ever open to daily and nightly visitants; but, unlike the latter,
they permitted _EXIT_ to all who entered--some exulting with
golden spoil,--others with their hands in empty pockets,--some
led by her half-witted son Duelling,--others escorted by her
malignant monster Suicide, and his mate, the demon Despair.

`Religion, morals, virtue, all give way,
And conscience dies, the prostitute of play.
Eternity ne'er steals one thought between,
Till suicide completes the fatal scene.'


Such is the _ALLEGORY_;[2] and it may serve well enough to
represent the thing in accordance with the usages of civilized or
modern life; but Gaming is a _UNIVERSAL_ thing--the
characteristic of the human biped all the world over.


[2] It appeared originally, I think, in the Harleian
Miscellany. I have taken the liberty to re-touch it here and
there, with the view to improvement.


The determination of events by `lot' was a practice frequently
resorted to by the Israelites; as, by lot it was determined which
of the goats should be offered by Aaron; by lot the land of
Canaan was divided; by lot Saul was marked out for the Hebrew
kingdom; by lot Jonah was discovered to be the cause of the
storm. It was considered an appeal to Heaven to determine the
points, and was thought not to depend on blind chance, or that