The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-08-16
Ry the Sad Sea Waves,

1t made itself apparent to me from his
face, his figure and his clothing. Good
ness beamed through the green glasses
that covered his eyes, and gentleness
hung about the lines of his mouth. His
voice pumped up tender tones and said
to me:
Chow full of grandeure is this scenr'
| Hooked along the barren beach; and
| then on to the waters, where the Jersey
shore is visible, and other foreign coun-
| tries lie hidden from view, and then
answered:
at is, indeedp'
! "And vet" he unused, stopping to pick
up she'll and yet it fills me with sad
ness when 1 reflect that here, in the face
of the mighty ocean, where the bracing
breezes blow and nature offers such glo-
rious recreation, there should be sharks
living in wait for those they may
devour."
"Sharks?'' repeated in amazement.
eyes, my young friend, sharks. Not
of the piscatorial type, but of much
more dangerous character. Sharks who
walk over these sands in the shape of |
men-land sharks"
"I see," said 1.
"This very day." he continued, "have
I been beset by one of these monsters. |
/ was wandering alone on the upper part |
of the island, listening to the murmur of |
the waves, when I was accosted by the |
said shark. He invited me to join in |
little game which was played with three |
cards, and called, l think, monkey"
"Monte," interposed.
"You are right" replied the philan-
thropist. 1T was monte. l am a
stranger to such things, and it is not
surprising that l mistook the name.
Well, | listened to the voice of the siren
that is to the voice of the shark-and [
was lost So was the five dollars which
1 wagered. The shark was positive that
/ could not tell where the card was, with
the picture of a woman"
"The queen" l interrupted.
"You are right-the queen. He was
confident, I say, that I could not tell
where the queen was was confident
: that could. Our individual condolences
amounted to five dollars each. And
and l lost"
"That was unfortunate" saidI. "But
three-card-monte is a deceittul game"
at is, indeed" answered the philan-
throphist " And my Indignation toward
that shark rose to such pitch that I
came very near strangling him. As it
was he took to his heels, dropping his
1 cards as he ran. Afterwards l picked
, them up, and-and | have them herew
e And as he spoke he drew forth from
b the inner pocket of his coat nine-spot
of diamonds, deuce of hearts and queen
;, ;, of spades.
y hold of the implements Of evil,' L re-
marked.
5, "There is indeed-but there was no
W satisfaction in knowing how to use those
Q implements. 1t leads only to wretched-
>, ness and misery. Nevertheless, since l
d came into possession of these cards I
Is have been practicing for my
Is own amusement, you understandable
manner in which the shark threw them
m I am convinced that it was owing to the
to skillful or perhaps 1 should say the de
e, ceitful way in which he handled them
OF that 1 lost all my money"
By this time the philanthropist and
Oh had reached spot on the island where
m visitors seldom go. The crowd we had
lie left behind, and feeling somewhat weary
with our long walk, we sat down upor
the ruins of the clearinghouse, which
Id the waves had washed up on the beach
ry There, with the cards in his hand, my
ne companion began to explain to me wha
90 lie UnOuSnG uo uuu6TSGOOu dDOuG GIlt
game of three-card-monte.
n GO 1t was in some such way as this" h
said, "that the shark threw the cards.
Whereupon he made very bungling ef
m fort to initiate manipulations of a pro
Nv fessional player.
L "I fear that you would have to b
, more dexterous than that in order to de
ke ceive any one."
"But 1 have no desire to deceive an
as one. I am practicing this sinful gam
~ for purpose noble and philanthropi
l'o purpose" Here he again threw tn
cards, with even less of success than be
ny fore. eff I could become an adept a
e9d this game, I would spend my leisur
~. hours in wandering up and down th
7ly beach here, warning others against tn
use Use tribe of sharks. 1 would first show the1
ne how certain they are to lose their money
Jul and then, having won it, would retur
j. it to them, together with little Who'll,
'no some advice. In this way | should al
81 complish world of good should say
lmeu m others from losses similar to that whic
u'' I have suffered myself"
During this speech the philanthropi
USE use continued to pick up and throw dow
'ne the cards, making very little progress
- however, in skillful manipulations.
III III "You see that I am improving"
'no said, "and that in a short time shall
able to deceive the sharpest eyes. [
ani n,I you think that You could pick out tt
io' queen now yourself|
I did as he desired without a m
W. ment's hesitation. The experiment w
~ IL, repeated a half dozen times, and
ine often selected the winning card.
! . 81 am afraid, sir,' I said laughingl
| & TO r
lle; your skill it would prove a very expe
iei' sive amusement"
And yet" he rejoined, throwing Il
'In I cards again, " if it were not for my CO
+ho o scientious scruples against betting,
o,,t o, would be willing to wager you ten dc
oat oae lars that you cannot tell me which is Il
ioo0 queen"
"My dear sir" I answered, "I a
Ing myself morally opposed to betting, al
old yet am half tempted to accept yo
oio offer, simply to show you how sadly m
, - taken you are"
ing - Ill iIa ho ag ,y m rart e o. a." ioost tf frn
I ha % philanthropic motives" And I cover
ho o his wager.
! IIe he "Now, then,' said he, (Which is t
0io' queenY
Iou My eye had been fixed upon the ca
WV all along. Indeed, small black sp
,h,, on one corner enabled me to identify
ight foaa S,' hoa ha iaon hao +,,nd do 'h'ousi
oars a~s (Which is the queen?' replied t
lber PilaiHH:i e M I,op: - :s ,.e..
the spot.
and 1t was the nine-spot of diamonds!
nce Quietly my companion slid off of t
'ceit clearinghouse, and made his way alo
vas was the white sands of Coney Island-wh
was I came to enter the expenses of that
in my journal, I put down, along w
the clam-roast and lager, this item: &c
, en- Philanthropy. ten dollars,