Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1868-09-22
10 IS "a q 50 |
|sI7D IarII0PA g 1as19
..ialsI,,Irla IS 8. q 60

slnIa.lnla alss s. g 90
One card Of course differs 10 it's numbers
from another, no two in thatrespect being
alike; so If there were hundred players
there would be hundred cards, each and
all having an equal chance to win or lose.
As soon as the " roller" cries the num-
Der marked on ball the player looks at
bis card, and il the number called APP
pears on it he Immediately covers it with
button. This process goes on until
some one covers all the numbers in row
on his card. The fortunate player who
does so first cries out /" Keno" and wins
the game. What he makes thereby de-
ponds on the number Of players, each Of
whom, at the commencement Of the game,
pays either fifty cents or dollar into a
general fund called "pot" This pot,
or total sum deposited by all the players,
he receives, with the exception Of 10 or
| Is per cent. retained by the banker,
or keno-room keeper, for his time, trou-
BILE and expenses.
Now, what harm is there in this simple
| game ? t'Ohl" cries Mr. Wiseacre Legis.
/ lator from the depth Of his heart, which
| is as hard as flint, and from the fullness
Of. his head, which is as dull as broom
stick, "it's a lottery Its lotteryi r
Well, what if IL is lottery Isn't life,
and everything in life, lottery? Don't
our very existence, our customs, man
uers, habits, grsees, depend on chance 2
What business is there that's not lot.
tery2 What enterprise or experiment
that man don't either win or lose byit3
What voyage is made without the hope Of
gain2 What undertaking set on foot
without chance of reward ? When we
work we expect pay for it, but how often
we're disappointed. Some may rise
| poor in the morning and 60 to bed in the
evening comparatively rich; others may
| rise rich and go to bed poor. The wheel
of Fortune, in fact, turns every way.
What it takes from one it gives to an.
other. So everything in life is chance,
and chance is as tickle as the wind.
Still Mrs. Bluenose, of the Women
Rights school, who carries grin on her
lips for saints and frown on her brow
for sinners, turns up her gray eyes in holy
horror at the mention of Keno, and joins
Mr.. Wiseacre Legislator in Lis exclama-
ton: "That game must be stopped y
Well, well, Mrs. Bluenese, will you be
kind enough to tell us what sort of a
game, as seen through the light of the
"New Dispensation," marriage isl Is
it a lottery2 "Yes, marriage is said to
be lottery" Ali we thought SO, and,
like Keno, some win and some lose at it.
How happy are those who win; how sad
are those who lose Behold Mr.. Pink,
the winner Of happiness, how he laughs,
a full moon of joys beaming in his
round, rosy face; his eye, like a
clear river, showing the depth Of
his playfulness and pleasure. But
look at poor Mr.. Tulip, the loser of hap
piness, how he hangs down his head in
sorrow, his cheeks blanched as pale as q
cream pitcher; his eyes dull and watery,
as il he were in the habit Of swallowing
daily doses Of pepper-sauce. So feel and
so look the winner and the loser at
Keno. The happiness and the misery Of
all depend on chance.
Pshawl" bellows Sanctimonious
Simpleton, who never gives a cent to.
ward a charitable object or never speaks
well of his neighbor, "Keno's vice !; it
must be stopped |" Well, suppose it is
vice, what have you, Mr.. Sanctimo-
NOUS Simpleton, done to stop it 2 What
amusement have you instituted to attract
young men from Keno2 What library
have you contributed What sport have
you invented 2 What pastime have you
sanctioned or supported in lieu OF Keno
None whatever. And you pirate OF stop
ping the only cheap kind of amusement
for working lads in Memphis because il
don't suit your notions Of nicely, while at
the same time perhaps you praise the
bankrupt game, with its chances all one
way. Young men who spend the day in
workshops must have something to enli-
ven them at night; and if they hazard a
dollar or two OF Keno, with the chance OF
winning ten, and the enjoyment Of the
game included, what more harm is il
than hazarding twenty dollars on FIRE
insurance policyf or ten dollars in a
house drawing2 or Eve dollars in land
lotiery2 None at all. Why, then, Mr..
Sanctimonious Simpleton, purse thy
mouth another way and say "Keno's
correct" II may not be The best kind
Of psstine; but, until q better is pro-
vided, let il roll Few people care little
what you, or Mrs. Bluenose, Mr.. Wise
acre Legislator, Judge Waldrsn aud
Commissioner Beaumont say. You'll
an pass away like q cluud. Bat the
apursuit Of happiness is promised in
The Declaration Of Independence; and
II Ksno's lottery, ike marriage, Why
the ~pursuis Of hsppiness" can't be
stopped That's all IATIEE-
90. - -. $50.