Now betting and such sports are only the stunted and twisted shapes of the original instinct of man for adventure and romance, of which much has been said in these pages.

And the perils, rewards, punishments, and fulfilments of an adventure must be _real_, or the adventure is only a shifting and heartless nightmare.

If I bet I must be made to pay, or there is no poetry in betting.

If I challenge I must be made to fight, or there is no poetry in challenging.

If I vow to be faithful I must be cursed when I am unfaithful, or there is no fun in vowing.