Gazette Of The United States

The lottery mania appears to rage with uncommon violence. It is said there are nearly twenty lotteries now on foot in different States. The sale of tickets has been uncommonly rapid. Lotteries have been formed, published, the tickets sold, and drawn in the course of 10 or 15 days.

The rage for adventuring however begins to abate, and it now takes months to complete, what has been transacted in a few days. Odd numbers have been so very fortunate, especially if sold to a very poor man, who borrowed the money, or parted with his coat to procure the ticket, that it is recommended to the fabricators of lotteries in future, to designate every ticket by such number only—the sale would be immensely expedited by the measure. So exceedingly strong was the faith of a certain person in odd numbers, that he purchased every ticket in a late lottery, whose number contained three threes. He however paid his full share of the deduction for the benefit of the lottery; but he imputed his misfortune to an extraordinary run of good luck which attended the intervening odd numbers.

There are some advantages which result from lotteries: A person for 6 weeks drank one dram less every morning, in order to save money enough to buy part of a ticket.