Lisle frequently remonstrated with his friend on the folly of his proceedings, and the young fellow declared that he would retire from the table, if luck went against him.

But the mania was too strong for him.
"It is extraordinary what bad luck I have," he said, one day.

"I almost always win at the beginning of the evening; and then, when I get thoroughly set, my winnings are swept away." "Why don't you get up when you are a winner ?" "That would be very bad form, Bullen; a fellow who did that would be considered a cad." "I should strongly advise you to give it up, altogether." Lisle observed with regret that his friend's spirits fell, and that he became moody and irritable.

One day, when he went into his quarters, he found him sitting with a look of misery upon his face.
"What is it, Gordon ?" he asked.

"I hope I am not in the way ?" "Well, it has come to this," the young officer said.