The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1875-10-19
The Game of Drah- -Poquier.
ABou BEN ADnEM RELATES MS EXPERIENCE
ny A CURIOUS ILLUsTRATIuN.

ny A CURIOUS ILLUsTRATIuN.
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
Eve then those who are playing put on
toe center Of the table coin, sucn as has
been determined upon-say a kopeck ;
then they arc 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, sarcasticrlly :
II am the aged one, impovori,h me, i" aud
the betting beeins. 1t is a curious game,
and is huctuating. the players being kept
10 pleasant state of uncertainty as to
what the others have till they como to
what they call "show down"
Well, learned this game aud played
it with unvarying success for some days.
winning, on an average. four or five dir.
hens at sitting AS gathered in my
spoils saw nothing wrong in the game.
1t seemed to Inc most desirable aud, in
all respects, a eentlemanly game.
Il am sorry" | said TO myself, "for
Hsfz, the bellows.maker, and for Nadir.
the seller of shawls; but Allah knows |
risk my substance on the cards as do they,
and bad they my luck they would have
my money. BE chesm, it is a highly
moral game, aud had an hundred chll.
dren | would teach it them What is
there wrong in it? Il is my money
which | risk; it is their money which
hey risk. There is 20 trickery or cheat
ing in this game. for the cards are fairly
dealt, and We make wsgers on DUR judg.
ment Of our luck So does tie merchant
who buys the wheat of Khurdistan. be
licving that the crop will be short aud
that it will 60 up. Sn does the merchant
who sells the corr of Kohmul, believing
that the crop will be heavy aud the price
will 90 down. What is this but gambling?
IF they play with wheat or corn why
should not lIahz and play with cards
Md then it strengthens the miDd, it de.
velops the judgment, quickeDs the reason.
ing powers, and broadens, widens. and
strengthens the mental man. 1t is
noble game and a great pursuit"
Thus reasoned |, joyously. 1 had no
remorsc, nor did it occur to me that it
was gambling. But one night it SO hap.
nened ;bst had certainty on Ha6z
[ had three cards alike in my baud-that
is to say, three aces-aud when the cards
are helped, as the saying is, | took an.
other. lIs6z drew Que card TO the four
that he had in bis hand. apd the betting
began Now, four aces is strong haDd,
there being but one that can beat it,
namely. a strate phlusb. l wagered a
kopsc to help Ha6z on to his ruin. How
| gloated over those four aces saw
nothing wrong in those four aces, nor in
all that he should make by his trade for
year. He saw my modest kopeck and
said he would wager dirhem in addi-
ton. Exulting in the strength of my
four aces, I gladly put up the dirhem,
and remarked that such was my faith in
my hand that would impoverish him TO
the extent of ten dirbems more. Ilafz--
on whose head light curses saw the
ten dirhems end boosted me boosted is
Persian pbrase) one hundred diihems. l
made sure that the four aces we're not an
optical delusion and went him one thous.
ooJ J;.bo.,a ,,b;oh bo Z, ,u ord cuo, h. oL
at me five thousand dirhems. which, ieeI
ing it would he cruel to utterly ruin him.
I called without further gymnastics.
Smilingly | laid down my four aces
and reached for the property. SmilinRly
he put away my outstretched and eager
hand, and laid down beside my four aces
his accursed haud, which was strste.
phlush.
Tho property is mine g said he.
1T is !" said |.
Then | 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 ma
tnro, aud that | had been guilty Of
crime.
"Oh. Why" exclaimed, "did | ever
permit myself TO become infatuated with
the desire for gaming? III win, it i,
my neighbor's dirhems; if lose, it is
my own. In any case. there is nothing
Of actual value that passes. While We
use ca"ital in gambling, we produce moth.
ing. One side is richer. the other poorer.
and there has been waste of precious
time. Besides, 1t is terribly demora!iz-
ing. 1t infatuates man and enfeebles
bis mind. His mind dwels on the game
to the exclusion of everything that is
good; it crushes out everything that is
high and noble, and develops everything
that is mean and small in one's nature
1t ruins the loser financially and ruins the
winner morally. Wretch that l am why
did | ever permit mvself to play at all I?
Why did | permit this cursed infatuation
to grip me? And remorse sat on me and
] beat my breast and pulled ny hair.
Bewailng my wickedness. determined
20 purge myself of the unholy thing.
Would have so thought and so done
had | held the strate. phlush. and the ac
cursed bellows mender the four aces2 l
do not know.
Correcting the ParsOn.