revelations were truly startling, and displayed a painful
instance of the _"facilis descensus averni"_--a father whose feelings
were blunted, and hardly to be re-awakened even by the death of a
beloved daughter. And this was but one instance out of thousands, in
which the sum of $1200, $1500, and $2000 had been lost at various times,
and a fatal, fascinating infatuation contracted.

Mr. Freeman resumed, and again contended for the right of any man to
gamble--that he had a right to do what he would with his own--and that a
law was unfair which punished this one vice, and let other and greater
vices alone. It was cowardly legislation. A gambler was said to have no
home, and would not be missed, if he were sent to prison; but send a man
of property, of standing to prison for some one of _his_ vices, and
there would soon be a fuss in the wigwam. Mr. F. was very severe upon
the great body of editors, for following servilely public opinion,
without courage or independence to express a manly opinion of their own.

Mr. F. said that all ministers were not good men--there were a few
exceptions--neither should all gamblers, in fairness, be considered as
scoundrels. He, Mr. F. as a gambler, never would admit his inferiority
to those individuals who, without labour, gained money and circumvented
others by extensive and fraudulent schemes of speculation.

The Rev. John Chambers summed up with great eloquence and ability, and
said that he was disappointed--he had expected a defence and vindication
of gambling as an _honourable_ profession--but he was glad to find that
the gentleman who had spoken, Mr. Freeman, had not even attempted to
advocate gambling as truthful or honest.

Mr. Chambers considered all dealing fair, in which a man received a
_quid pro quo_--but whether a man cheat at cards or in the sale of a
bale of dry goods, he was equally a scoundrel. If Mr. Freeman would make
it appear that gambling was a fair business, he (Mr. C.) would not wish
it to be a Penitentiary offence; but if gambling was, as Mr. Green had
shown, a system of robbery--why then, it ought to be a Penitentiary
offence. Mr. C. said that Mr. Freeman had behaved honourably--for he had
said to young men--"Do not come into this place!" And why? Because it
was the road to ruin.

Mr. C. regretted that Mr. Freeman should have made several scriptural
allusions. No virtuous man would ever support gambling--for it gave no
equivalent either in money or reputation