our desire of having more; it flatters our vanity by the idea of
preference that fortune gives us, and of the attention that

others pay to our success; it satisfies our curiosity, giving us
a spectacle; in short, it gives us the different pleasures of

surprise.
Certain it is that the passion for gambling easily gets deeply

rooted, and that it cannot be easily eradicated. The most
exquisite melody, if compared with the music of dice, is then but

discord; and the finest prospect in nature only a miserable blank
when put in competition with the attractions of the `honours' at

a rubber of Whist.
Wealth is the general centre of inclination. Whatever is the

ultimate design, the immediate care is to be rich. No desire can
be formed which riches do not assist to gratify. They may be

considered as the elementary principles of pleasure, which may be
combined with endless diversity. There are nearer ways to profit

than up the steeps of labour. The prospect of gaining speedily
what is ardently desired, has so far prevailed upon the

passions of mankind, that the peace of life is destroyed by a
general and incessant struggle for riches. It is observed of

gold by an old epigrammatist, that to have is to be in fear; and
to want it is to be in sorrow. There is no condition which is

not disquieted either with the care of gaining or keeping money.
No nation has exceeded ours in the pursuit of gaming. In former

times--and yet not more than 30 or 40 years ago--the passion for
play was predominant among the highest classes.

Genius and abilities of the highest order became its votaries;
and the very framers of the laws against gambling were the first

to fall under the temptation of their breach! The spirit of
gambling pervaded every inferior order of society. The gentleman

was a slave to its indulgence; the merchant and the mechanic were
the dupes of its imaginaryprospects; it engrossed the citizen

and occupied the rustic. Town and country became a prey to its
despotism. There was scarcely an obscure village to be found

wherein this bewitching basilisk did not exercise its powers of
fascination and destruction.

Gaming in England became rather a science than an amusement
of social intercourse. The `doctrine of chances' was studied

with an assiduity that would have done honour to better subjects;
and calculations were made on arithmetical and geometrical

principles, to determine the degrees of probabilityattendant on
games of mixed skill and chance, or even on the fortuitous throws

of dice. Of course, in spite of all calculations, there were
miserable failures--frightful losses. The polite gamester, like

the savage, did not scruple to hazard the dearest interests of
his family, or to bring his wife and children to poverty, misery,

and ruin. He could not give these over in liquidation of a
gambling debt; indeed, nobody would, probably, have them at a

gift; and yet there were instances in which the honour of a wife
was the stake of the infernal game! . . . . Well might the

Emperor Justinian exclaim,--`Can we call _PLAY_ that which
causes crime?'[14]

[14] Quis enim ludos appellet eos, ex quibus crimina
oriuntur?--_De Concept. Digest_. II. lib. iv. Sec. 9.

CHAPTER II.
GAMBLING AMONG THE ANCIENT HINDOOS.--A HINDOO

LEGEND AND ITS MODERN PARALLEL.
The recent great contribution to the history of India, published

by Mr Wheeler,[15] gives a complete insight into this interesting
topic; and this passage of the ancient Sanskrit epic forms one of

the most wonderful and thrilling scenes in that most acceptable
publication.

[15] The History of India from the Earliest Ages. By J.
Talboys Wheeler. Vol. I.--The Vedic Period and the Maha Bharata.

As Mr Wheeler observes, the specialties of Hindoo gambling are
worthy of some attention. The passion for play, which has ever

been the vice of warriors in times of peace, becomes a madness
amidst the lassitude of a tropicalclimate; and more than one

Hindoo legend has been preserved of Rajas playing together for
days, until the wretched loser has been deprived of

everything he possessed and reduced to the condition of an exile
or a slave.

But gambling amongst the Hindoos does not appear to have been
altogether dependent upon chance. The ancient Hindoo dice, known

by the name of coupun, are almost precisely similar to the modern
dice, being thrown out of a box; but the practice of loading is

plainly alluded to, and some skill seems to have been
occasionally exercised in the rattling of the dice-box. In the

more modern game, known by the name of pasha, the dice are not
cubic, but oblong; and they are thrown from the hand either

direct upon the ground, or against a post or board, which will
break the fall, and render the result more a matter of chance.

The great gambling match of the Hindoo epic was the result of a
conspiracy to ruin Yudhishthira, a successful warrior, the

representative of a mighty family--the Pandavas, who were
incessantly pursued by the envy of the Kauravas, their rivals.

The fortunes of the Pandavas were at the height of human
prosperity; and at this point the universalconception of an

avenging Nemesis that humbles the proud and casts down the
mighty, finds full expression in the Hindoo epic. The grandeur

of the Pandavas excited the jealousy" target="_blank" title="n.妒忌；猜忌">jealousy of Duryodhana, and
revived the old feud between the Kauravas and the former.

Duryodhana plotted with his brother Duhsasana and his uncle
Sakuni, how they might dispossess the Pandavas of their newly-

acquired territory; and at length they determined to invite their
kinsmen to a gambling match, and seek by underhand means to

deprive Yudhishthira of his Raj, or kingdom.[16]
[16] The old Sanskrit words _Raj_, `kingdom,' and Raja,

`king,' are evidently the origin of the Latin _reg-num, reg-o,
rex, regula_, `rule,' &c, reproduced in the words of that ancient

language, and continued in the derivative vernaculars of modern
names--_re, rey, roy, roi, regal, royal, rule_, &c. &c.

It appears from the poem that Yudhishthira was invited to a game
at coupun; and the legend of the great gambling match, which took

place at Hastinapur, is related as follows:
`And it came to pass that Duryodhana was very jealous of the

_Rajasuya_ or triumph that his cousin Yudhishthira had performed,
and he desired in his heart to destroy the Pandavas, and gain

possession of their Raj. Now Sakuni was the brother of Gandhari,
who was the mother of the Kauravas; and he was very skilful in

throwing dice, and in playing with dice that were loaded;
insomuch that whenever he played he always won the game. So

Duryodhana plotted with his uncle, that Yudhishthira should be
invited to a match at gambling, and that Sakuni should challenge

him to a game, and win all his wealth and lands.
`After this the wicked Duryodhana proposed to his father the

Maharaja, that they should have a great gambling match at
Hastinapur, and that Yudhishthira and his brethren should be

invited to the festival. And the Maharaja was glad in his heart
that his sons should be friendly with the sons of his deceased

brother, Pandu; and he sent his younger brother, Vidura, to the
city of Indra-prastha to invite the Pandavas to the game. And

Vidura went his way to the city of the Pandavas, and was received
by them with every sign of attention and respect. And

Yudhishthira inquired whether his kinsfolk and friends at
Hastinapur were all well in health, and Vidura replied, "They

are all well." Then Vidura said to the Pandavas:--"Your uncle,
the Maharaja, is about to give a great feast, and he has sent me

to invite you and your mother, and your joint wife, to come to
his city, and there will be a great match at dice-playing."