The blessed spirit now implore,
Nor be the old man any more.
Loyal and loving, noble and true,
The soul that lives in Christ is new.
Gambling Hells
Past and Present.
The statutes of the state of Illinois pronounce severe penalties against gambling and gamblers, yet games of chance have flourished in the past and do yet to a greater extent than in any other city in the country. There are said to be about 20,000 men who maintain an existence through gambling in one form or another. In late years the laws against gambling have been enforced more rigidly than formerly, and the number of professional gamblers has somewhat diminished. Yet there are enough of them left to make their business a very marked feature of metropolitan life.
At the head of the fraternity are the faro dealers. This game is too well-known to the average American to need any description here, and has always been popular in this country because of its supposed fairness.