The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-11-07
HIsLAsT POKER GAME
Lawyer Refused to Accept a Winner
and Decided to Play No More.

A party Of five gentlemen had been in
the habit Of meeting once week to play
poker. They were each of them. ordinarily
successful in his profession, and were re-
spected in their business and personal re-
lations The incident given below, that
took place at their last meeting for the
purpose Of an evenings enjoyment Of their
favorite game, dramatic as it may seem,
is strictly true.
1t is not easy to give the reasons for the
destinations or the excitements Of poker
playing Suffice It to say that on the night
we speak Of overweight by stimulating
circumstances, each Of the players, be-
cause of what seemed to be the strength
Of his own hand, increased the amount of
his bet over that which had previously
been made. \
One OF the five men was q lawyer who
had many important clients depending up
on him He was the most imperturba bic
of the players, greatly addicted to the
game, and, as 1t happened In this instance,
held the, highest cards in his hands. He
knew that he was a sure winner. tor no
other com bination could possibly beat
him L. = IA: 3t
The excitement became extreme, and
thessbetting had risen from hundreds Of
dollars to. 81 ,O00. The lawyer for mo-
,nsnt changed color, then put his hand
into his pocket, took out roll OF bills
anu COulVllUE L1Clll II a. ~
Laid them in the middle Of the table, thus
covering the last bet He then said:
at call you which is THE technical way
Of bringing the betting to an end. AS
he did so he turned pale, and his hand
shook as he showed his winning cards
The doctor OF the party thought that ne
was going to faint from the excitement
of winning such an unusual amount, aud
sprang to assist him, but the lawyer
waved him back and bent his head, trying
to control himself. His friends felt that
his emotion was due to some unusual
cause. In silence they looked on while he
did a strange thing.
First he took ten one hundred dollar
bills from the heap of money that he had
won. and, folding them together, he put
them with the roll he had taken from his
pocket.
When thiss.wa done he drew a long
th---almost 9 gasp Of relief Then ne
carefully separated his own original
money from the remainder and pushed the
rest away, looking as it steadily for a
second or tive without speaking. At
[t1ength he said, raising his hand and regis
tering q solemn oath--we quote his words
exactly: sss
game as much as / do, give it up from
this moment forever. have stepped
across the border line of dishonor tonight.
The money have Just put back into my
pocket was given to me by a client to be
paid ont this morning, and II I had lost
it could not Immediately have replaced
it. Il had 1t in my possession simply be-
cause I had mot had the opportunity to
deposit 1t In the bank, and in the ex-
citement OF the game forgot that it was
not my own The fascination that would
make me, do a thing like that is one that
I dare not risk again. I cannot touch the
money that 4 won with it. for twas not
my own s.s$ FEB III
yHis friends took up their money and
bowed In silence. Their establishment and
respect were TOO great for words. The
lawyer. soon rose and left the room never
to return To- III.
He had ,tnco sciously given q striking
illustration OF the tact that the essence
Of Character which we call soul may be
lost or eaved 1T the moment when one
comes to- the border line between an hon
est and q dishonest aSt RI sesg y8s