The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-08-21

n Did you WIN =,
".Oh, yea | won it.Y s
"What was your hand, General2"
at was three kinga.D
tBut." says he, the hardest game l
ever played waa at Memphis. Just after
the war closed me and my wife went to
Memphis, and we stopped At the Wor-,I
sham House. The next morning we got
our things together, and | emptied an
my papers out OF the trunk on the door,
and Mary (I'm not certain bis wifes
name was Mary, bun that will do for the
tale) went over and over them, hunting
for something to raise money out Of !
emptied my pockets, and Mary emptied
her'n, and between us We had seven dol-I
lars and thirty cents. After hunun'oyer
everything we found that every man who
owed me was either dead Or broke. l
hadn't one single paper on which | could
raise cent outen. After we got through
the pile | looked at Mary and Mary
looked at me. Now what is to be done,
Mary?' says /. l don't know, says she,
but the Lord will provide You see,
Mary was one of the best women IN the
world, and she had heap of faith in her
religion. / looked at her right straight
long time, and at last says l, Mary,
you are mighty good woman, aud I'm
going to tell you something. There's 10
be a big dinner at - this evening, and
Pm invited. They always play poker at
that house, and you have always been
agin me playing, and / reckon you are
right about 1t. But things have become
desperate with US, and somehow feel
if you wouldn't be agin me, but would
pray for me, l could make raise to-
night h'
Rsaysshe: Bedford, can't do it. It's
wrong for you to do it, and I'd heap ra'
ther you wouldn't
I" But, Mary says 1, I never was in
such a fix before. Here we are with no
money but seven dollars an thirty cents,
and that won't pay our tavern bill. l
can't lose no more than that, for Til swear
| wont bet on credit. If lose that,
I'll come home; and if win, then we'll
have something to start on Well,I ar
gued and argued With her, but she would
MT say yes. But at last she says:
+" Bedford, know your mind is set on
it, and | know you are going to bet,
whether I'm willin' or not, so won't say
nothing more about it,
"But, somehow, l felt when l started
that she was for meSand l just knoWed
how 'twould be.
"Well, went some time before din
ner, and, sure enough, they were at it.
They had three trables-one had a quar-.
ter ante, enc a halt and one dollar and
a half. l wanted my seven dollars to
last as long as / could ake'it, and so I
set down to the quarter table. We bet
on until dinner, and by that time | bad
won enough to do better: and, after we
had eat, sat down to the dollar and
half table. Sometimes l won, and
then again I'd lose, on until nigh about
midnight, and then had better luck. 1
know'd Mary was setting up and pray
ing; / felt like it, and it made me cool
set my hat down by my side on the
floor, and every time I'd win I'd drop
the money in tbe hat. We played on
and I didn't know nothing about how
much I'd won. I didn't keep suy count,
but | know'd l was winning, I thought
may be I'd won a hundred dollars, or
may be two hundred, but didn't know.
Il sat there until day broke, and then we
went home. l took my hat up with both
hands and moshed it on my head and
went home so without taking it off.
WhenI got to my room there sat Mary
in her gown, and thebed wasn't mashed.
She'd set up all night wal ing for me. She
seemed tired and anxious, and though
she looked might hard at me, she didn't
say a word. / walked right up to her,
and pulling off my hat with both hands
l emptied it all tight in the lap of her
gown. And then we sat down and
counted it," gittg f @ q a"es
b ''How much was there, Genl%
a "Just fifteen hundred dollars even"
% "And that" added the General, as he
walked off, "gin me- a start" sloa tlr