T HE immoderate love of Gaming, so prevalent of latter years, has been already touched upon in one of our former essays; but as the evil, instead of decreasing, becomes every day more spreading, the following letter, which fets forth the folly and madness of it in the most picturesque manner, may poffibly make those who are guilty, ashamed of being fo. To the FEMALE SPECTATOR. "MADAM, "HAD I no other temptation for writing to "you than barely making those acknowledgments " which are due to you from all your fex, for your 66 generous endeavours to render us truly amiable, " I could not refift troubling you with such proofs " of my particular gratitude as are in the power " of a raw country girl. "INSTRUCTIONS delivered in so cordial and "polite a manner, I should think, cannot fail of "having their effect; at least I have the pleasfure " of congratulating their success in a place, which though a hundred miles from London, has not " been free from the contagion of those follies, " which I find reign here, as yet, to an unlimited "degree: I hope, however, a day will come, " when the observations of those maxims the FE“ MALE SPECTATOR has so obligingly laid down, " will be as much the mode, as the errors they are " intended to explode, at present seem to be. N2 "I CAME, "I CAME, madam, to this great town about " three months ago, which, till then I had never "seen. One of the first visits I made on my arri" val was to a lady, with whom, having received " her education in the same place with me, I had " been extremely intimate: as I knew she was " married to a person in a high station, and was " obliged by the rank she now held, to fee a great " deal of company, I went in the morning, that I "might have the opportunity of talking to her "with more freedom than I could do before "strangers, and who, by the little I saw of Lon"don, I found were ready enough to laugh at the " fimplicity of a person who had always lived in "the country. "It was between eleven and twelve when I " came to her door, where, after knocking a con" fiderable time, a footman, with his night-cap " on, and pale as just risen from the dead, came " yawning forth, and, on my asking for his lady, "O gad, madam, drawled he out, we had a rac" quet here last night, and my lady cannot poffi" bly be stirring these three hours. I wondered "what had happened, but would not ask any " questions of the fellow, so only left my name, " and faid I would wait on her at a more proper " time. "FROM thence I went among the shops, and " bought me some things I had occafion for; then " returned to my lodgings, eat my dinner, and " about three made a second visit to my friend, " having been all this time very impatient to know "what ill accident had befallen her, for fuch I "judged the fellow meant by a racquet having "been at her house. " I HAD " I HAD the good fortune now to be admitted, " and found her at her chocolate; she had a disn " of it in one hand, and with the other seemed "very bufy in forting a large parcel of guineas, "which she divided into two heaps on a table that "stood before her:-she rose and received me " with a great deal of civility and kindness, told "me, she was forry for my disappointment on my "first calling, but added, with a smile, that when " I had been a little while in town, I should learn " to lie longer in bed in a morning. "STILL she mentioned nothing of any diftur"bance that had happened, and appeared so per"fectly easy and gay, that I knew not how to " make any enquiry concerning it, and had gone " from her in a total ignorance of the matter, if " she had not set me right by going on, I am not, " faid she, however, always altogether so late as I " have been to-day ;-but you must know, I had "a racquet last night; - no less than fixteen tables, " and it was towards five before we broke up :" I won, it is true; had charming luck; but fee " how I have been cheated; -all these, continued " she, pointing to the leffer heap of gold, are coun"terfeit ;-not one good guinea among them. " I was not quite so dull of apprehension as not " to perceive by this, that a racquet was far from "fignifying what I had at first understood it; but "defirous of being better informed, I made no " fcruple of confeffing my ignorance, at which she "laughed heartily, but foon made me as learned in "the affair as I desired to be. She told me, that "when the number of company for play exceeded " ten tables, it was called a racquet; if under, it " was only arout; and if no more than one or two, "it was only a drum :-she concluded with pityN3 “ing "ing those of her acquaintance, who, with all " their industry, could never raise their drawing"room above the latter. ८८ ८५ "THE erecting gaming into a kind of science, inventing technical terms for it, and glorying in attracting a number of its profeffors, appeared to " me noletsridiculous, than the wonder I exprefied " to hear her talk in this manner, doubtless, did " to her. "I FOUND I might easily have been admitted "to this school of politeness, as all assemblies. " where gaming is promoted are accounted; but " I choose rather to be of the number of those "whom they call unbred creatures, than purchase "the name of a fine lady at the expence of my ८८ money, my time, and health, and what I hope " will ever be with me of equal estimation with any of them, my reputation, among the sober " and more justly thinking part of the world... ८६ "THOUGH I absolutely refused to make one " at those nocturnal meetings, I still continue to " visit her at times more agreeable to myself; by " which means I have the opportunity of hearing "what passes the night before; the elevation " which fome express at a lucky run at cards, and "the distractions of others at ill fortune ;-the "little shifts to which sometimes the greatest la" dies have recourse, in order to support their cre"dit at these gaming-tables, and the fatal emer"gencies they are not seldom reduced to, when " obliged to discharge their debts of honour, for "so they are all called that are this way con"tracted; but what amazes me more, is to find " that there are lady sharpers, who stake false money, and have even the address to exchange it 66 "for " for sterling, unperceived by the many, but these, "it seems, know each other pretty well, and " chuse, if poffible to get to a table, where there " is no other of equal dexterity in the art :-some“ times, however, it happens, that they play with " one no less knowing than themselves, as had " been the cafe with my friend the first time I saw "her: but she told me she should be even with "the perfon, and would take care the next afsfem" bly-night to pay her ladyship in her own coin ; " for she would let one to play with her that she " should have no fufpicion of, and make her lay " down the counterfeit guineas, which would be " eagerly grasped at, as real, by the other. "WHAT a strange way is this of passing time, " and suffering corruption to fteal into the heart. " by methods, which, if discovered, serve only as " matters of merriment! For L find, cheating at "cards is almost as fashionable as cards themselves; "for my part, the more I hear of it the more I am "amazed:-if any thing can demand the severest " cenfure of the FEMALE SPECTATOR, this surely " does, fince none, of all the follies of the age, " is so every way destructive. "EXERT yourself, therefore, dear madam, on "this occafion, and inake, if possible, the ladies " blush at the remembrance they have ever en"couraged, under the name of diverfion, a real "vice, and what has ever been accounted scanda"lous, even in the other sex:-remonftrate to " them the irreparable injury they do themselves " and families:-how, by the extravagancies they " are guilty of at play, they lay open all their de"fects of temper, and what, perhaps, may have greater weight with some, how an ill run of cards "shall have the power to wrinkle their brows, |