Again, there is the rich, moral, or religious man, who takes another position.  He opposes with the declaration “his sons will not gamble:  they have such good and moral examples,” &c.  This is sometimes a want of consideration, that prompts them thus to speak; with others, a secret villany, driving them to such ultra positions, a mere tattered garment to cover their own moral deformity.  They must oppose the reformation, or be held up to public disgrace.  In nine cases out of ten, the opposer of this class, is, or has been, a participant in the works of darkness whose exposition he so much dreads.

Finding many disposed to act thus, and to teach their children to imitate their own pernicious examples, I have made it a study to demolish, if possible, the foundation of their positions.  The success attending my efforts to trace them out, assures me, that I am correct when I affirm that two-thirds of all opposers are influenced in their conduct by the basest of principles; one-sixth act through ignorance, united with vice, and one-sixth are wholly ignorant and cannot be morally accountable, if their want of information is in any way excusable.  But what may be still more startling, about one-fourth of the whole are members of the various churches, yea, even men of this class are found in sacerdotal robes.  This fact came within my knowledge long since.  I felt it my duty to publish the same, but delayed, till I should gain experience in defending my position.  I was satisfied, however, that the efforts of a certain New Light minister to traduce my character and hinder my influence, must have been prompted from some of the foregoing considerations.  Would the world know who this man is?  It will be necessary to go to the very town where he lives to secure the information.  I doubt whether his name would ever have appeared in print, but for his newspaper controversy, or in case of his death.  His unwarrantable attack put me on my guard, and caused me to search out the ground of his base and unchristian treatment.  One thing is very certain, he is no gambler.  It may not be a want of disposition, but rather a sufficient amount of sense, to make him a proficient in the business.  He may be an ignorant dupe—­a mere tool of the designing, the “cats paw” of some respectable blackleg, who thinks to cover his own crimes, by exciting public opinion against me, through an apparently respectable instrumentality.  But I did not wish to bandy words with him, being impressed with the propriety of a resolution I made while a gambler, that it is only throwing away time to attempt to account for the different actions and opinions of weak and prejudiced minds; and therefore I dropped the whole affair.  I would have remained silent, but for the position taken by other divines from his false and garbled statements.  Many have condemned me unheard, listening willingly to my accusers, without hearing a word in my own defence.  Not satisfied with such an expression of their excessive