS-worsc than delirium
trcmens itself-and in a rapid process
Of being plucked by the experienced
scoundreis around him. The sight
shocked me. | was quite unprepared
Tor II. Through my conversation with
him the previous day, | was confident
hc knew little or nothing Of cards, a
thing easily seen, by the way, in his
awkward style Of handling them, and
that he would 0 rise from that dan
gerous place while he had dime in his
pocket. After standing for u consider
able time, during which dollar after dol
lar disappeared from his pile to enlarge
that Of his opponents. ! took a char
close hy him, and leaned my elbows up
OH the taOlc in real distress. y square
piece Of tobacco lay therc-a plug |
think, such things are callcd-with a
a knife by it Mechanically | took
them up, and began thoughtlessly to
chip the edges of the tobacco. While
doing so, the young man reached his
hands in my direction for the pack of
cards, it being his deal, and exposed his
wristbands 10 my view. BY the fash
Of the candles | observed that they were
fastened with gold studs, having Ma
sonic omblembs-the square and COM
pass-on them, a sign | never fail to
see, when within my perview.
"a thought occurred to me. THIS is
a Mason. IwW warn hin ofkis danger d"
So with Tie knife | cut deeply in the to-
bacco the same emblems, the square and
compass, and laying it down with the
knife before him, as | supposed they
his property, | arose and left the
could see that his eye caught
cmblem instantly, snd that he un-
derstood NE.
at was = curious thing 10 observe
them lie went on pealins tie cards,
bat 50 lIs;lessly and carelcssly as t.
tie deal. lie laid his forehead
IL his hands tloughtfully, and his hands
upon the table. Once OF twice be count
ed lis little pile Of money, now reduced
a very trit!e. Ie got up for "a drink
Of water, and walked in AN uncertain
manner to and fro, sat down again,
his game ont, and by the evident
cooperation of his adveraaries won it.
Got up, again, drank, and took a longer
walk. Played again and won. And
then, al with a power given him at that
instant from on high, he threw down his
cards with s artling vchcmence, fell on
his knees, raised his hands aloft to
heaven, and with mighty voice repeat
ed an oath that he would %"ncrsr, NEVER
again SO help me God !"
Il sat at his side all that night, bath
his head in cold water; and that
saved him, think, from a terrible at
tack Of the brain fever-saved him for
a loving girl to whom he even then be-
hrothed-saved him to be the father Of
as charming a child as ever sprung like
shoot by human feet-saved him to be
1ne of the best officers in one of the best
Grand Lodges in the land--saved him
become one of my best correspon-
dents and truest friends-a Mason, with
whom hope at the resurrection day to
Use.
Nor is this the whole story; for one
IF the gamblers, to whom the knife and
.obacco really belonged, seeing the
square and compass cut on his plug, sat
with me all that night at my brotherly
vork-avowed himself, too, a Mason
declared, in language more ardent than