The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-11-27
Chr &utland daily 0lobr.
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 81, 1876.
The Lottery Ticket.

The Lottery Ticket.
James Lanuing was mechanic, young
honest man, whose highest ambition was tc
gain comfortable living for himself and
wife, and to be thought well of by hio neigh.
bors. lie had built himself a house, and
there still remained upon it q mortgage oil
$500; but this sum he hoped to pay in a
very ew years If he had only his health.
lie had calculated exactly how long It would
take him to clear off his ncumbrance,
and he went to work with his eyes open.
One evening James came home to his
supper more thoughtful than usual. His
young wife noticed his manner, and she in
quired its cause.
"What is it James?" she kindly asked,
"Why, never saw you look so sober be-
fore"
"Well, I'll tell you, Hannah" returned
the young man, with a slight hesitation in
his manner. 81 have just been thinking
that would buy lottery ticket
Hannah tanning did not answer imme-
dately. She looked down and smootbed
the silken hair of her babe, which was
chirping like little robin in her arms,
and the shade of her handsome fea-
lures showed that she was taking time to
think.
GLOW much will 1t cost she asked, at
length, looking half timidy up into her
husbands face.
"Twenty dollars" returned James, try
ing to assume confidence which he did
| not feel.
"And have you made up your mind to
buy it2'
"Well, think I shall. What do you
think about it?"
eff you should ask my advice, should
say do not buy it,"
"But why SOP"
"For many reasons" returned his wife,
in trembling tone.
She would not offend her husband, and
she shrank from giving him advice. which
he might not follow.
sin the first place." she said, 81 think
the whole science Of lotteries is a bad
one; and then you have no money to risk. "
"But just look at the prizes" said James
| drawing a 'scheme" from his pocket
"Here is one prize of $4,000, another of
| $4,000, another of So 900, aud SO on
| Something tells me that if buy ticket l
| shall draw a large prize. And then just
think, Hannah, how easily should pay all
up for my house, and perhaps have good
handsome sum left"
The young man spoke with much ear
nestness and assurance; but he noticed
there was cloud upon his wife's brow.
at seems to me that the chance of draw
ing a prize is very doubtful said Hannah,
| as she looked at the schemes. "Here are
many thousand tickets to be Sold"
The babe tried hard to snatch the paper,
and Hannah held it aside"
81 think / shall run the risk" resumed
James, gancing once more over the paper,
and resting with nervous longing upon
the figures which represented the higher
prizes, "Theres Barney; he drew eight
hundred dollars year ago."
"Yes, know it," said Hannah, with
more warmth than she had before mani
tested, land what has become of the money?
You know he has squandered it all away.
All, james, money is of no use unless we
come honestly by it."
Honestly" repeated the young man.
"Surey there is nothing dishonest in draw.
ing n prize in a lottery"
~ think there is" kindly, but emphat-
cally, replied his wife. ''All games of
hazard, where money is at stake, are dis
honest. Were you to draw prize of twenty
thousand dollars YOU would rob thousand
men of twenty dollars each; or at least
you would take from them money for which
you returned them no equivalent. Is it
not gambling in every sense of the word?'
sob, mol You look upon the matter 10
too strong light"
"Perhaps do but yet so it looks to me.
What you may draw, some one else must
lose and perhaps it may be some one who
can afford the loss no better than you can.
l wouldn't buy the ticket, James. Let us
live on the products of honest gains and we
shall be no happier"
James Lanning was uneasy. He had no
answer for his wifes arguments ut least no
answer that could spring from his moral
convictions, and he let the matter drop.
But the young man uld not dive the
siren from his heart. All the next day his
head vas full of "prizes, and while he was
at his work he kept muttering to himself:
"Twenty thousand dollars" 'ten thousand
dollars" give thousand dollars" and SO
on.
When he went home the next night he
was almost unhappy with the nervous aDx-
iety into which he had thrown himself.
The tempter had grasped him firmly, and
whenever he thought of the lottery he saw
nothing but piles of gold and silver. In
short James tanning had made up his mind
that he would buy the ticket. He went to
the little box where he had already 500
laid up toward paying off the mortgage
from his house. The lock clicked with a
startling sound, and when he drew back the
cover he hesitated. He looked at his wife,
and he saw that she was sad.
"Oh, I'm sure will draw prize u he
said, with faint, fading smile.
lie took four half-eagles from the box
and put them in his pocket. His wife said
nothing. She played with her baby to hide
her sadness, for she did not wish to say
more on the subject. She had seen that
little pile of gold gradually accommodating,
and both she and her husband had been
happy in anticipating the day when the
pretty cottage would be all their own. But
when she saw those four pieces of gold ia
ken away from the store she felt fore
shadowing of evil, She might have spoken
against the movement, but she saw that her
husband was sorely tender on the subject,
and she let the affair go into the hands of
fate.
A week elapsed from the time that James
brought his ticket 10 the drawing of the lot
terry, and during that time the young man
had not moment of real enjoyment. He
was alternating between hope and fear, and
therefore his mind was constantly on the
stretch.
At length the day arrived James went
to the office and found that the drawing had
taken place and that the list of prizes had
been made out. He seized the list and
turned away 80 that those who stood around
should not see his face He read the list