Says Mr Seymour Harcourt, in his 'Gaming Calendar,' 'I have
myself seen hanging in chains a man whom, a short time before, I
saw at a Hazard table!'

Hogarth lent his tremendous power to the portrayal of the ruined
gamester, and shows it to the life in his print of the gaming
house in the 'Rake's Progress.'

Three stages of that species of madness which attends gaming are
there described. On the first shock all is inward dismay. The
ruined gamester is represented leaning against a wall with his
arms across, lost in an agony of horror. Shortly after this
horrible gloom bursts into a storm and fury. He tears in pieces
whatever comes near him, and, kneeling down, invokes curses on
himself. His next attack is on others--on every one whom he
imagines to have been instrumental in his ruin. The eager joy of
the winning gamester, the attention of the usurer, and the
profound reverie of the highwayman, are all strongly marked in
this wonderful picture.

HOW MANY GAMESTERS LIVE BY PLAY?

It is an observation made by those who calculate on the gaming
world, that above nine-tenths of the persons who play LIVE by it.

Now, as the ordinary establishment of a GENTEEL gamester, as he
is commonly called, cannot be less than L1000 per annum, luck,
which turns out EQUAL in the long run, will not support him; he
must therefore LIVE by what they call among themselves the BEST
OF THE GAME--or, in plain English, cheating.