'But is not he courting her for her fortune?'

'No, not he. That was the first attraction, certainly; but
now he has quite lost sight of it: it never enters his calcu-
lations, except merely as an essential without which, for the
lady's own sake, he could not think of marrying her. No;
he's fairly in love. He thought he never could be again, but
he's in for it once more. He was to have been married before,
some two or three years ago; but he lost his bride by losing
his fortune. He got into a bad way among us in London:
he had an unfortunate taste for gambling; and surely the
fellow was born under an unlucky star, for he always lost
thrice where he gained once. That's a mode of self-torment
I never was much addicted to. When I spend my money I
like to enjoy the full value of it: I see no fun in wasting it
on thieves and blacklegs; and as for gaining money, hitherto
I have always had sufficient; it's time enough to be clutching
for more, I think, when you begin to see the end of what you
have. But I have sometimes frequented the gaming-houses
just to watch the on-goings of those mad votaries of chance--
a very interesting study, I assure you, Helen, and sometimes
very diverting: I've had many a laugh at the boobies and
bedlamites. Lowborough was quite infatuated--not willingly,
but of necessity,--he was always resolving to give it up, and
always breaking his resolutions. Every venture was the 'just
once more:' if he gained a little, he hoped to gain a little
more next time, and if he lost, it would not do to leave off at
that juncture; he must go on till he had retrieved that last
misfortune, at least: bad luck could not last for ever; and
every lucky hit was looked upon as the dawn of better times,
till experience proved the contrary. At length he grew
desperate, and we were daily on the look-out for a case of
felo-de-se--no great matter, some of us whispered, as his
existence had ceased to be an acquisition to our club. At
last, however, he came to a check. He made a large stake,
which he determined should be the last, whether he lost or
won. He had often so determined before, to be sure, and as
often broken his determination; and so it was this time. He

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