Nevertheless, the obdurate parent, in the hope of reforming his son, and of providing for him by the excellent match with Angelique, hunts up the prodigal and lectures him after the manner of fathers. Hector joins in, and expresses strongly his disapprobation of games of chance; "_les jeux innocents, ou l'esprit se deploie_," are the only safe pastime. "But will our father pay our debts this time?" "Not a crown." "Will he lend us the money at one per cent a month? Once out of this pecuniary strait, we can marry Angelique, and be rich and virtuous. Besides, we have assets as well as debts: here is our schedule." The elder softens a little and takes the paper. At the head of the list of debts he finds Hector's bill for wages and services rendered, leading off a long file of Aarons and Levys; and the assets consist of a debt of honor owing by an officer killed at the Battle of Fleurus, and the good-will of a match at _tric-trac_ with a poor player who had already lost games enough to make his defeat certain. The action of the comedy does not lag or limp from the opening scene to Valere's last words. The versification is easy and natural; the dialogue abounds in wit and comic humor; it is short and quick, with none of those tedious declamations which weary and unsettle the attention of an audience. Take it all in all, we may say, that, if Moliere had chosen the same subject, he could hardly have handled it better. Not that Regnard can pretend to rank with Moliere in genius, or even near him. The "Gambler" is admirably done; but it is the only comedy in which Regnard attempted character. He drew from his experience. Moliere was so skilful a moral anatomist that he required only a whim or a weakness to construct a consistent character. This wonderful man found the French comic stage occupied by a few stock personages, imported from Spain and Italy. The elders were fathers or uncles, rich, miserly, and perverse, instinctively disposed to keep a tight rein on the young people, of whose personal expenses and matrimonial projects they invariably disapproved. The persecuted juniors were all alike, colorless shadows, mere lay figures to hang a plot on: _Leandre, amant de Celimene; Celimene amante de Leandre_: helpless creatures, who would have been quite at the mercy of the old dragons of the story, were it not for the powerful assistance of the rascally soubrettes. These clever sinners abounded in cunning contrivances, disguises, and tricks, which resulted in the signal discomfiture of the parents and guardians. In the last act, they are forced to consent to all the marriages, and are cheated out of most of their property; they are even lucky to escape with their lives. There was no mercy for Age in those plays. "Pluck the lined crutch from the old limping sire; With it beat out his brains." The theatre was the temple of youth, of love, and of feasting. Away with the dull old people! Providence created them only to pay the bills.