The Canton mail., 1875-09-11
DRAH-POQUIER.


AIou AdheHr;s Moral, Drucn from, Persia"
Amusement.
One of the best things in ID. Il.
Locke's humorous book, the Morals
of Abou Ben Adhem," is the following
travestie en- popular American amuse-
ment:
Abou Ben Adhem, in an unpleasant
frame of mind one morning, was ap-
preached by long nosed, sad looking
man, who pIopolnded to him the query,
"What is remorse ?" To which Abou
replied, "The hunniliating sense OF an
abiect failure" "What y exclaimed
the seeker after truth, 4" is thare no
such thing as sorrow and regret for
wrong doing ?" Frequently, my aged
infant, frequently. There are miGds SO
susceptible to proper impressions, SO
spiritualized, if 1 may use the express
zion, as to feel pang or two after they
have done a wrong thing; but they are
not common. Listen to my own expert
ence. A great many years ago, in Per
sia, / 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 dealt one at
Q time, till each has FIVE; then those
who are playing put On the center OF the
table a coin, such as has been deter
mined upon-say a kopeck /; then they
are allowed to throw as many cards as
they choose. taking from the pack an
equal number, then the man who sets
next to the dealer remarks sarcastically.
Il am the aged one, impoverish me,
and the betting begins. 1t is curious
game-is fuctuating, the players being
kept in pleasant state of uncertainty
as to what the others have, till they
call show down.
Well, I learned this game, and
played it with unvarying success for
some days, winning, on the average,
some four or five dirhems at a sitting.
As gathered in my spoils I saw moth
ing wrong in the game. 1t seemed to
me most desirable and, in all respects.
a Rentlemanly game. am sorry, l
said to myself, for HATH, the bellows
maker, and for Nadir, the seller of
shawls, but Allah knows I 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 I a hundred children,
/ would teach it to them. What is
there wrong in it Z? 1t is my money
which I risk. There is no trickery or
cheating in this game, for the cards are
fairly dealt, and we make wagers on
our judgment of our luck. So doss the
merchant who buys the wheat of Khur-
distan, 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 or corn, why should
not HATH and play with cards? And
then it strengthens the mind, it devel-
ops the judgment, quickens the reas-
oning powers, and broadens, widens
and strengthens the mental man. 1t is
a noble game and great pursuit.
Thus reasoned ], ioyously. 1 had no
remorse, nor did it occur to me that
WAS gambling.
"But one night it so happened that
had 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. 1 took another.
HATH drew one card to the four he had
in his hand, and the betting b gan.
Now, four aces is strong hand, there
being but one that can beat it, namely,
strate phlush. 1 wagered a kopeck
to help Ha6z on to his ruin. How
gloated over those four aces / saw
nothing wrong in those four aces, mol
in making out of Hafz, the bellows
mender, all that he should make by
his trade for a year. He saw my mod
est kopeck and said that he wonld wa
ger a dirhem in addition. Exulting in
the strength of my four aces, gladly
he ~, rto1 hot
such was my faith in my hand that
would impoverish him to the extent oi
ten dirhems more. HafZ-on whose
head light curses saw the ten dir
hens, and boosted me boosted is q
Persian phrase) one hundred dirhems.
made sure that the four aces was not
an optical illusion, and went him one
thousand dirhems, which he saw, and
came back at me five thousand dirhems.
which, feeling that it would be cruel
to utterly ruin him, called, without
further gymnastics. Smilingly 1 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 a strate phlush. >
The property is mine ?" said LIE. II
is" said !.
"Then experienced feeling of re
morse. Then 1 felt that drah-poquiel
was gambling, and that gambling il
any form was a sin of the most henioul
nature, and that had been guilty of {
crime. 'Oh, why exclaimed, 'dit
! ever permit myself to become infat
mated with the desire for gaming? i
I win, ii is nv peiqbhor's dirhems i
L lose, IL IS my OVID. In ary case, ther,
is nothing of actual value that passes
While we use capital in gambling, W,
produce nothing. One side is richer
the other poorer, and there has been
waste of precious time. Besides, it i
terribly demoralizing. It enfatuates
man and enfeebles his mind. His min.
dwells ON the game to the exclusion q
everything that is good il crusi es ou
everything that is high and noble, ant
develops everything that is mean ant
small in o1e's nature. 1t ruins the lose
financially, and ruins the winner NOR
ally. Wretch that I am why did
ever permit myself to play at all VIII,
did / permit this cursed infatuation t,
grip me?' And remorse sat on me. ant
beat my breast and pulled my hair
Bewailing my wickedness, 1 determined
to purge myself of the unholy thing
Would had so thought and so dom
had held the strate phlush, and th'
accursed bellows mender the four aces
/ do not know"
Things which ara Cn.ar