gamesters are often observed to be, that will not stick to abuse their best friends; will swear a thousand vain oaths in a breath; profane, nay, blaspheme the sacred name of God, without regret,—to expect that creatures in that condition, should regard resolutions of caution and prudence, is an extravagance of folly almost equal to theirs. And indeed, such is the distraction and extravagance of men in that condition, that I know nothing more likely to deter any man of reflection, either from entering into such a course of life, or continuing in it, than a calm observation of that series of distractions which, if I am well informed, (for 1 thank God I speak not by experience,) tear the breast of a losing gamester in the course of a few hours. The ravings of a fever, and the pangs of a convulsion, are nothing to them. Nay, in all appearance, they are the liveliest emblems of the torments of hell; made up of a wild mixture of fury, and anguish, regret and despair: so that if nothing but the philosophy of life were concerned in this practice, a man of common prudence would avoid it, as a pestilence; as the greatest bane to the peace and tranquillity of life.

But it may be urged, that there are men of such cool and calm tempers, as never to be ruffled, or heated either into any discomposure of their temper or disturbance of their understanding, on such occasions; and therefore these men seem to be an exception to all the prohibitions of prudence that lie against gaming. In answer to this, it cannot, I believe, be denied, that there are such men in the world; but then I believe it cannot well be denied, that they are men of the worst characters in it. They are men who have studied all the arts of fraud, and villany of every kind, in perfection. Black, saturnine, deliberate villains, who lay themselves out by all the wiles of flattery, wine, seduction, and deceit, to draw the unwary into their snares; and when they once get them there, destroy them without remorse. They are to the light, unthinking part of the world what the spider is to the fly: they wait with cool, deliberate, unwearied patience, till they get their prey within their nets, and then draw out their vitals without remorse; or, to speak more properly, enjoy their dying complaints. One would

tences are taken away. And men are so far from being under the influence of any of these alleviating circumstances, that nothing is more notorious than their proceeding to the practice of this vice with the utmost caution and coolness of judgment. And we are told, that it is in contests of this kind, as in war: he that hath most presence of mind, and is least embarrassed, is generally most successful.

Besides the deliberate impiety of this vice, it were worth while to consider also the folly of it. For what can be more absurd, than for any man in his senses, without any necessity, to put it to the chance of a die, whether his house, his money, or his estate, shall be his own, or another man's? So that nothing but a desperate state of affairs can ground the least appearance of a reasonable plea for such a practice. And even in that case, if the property of a third person can any way be hazarded by the risk we run, then is great dishonesty added to great imprudence. And therefore suppose there were no impiety in this practice, yet such is the folly and danger of it, that you can scarcely invent a case where it would be pardonable even upon the score of stupidity; unless you could suppose a weak man of wealth, so immensely rich, that losses of that kind could not affect the main of his fortune: but that supposition is impossible; since it is evidenɩ, that no fortune can be so large and inexhaustible as to be able to supply an extravagance of this kind. There is no fund adequate to gaming; nor can you imagine any condition of life so immensely affluent, as may not be exhausted, by an extravagance of this kind, in one hour.

"But men may limit themselves in this extravagance; and resolve never to exceed a certain sum." True, men may easily make such resolutions; but the difficulty is, how to keep them, when losses and ill luck have fretted their spirits, and inflamed their blood, to such a degree, that they have lost the thoughts of every thing but recovery and revenge; and I dare say, if it were possible to make an estimate of such resolutions, not one in ten thousand of them has ever been kept. Nay, is it not madness to expect that

gamesters are often observed to be, that will not stick to abuse their best friends; will swear a thousand vain oaths in a breath; profane, nay, blaspheme the sacred name of God, without regret,-to expect that creatures in that condition, should regard resolutions of caution and prudence, is an extravagance of folly almost equal to theirs. And indeed, such is the distraction and extravagance of men in that condition, that I know nothing more likely to deter any man of reflection, either from entering into such a course of life, or continuing in it, than a calm observation of that series of distractions which, if I am well informed, (for I thank God I speak not by experience,) tear the breast of a losing gamester in the course of a few hours. The ravings of a fever, and the pangs of a convulsion, are nothing to them. Nay, in all appearance, they are the liveliest emblems of the torments of hell; made up of a wild mixture of fury, and anguish, regret and despair: so that if nothing but the philosophy of life were concerned in this practice, a man of common prudence would avoid it, as a pestilence; as the greatest bane to the peace and tranquillity of life.

