A TERRESTRIAL INEERNO.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 53

A TERRESTRIAL INEERNO.

By a. Banker.

Nestled beneath the chain of mountains which skirt the shores or tho Mediterranean Sea, and sheltered from the cold biiing winds whicli form smidsb the gorges and icy glaciers of the snow-clad mountains farther north, lies af airy spot which bounteous Nature has lavishly adorned with beauty 3nd surrounded with some of her choicest gifts. Oa the north and east tower upward towards the skies jagged and serrated spur 3of the mountaia range, the higher buttressed shoulders and pinnacles clad in a winter mantle of virgin snow. On the south is the wide expanse of the ocean, sparkling in the sun, .whose rays - are reflected like glistening gems dancing on its surface ; while above Is the glorious azure sky, of a deep cerulean hue, rivalling the sapphire in ths brilliancy of its tints. On all sides are tall graceful palm tree 3, while many another semi-tropical tree or shrub grows luxuriantly in "the ever genial climate, some covered with strange flowers of scarlet, or mauve, or gold, others cultivated more for the grace and beauty of their foliage or the symmetry of their growth. And nob Nature only, but a refined and cultivated art has also contributed to transform the place into a fairy Eden, by the construction ot artificial terraces and winding walks, flower-bedecked parterres, grottoes and fountains, draccena-lined vistas bordered with flower beds in full and profuse bloom, flanked by small plantations of the lofty bamboo or the scarlet cactu?. Added to all this the temperature, which is about the same as that of an English Juae, making it difficult to realise that it is in the midst of winter, combines to transform this well-favoured spot into a veritable earthly paradise. But here the similitude ceases. For in the midst of all this beauty and loveliness is a palatial building, of. aggressively florid architecture, in which is congregated the moral scum of Europe, gamblers, and thieves, and roues, though all wearing the outward semblance of respec l ability, mixed up with men and (sad to say) women, attracted from all counties in the one mad desire to gamble — all .gathered in. excited crowds round large tables, upon which some of them are staking perhapa the income of a year at one throw, while others are rapidly losing their all upon the fatal table. The proceedings are canducted with apparent; outward decorum, a hushed excitement reigning throughout the anxious assemblage. Scarce a sound is heard — save occasionally a muttered imprecation — bub the monotonous voice of the croupier calling out the number and colour which has turned up, and the constant clatter of the spinning ball rolling round the roulette, followed by the metallic rattle of the gold and silver coins raked off the table and .fioured into the evsr»fiUiD£ tills o£ fefce croupier,?,

who regard not the clearly apparent dismay of many of those who with sinking heart see their patrimony rapidly melting away and disappearing in the capacious maw of those relentless traders upon human frailty. Now may be witnessed terrible scenes of silent agony, as, one afier another, one who haa in a short hour or tvso sunk down into grinding poverty, leaves that fateful room, his very soul torn with remorse and rage at hia fatuous folly, as he reflects that a loving family at home must be plunged into bitter penury, and that his life prospects are blasted and wrecked.

Occasionally, although seldom, a man may be seen whose face is beaming with satisfaction, and whose hand is tightly clasped over his pocket, as if the money he has won would escape of its own accord. An hour after, however, perhaps that same man may be again eeen, with the usual look of depressed auger upon his countenance, for the ruling passion has been too strong for him, and his winnings have again been raked off into tbose evergorging coffers. And occasionally, too, one who has staked and lojfc his all grimly goes out into the night, and with a bullet sinks his body into the grave and his soul into hell. Surely those who, even as spectators, support by their presence the apparent respectability of this sink of iniquity are morally responsible as indirect) abettcrs of the torturing misery and ruiu and desolatioa caused by this baneful earthly inferno.

But are there not other modes of gambling, more accessible than these tables, which are equally destructive and demoralising ?