GAMBLING,-MYSTERY SOLVED.

43

fact, that I cannot follow them with the eye, though that is no criterion for you, as I am a little near-sighted myself. Bet, gentlemen! he who has'nt the heart to bet, has'nt the heart to win. Faint heart never won fair lady. Who, gentlemen, can turn the jack?"

Nobody seemed inclined to venture at first, but finally a corpulent, dignified looking gentleman, whom I had remarked before, as possessing a very benevolent countenance, and who had been watching the cards attentively, offered to bet seventy-five dollars. His offer was immediately accepted, and he drew the amount in gold from a well filled purse, and, depositing it on the table, with many seeming misgivings as to the propriety of the act, turned over, with a nervous hand, the card upon which his eye was fixed. It was the eight spot. When he saw the face of the card, he made an impulsive movement toward the money, as though he would snatch it, but drew back, and saw it raked in with a sigh that seemed to come from the bottom of his heart, and tell of better resolutions for the future. His misfortune, however, only excited the zeal of those who stood around, as he had turned his card contrary to their advice, and lost, while the one they pointed out proved, as usual, to be the jack.

Encouraged by this circumstance, a tall, clerical looking gentleman in black, with a white cravat, ventured twenty-five dollars, and won. Seizing his money with a nervous grasp, he made for the open air with all speed, seemingly to cool off his excitement. The benevolent gentleman now risked fifty dollars, and won. A tall, young New Yorker, who was on his travels, and who looked as though he ought to have known the "ropes" better, staked fifty dollars, and lost it. An Iowa horse-dealer disposed of the proceeds of his last drove in the same way, and another personage, who thought he knew all about the game, made way with a hundred dollars and his gold watch. Various other bets were made, but nobody won, except the gent who sported the benevolent countenance, and him of the white cravat. But the mystery was soon solved, for, a short time after, the three worthies, the tonguey little man, the benevolent man, and the clerical one, might have been seen, solus, upon the hurricane deck, dividing their ill-gotten gains.

The poor Hawkeye, who had lost the price of the old mare he had just sold in Davenport, not only found himself sixty dollars ont of pocket, but "dead broke," as he had laid down seventy instead of sixty dollars, in his excitement, the extra ten being all he had reserved to get home with, in case he happened to lose, which contingency, howeves, he did not in the least anticipate. Upon representing his case to the professional gentleman, however, that personage, without any fur

ther questioning, drew a ten dollar bill from his pile, and tendered it to him, to his great delight. Then drawing out another ten, he addressed the crowd as follows: "Now then, gentlemen, money is like water to me. It comes easy, and goes easy. If there is any other one of you that is dead broke, got no money, elephant stepped on your pocket-book, here's a ten for you, and, as I never shall see you again, all the payment I ask, is, that when you find some poor devil in the same fix, just give it to him." No one seemed disposed to plead their poverty, however, and he pocketed the money, and left under flying colors.

It was not easy for those who were excited, and debating in their own minds, whether to bet or not, to mark the progress of the game, but to one who felt entirely disinterested, there was no difficulty in detecting the arts by which the gambler won the money when he wished, and lost at the proper time. At first the game was all fair and above board, and any one who had bet on the card which it was perfectly easy to trace, would have won; but there presently appeared upon the back of the jack, a dark spot, very small, but plainly visible, and which seemed, unaccountably, to escape the notice of the gambler, probably on account of his near-sightedness. This mark entirely diverted the attention of the crowd from the shuffling, and they only sought for the marked card, when he laid them down, to bet their money on it. But his keen eyes were searching their countenances in the meantime, and when he saw signs of a bet, he gave the cards a final shuffle, and the mark was to be found upon anything but the jack when he spread them out again. Of course the bettor, turning the marked card, lost his money. The trap was then set for the next customer, and sprung in like manner.

Leaving them to their ill-gotten gains, I betook myself again to the deck, to await the arrival of the boat at my destined stopping place, which was to be at one o'clock in the morning.

We glided silently and swiftly along through the darkness, the shores being indistinctly visible, and presenting only a dim outline of woods and hills. Occasionally an ascending boat would shoot suddenly into view from around a bend in the river, and, with a hoarse salute, come rushing on, and glance by with a roar from her whistle, and a blaze of light from her open furnace doors, soon disappearing around the next bend. Occasionally a variety would be added by the appearance of what is called in that country, a "Kick behind," which is a boat in all respects like other river boats, except that the engines and wheel are placed in the stern, the latter being a common paddle wheel, extending clear across the stern of the boat, which is square and straight up and

RIVER BOATS,--LANDING.

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down. No wheel-house being used, the wheel is entirely visible, with a crank on each end, and the connecting rods running in to the engines, while no less than three rudders are required for steerage, the whole concern presenting very much the appearance of a leviathan wheelbarrow, going backwards.

These uncouth things, loaded down to the water's edge, and tugging like a draught horse at two or three "barges," as heavily loaded as themselves, slowly contend with the current, with an unceasing puff, puff, puff, and conquer, to the extent of about three miles an hour. The passengers meanwhile are seen sitting composedly on the guards, with their heels aloft, and cigars in their mouths, having apparently made up their minds that they are in for a six months trip at least, and to feel resigned accordingly.