But it may be urged, that there are men of such cool and calm tempers, as never to be ruffled, or heated either into any discomposure of their temper or disturbance of their understanding, on such occasions; and therefore these men seem to be an exception to all the prohibitions of prudence that lie against gaming. In answer to this, it cannot, I believe, be denied, that there are such men in the world ; but then I believe it cannot well be denied, that they are men of the worst characters in it. They are men who have studied all the arts of fraud, and villany of every kind, in perfection. Black, saturnine, deliberate villains, who lay themselves out by all the wiles of flattery, wine, seduction, and deceit, to draw the unwary into their snares; and when they once get them there, destroy them without remorse. They are to the light, unthinking part of the world what the spider is to the fly: they wait with cool, deliberate, unwearied patience, till they get their prey within their nets, and then draw out their vitals without remorse; or, to speak more properly, enjoy their dying complaints. One would

imagine the Psalmist had this scene in view, in his description of those hardened miscreants whose snares and nets are spread for the innocent: "He lieth in wait to catch," or, as I think it might be better translated, “ seize the poor," that is, the poor deluded mortals that fall into his snares: " he doth seize the poor, when he draweth him into his net. In his secret places doth he murder the innocent." Forgetting, that "God beholdeth all his ungodliness and wrong," and will in his own time repay it with dreadful

vengeance.

But still it may be urged, that some men can play with so much prudence and temper as never to engage for more than trifles; consequently to be perfectly unconcerned at any inconsiderable loss that may ensue. But how few of these are there in the world in comparison of those who begin with trifles, and, warmed with their losses, are carried on by degrees to boundless extravagance! And even of those who can lose with temper, how many are there to whom money and time so spent can become an agreeable reflection? and to whom it would not have been infinitely more satisfactory, upon reflection, to have employed that time to the attainment of some good purpose in life; or that trifle to the relief of the poor, which, however inconsiderable to the loser, might, to them, be of the last consequence? And therefore, although gaming in a low and temperate manner may by some persons be numbered among the innocent diversions of life, yet probably it is the most dangerous of them all.

And if this practice be liable to all these objections and difficulties, under the conduct of the greatest prudence, and calmness of temper, in the best company, and in all the alleviating circumstances that can possibly attend it; how infinitely detestable and abominable must it be in all its deformity,—in places of public resort, and in the society of the most profligate and abandoned part of mankind! for such beyond all question are the herd of common gamesters: men of desperate fortunes, no education, no principles, no conscience, no science, (except that of defrauding all they

gaged in such practices as naturally tend to create quarrels and contentions, with all their horrid consequences, and lead men into riots and excesses of every kind. For surely, of these may it be strictly said, what Solomon observeth of the wicked, in the fourth chapter of his Proverbs: "They sleep not, except they have done mischief: and their sleep is taken away, unless they cause some to fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence." And therefore, for men of liberal education and good morals, men of any valuable character, to mix with such a herd, would be an argument of more desperate folly, than for a man in sound health to throw himself into a pesthouse: inasmuch as the corruption of the mind is of vastly worse consequence than the infection of the body. And how hard it will be to avoid such corruption from such society, is easy to conceive. "Can a man touch pitch, and not be defiled therewith?" And therefore, Solomon adviseth, not only, not to enter into the path of the wicked, but carefully to avoid it. "Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."-Delany.

NOTICES OF ANIMATED AND VEGETABLE NATURE.

FOR AUGUST, 1833.

"FULL nature swarms with life: the flowery leaf
Wants not its soft inhabitants: secure

Within its winding citadel, the stone

Holds multitudes: but chief the forest boughs,
That dance unnumber'd to the playful breeze,
The downy orchard, and the melting pulp
Of mellow fruit, the nameless nations feed
Of evanescent insects."

1ST WEEK. The swallow-tailed butterfly appears, and the mithatch resumes its chattering; the grashopper sings, and the deathwatch (termes pulsator) is still heard, ticking like a watch amongst old paper, &c. Melilot, rue, and burdock are in flower: the lesser hooded willow herb, and the lesser field-scabious begin to blow; while the sweet clematis hovers like perfumed snow about our windows and lattices.

2d Week. The burrel-fly lay eggs on horses: rooks visit their nest-trees in the evenings, but do not roost there. Many wild flow