mation is in any way
excusable. But what may be still more startling, about one-fourth of
the whole are members of the various churches, yea, even men of this
class are found in sacerdotal robes. This fact came within my knowledge
long since. I felt it my duty to publish the same, but delayed, till I
should gain experience in defending my position. I was satisfied,
however, that the efforts of a certain New Light minister to traduce my
character and hinder my influence, must have been prompted from some of
the foregoing considerations. Would the world know who this man is? It
will be necessary to go to the very town where he lives to secure the
information. I doubt whether his name would ever have appeared in print,
but for his newspaper controversy, or in case of his death. His
unwarrantable attack put me on my guard, and caused me to search out the
ground of his base and unchristian treatment. One thing is very certain,
he is no gambler. It may not be a want of disposition, but rather a
sufficient amount of sense, to make him a proficient in the business. He
may be an ignorant dupe--a mere tool of the designing, the "cats paw" of
some respectable blackleg, who thinks to cover his own crimes, by
exciting public opinion against me, through an apparently respectable
instrumentality. But I did not wish to bandy words with him, being
impressed with the propriety of a resolution I made while a gambler,
that it is only throwing away time to attempt to account for the
different actions and opinions of weak and prejudiced minds; and
therefore I dropped the whole affair. I would have remained silent, but
for the position taken by other divines from his false and garbled
statements. Many have condemned me unheard, listening willingly to my
accusers, without hearing a word in my own defence. Not satisfied with
such an expression of their EXCESSIVE CHRISTIAN CHARITY, they have even
thrust at me through the public prints, for which, no doubt, they will
have the hearty amens of all gamblers, and it may be several dollars in
their pockets. Certain editors have joined in the same "hue and cry"
with their worthy compeers. The reasons were evident in their case. They
knew I was invading their dearest worldly interests. There were others
who only knew me from hearsay. Why should they become my enemies? It was
because I held in my possession secrets, whose exposition would make
many of them tremble. It would be to them like the interpreted