The river boats differ from the lake boats in many particulars. They carry two engines, of the high pressure order, and of the very roughest construction, and the boilers are placed on deck. The lower guard is defended by no bulwark, except a rail about six inches high, thus affording every facility for any one to step or tumble off. They lack also the beautiful symmetry of proportion, and graceful sweep of curve, which characterizes those fine models which first class Lake boats present. They are built with flat bottoms and round bows, and never draw over two or three feet of water, and, in consequence of the great bulk above the surface, and light draught, they are entirely at the mercy of the winds, and a gale that only sets a sailor on his sealegs, blows them fast ashore, and they have no choice but to stick in the mud till the weather abates. Take them altogether, they very much resemble the old "Constitution" and "De Witt Clinton," that were not thought to be "any great shakes," twenty years ago, on the lakes,

The boat arrived at my landing place about an hour after the appointed time, and, as she steamed away down the river, I found myself standing in the lee of a superanuated building that had once done duty as a warehouse, now left to the bats and owls. Around stretched an unbroken wilderness, the only signs of cultivation being a log cabin, with a small frame attached, whose owner indicated his capacity as landlord by a swinging sign-board, on which was inscribed the word "Inn," a device that I remembered in the illustrations of my juvenile picture books, but which I had never met with before in the reality. I succeeded by dint of hard labor, in carrying my baggage to the door; nor were my troubles then ended, for I had great difficulty in carrying my point with the drowsy landlord. After a long time, however, he presented himself, in the person of an exceedingly shabby Frenchman, and in bad humor, growling out that he had no room for me.

A CRITIQUE

ON TRAVELS, TRAVELEES AND THEIR READERS.

Entertain no fears of monotony or of surfeit from the multiplication of travels.. True, a traveler may be a blockhead as well-may be dull and prosy, may be wanting in observation, in judgment, or in description, and thus fail to interest and instruct.

Leaving all such out of the account, we say again, entertain no fears of monotony or of surfeit. Even the few, who think themselves as familar with the institutions, manners and customs of a country, as with the lessons of childhood, are often taken aback by the recitals of the last traveler. The truth is, while they have been dozing, the spirit of improvement has been abroad, waking up the nations from the slumber of ages, and working out changes upon which they lift up their eyes with surprise, as from a Rip Van Winkle nap.

But this is not all, nor half. Such a field of investigation-who can enter it without bewilderment? Literally innumerable are the objects which throng upon the traveler's attention in foreign lands. If he be a man of purpose, he will select a few of the most congenial, on which to bestow his regards. It is quite possible, that, of the scores of tourists who may be threading the thoroughfares of a country at the same time, no two of them will be engrossed by the same objects mainly, and if some single object should perchance command the attention of them all alike, the chances are, greatly, that each one would view it in a different light; and, indeed, this is as much a matter of course, as that each has his own peculiar idiosyncrasy. And hence it results, not only that the objects which share the attention of different travelers, but that the casts of thought, which the same object impresses upon their minds individually, are very likely to be as diversified as the colors of the kaleidoscope.

For instance, there is the philosophic traveler, who dives deep, and brings up "goodly pearls," and the superficial traveler, who plays with the bubbles on the surface-the utilitarian traveler, with his everlasting cui bono, (what good ?) and the latitudinarian traveler, who dashes off his descriptions as indifferently as his pen sheds the ink-the husky traveler, who gives you the shell without the kernel, and the piquant traveler, who gives you the kernel without the shell-the phlegmatic traveler, who leaves feeling to children, and the sentimental traveler, who is put into raptures at every turn-the censorious traveler, who sees little to commend, and the amiable traveler, who sees

nothing to condemn-the incredulous traveler, who believes nothing, and the credulous traveler, who believes everything-the sublimated traveler, who is above you, and the plodding traveler who is beneath you the egotistic traveler who disgusts you, the frivolous traveler, who vexes you, and the common sense traveler, who edifies and instructs you.

And yet, we have scarcely begun the classification. And in each of these almost innumerable general classes, there are divisions and subdivisions, running out into diversifications so minute, as to exhibit each individual traveler isolated and alone, having, as it respects others, more points of difference than of resemblance. And, as the tree produces its kind, so does the tourist.

It is quite too much to expect of the traveler, that, in becoming such, he will put off the man, and put on the angel. His strong points and his weak points are stamped into his very being, and travel with him, prompting his tongue when he speaks, and his pen when he writes.

It need not take one long to learn the weak points of a traveler, for he will be sure to show himself. The very excitement of travel, like an exhilarating gas, will bring him out,and make him as garrulous as a bullfinch. If you follow him closely, you will soon discover all his leanings, this way and that, and, if you are a man of sense, you can right him, here and there, as you go along.

But, however subject the narrations of travelers may be to these little deductions, and however diverse from each other, it may fairly enough be supposed, that they record what is honestly conceived to be the truth, nay, what is actually the truth, with these little discounts. And, if each one records new and different truth, or the same truth under a different aspect, and thus serves up a fresh repast, he may well enough be forgiven the slight deviations to which his weaknesses expose him.

Undoubtedly one tourist may store his pages with vastly more truth than another, and truth too, vastly more important—or, it may seem so to you, while to another the very reverse may seem to be the fact. Is it true then, that there is as radical a difference in readers, as in tourists themselves that readers too have their weaknesses? Verily, so it would seem, for they need as much indulgence from each other, and from the tourist himself, as the latter does from them; but this is a positive blessing, and all together should rejoice in these " diversities of gifts," if there be but "the same spirit" of truth and of mutual forbearance to temper them. They are the spice of travel.