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sixes will not be thrown in the third attempt. A suggestion to this
effect is usually rejected by the intellect at once. It does not
appear that the two throws which have been completed, and which lie now
absolutely in the Past, can have influence upon the throw which exists
only in the Future. The chance for throwing sixes seems to be precisely
as it was at any ordinary time--that is to say, subject only to the
influence of the various other throws which may be made by the dice. And
this is a reflection which appears so exceedingly obvious that attempts
to controvert it are received more frequently with a derisive smile
than with anything like respectful attention. The error here involved--a
gross error redolent of mischief--I cannot pretend to expose within the
limits assigned me at present; and with the philosophical it needs
no exposure. It may be sufficient here to say that it forms one of an
infinite series of mistakes which arise in the path or Reason through
her propensity for seeking truth in detail.
Footnotes--Marie Rogêt
(*1) Upon the original publication of "Marie Roget," the foot-notes now
appended were considered unnecessary; but the lapse of several years
since the tragedy upon which the tale is based, renders it expedient
to give them, and also to say a few words in explanation of the general
design. A young girl, Mary Cecilia Rogers, was murdered in the
vicinity of New York; and, although her death occasioned an intense and
long-enduring excitement, the mystery attending it had remained
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