Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-13
Drah.POquier.

humorous book, the morals Of Abou
Ben Adhem," is the following travesty
on a somewhat common American amuse-
ment:
Abou Ben Adhem, in an unpleasant
frame of mind one morning, was APP
preached by long -nosed, sad.looking
man, who propounded TO him the query,
What is remorseS"
To which Abou replied, "The humili.
ating sense of an abject failure"
"What p' exclaimed the seeker after
truth, :" is there no such thing as sorrow
and regret for wrong-doingY
Frequently, my aged infant, frequent
ly. There are minds so susceptible TO
proper impressions, SO spiritualized, if
may use the expression, as to feel pang
or two after they have done wrong thing
but they are not common.
Listen to my own experience: A
great many years ago, in Persia, made
the acquaintance Of party of men who
met frequently to indulge in game
played with cards, which, presume, you
know nothing of here, called in Persia
drah-poquier. 1t is curious game. The
cards are dealt one at time till each has
five; then those who are playing put on
the center of the table coin such as has
been determined upon-say kopeck
then they are allowed to throw as many
cards as they choose, taking from the
pack an equal number, then the man who
sits next to the dealer remarks, sarcas-
tically: | am the aged one, impoverish
me, and the betting begins 1t is a curl
Gus game, and is fluctuating, the players
being kept in a pleasant state of uncer-
tainty as to what the others have till they
come to what they call q showdown
"Well, learned this game and played
1t with unvarying success for some days,
winning, on an average, four or five
dirhems at a setting. As l gathered in
my spoils l saw nothing wrong in the
game. 1t seemed 10 me a most desirable
and, in all respects, gentlemanly game.
"' am sorry | said to myself, for
Hafiz, the bellows-maker, and for Nadir,
the seller of shawls; but Allah knows l
risk my substance on the cards as do they,
and had they my luck they would have
my money. Be chesm, it is highly
moral game, and had | an hundred chill
dren would teach it them. What is
there wrong in it? 1t is my money which
| risk; it is their money which they risk.
There is no trickery or cheating in this
game, for the cards are fairly dealt, and
we make wavers on our judgment or our
luck. So does the merchant who buys the
wheat of Khurdistan, believing that the
crop will be short and that it will go up.
So does the merchant who sells the corn
of Kohmul, believing that the crop will
be heavy and the price will go down.
What is this but gambling? If they
play with wheat and corn why should not
Hatiz and ploy with cards? And then
it strengthens the mind, it develops the
judgment, quickens the reasoning powers,
and broadens, widens and strengthens the
mental man. 1t is noble game and
great pursuit.
Thus reasoned /, joyously.
81 had no remorse, nor did it occur to
me that it was gambling.
"But one night it so happened that Ihad
a certainty on Hafiz. / had three cards
alike in my hand--that is to say, three aces
and when the cards were helped, as the
phrase is, took another. Hafiz drew one
card to the four that he had in his hand,
and the betting began. Now, four aces is
strong hand, there being but one
that can beat it, namely, strate-phlush.
wagered kopec to help Hafiz on to his
ruin. How gloated over those four acesl
| saw nothing wrong in those four aces,
nor in making out of Hafiz, the bellows
mender, all that he should make by his
trade for year. He saw my modest ko-
in addition Exulting in the strength of
my four aces, gladly put up the dirhem
and remarked that such was my faith in
my hand that would impoverish him to
the extent of ten dirhems more Hafiz-
on whose head light curses saw the ten
dirhems and boosted me (boosted is Per-
sian phrase) 100 dirhems. | made sure
that the four aces were not an optical de-
lusion and went him l 900 dirhems, which
he saw and came back at me 5 1000 dirhems
which, feeling that it would be cruel to ut
terly ruin him, called without further
| gymnastics.
"Smilingly laid down my four aces
and reached for the property. Smilingly
he put away my outstretched and eager
hand, and laid down beside my four aces
his accursed hand, which was strate-
phlush.
The property is mine!' said he.
"'I 1t isp said /.
"Then l experienced a feeling OF re-
morse. Then felt that drah -poquier was
gambling and that gambling in any form
was sin of the most heinous nature, and
that had been guilty of a crime.
"Oh, why l exclaimed, did | ever
| permit myself to become infatuated with
the desire for gaming? If l win, it is my
own. In any case, there is nothing of
actual value that passes. While we use
capital in gambling, we produce nothing.
One side is richer, the other poorer, and
there has been waste of precious time.
Besides, it is terribly demoralizing. 1t
infatuates a man and enfeebles his mind.
His mind dwells on the game to the ex.
clusion of everything that is good; it
crushes out everything that is high and
mean and small in ones nature. It ruins
the loser financially and ruins the winner
morally. Wretch that l am! why did l
ever permit myself to play at all? Why
did permit this cursed infatuation to grip
me?' And remorse sat on me and | beat
my breast and pulled my hair. Bewailing
my wickedness, determined to purge my
self of the unholy thing.
"Would have so thought and so done
had held the strate-phlush, and the ac-
cursed bellows.mender the four aces? l
do not know"