The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-12-22

| ing he'll. \ man IN London, keeping
gambling house. bOasted that he ruined
nObleman day. But if all the sa-
looms in this land were to speak out, they
might utter a more infamous boast, for
! they have destroyed thousand noble
D men a year. Notice the effect of this
| crime upon domestic happiness 1t has
| sent its ruthless plOwshaTe through hum
/ dret of families, until the wife sat In
! rags and the daughters were dlsgraced,
and the sons grew up to the same lnta-
| nous practices, or took short cut TO
| destruction across the murderer's scat
| fold. Home has lost all charms for the
| gambler. How tame are the chlldIg.. 5
| caTesSes and the wife's devotion to the
| gambler. How very little fire burns on
| the domestic hearth. There must be
| louder laughter, and something to win
and something to lose. No home, how
ever bright, can keep back the gambler.
| If his everlasting crown in heaven was
| put into his hand he would say: Here
| goes; one more game my boys. On this
one throw | stake my crown of heaven"
The gambling spirit has not stopped
for any indecency. There transplred In
Maryland a lottery in which people drew
for lots in a burying ground. The mod
ern habit of betting about everything
| is productive of immense mischief. The
most healthful and innocent amuse-
meutS have been the occasion of putting
up excited and eXtTavagant wagers.
The custom is perniclOus i'll the extreme
where scores of men in respectable life
| give themselves up to betting, now on
| this boat, now on that. Betting is fast
| becoming a National habit. There are
| in the country tens of thousands of
! quick, nervous, Sanguine temperamentS
| ready to be acted upon, and their feet
| will soon take hold on death For some
months, perhaps years, they will linger
| IN. lnA Il mt
! circle of gamesters, but after
while their pathway will
come to the fatal plunge. Shall
| sketch the history of the gambler?
! Lured by bad company he finds his way
into a place where honest men ought
never go. He sits down to his first
game only for pastime. The PLAYER
deals out the cards. They uncOnsciOusly
play into Satan's hands, who takes all
the tricks and both the players souls
for trumps-he being sharper at any
game. A slight stake is put up just to
add interest to the play. Game after
game is played. Larger stakes, and
still larger. They begin to move nery-
Ously on their chairs. Their brOws
lower and eyes flash until now they
who win and they who lose, fired alike
with passion, sit with set jaws, and
compressed lips, and clenched fists and
eyes like tre-balls that seem starting
| from their sockets to see the final turn
before it comes. If losing, pale with
, envy and tremulOus with unuttered
- OathS, cast back red hot upon the heart;
or, winning, with hysteric laugh, 'Ha!
ha! have it! | have it," Afew years
have passed, and he is only the wreck
of man. Seating himself at the game
ere he throws the first card, he stakes
the last relic of his wife and the mar
riage ring which sealed the solemn
1. lg.,N
! and staggering back i'll exhaustion he
dreams. The bright hours of the past
mock his agony and in his dreams
, fiends with eyes of fire and tongues of
flame circle about him with joined
, hands to dance and sing their orgies,
! with hellish chorus chanting, Hail,
/ bTOtherw kissing his clammy fore
head until their lOathsOme locks, flow
: ing with serpents, crawl into his bosom
/ and sink their sharp fangs and suck up
/ his life's blood, and, cOiling around his
! heart, pinch it with chills and shudders
=. unutterable. Take warning. You are
; no stronger than tens of thousands who
O have by this practice been OveTthTOwn.
No young man in our cities can escape
n being tempted. Beware of the first be-
n ginnings. This road is a down grade,
!, and every instant increases the
D. momentum. Launch not upon this
= tTeacherOUs sea. Split hulks strew
-, the beach. Everlasting storms
, howl up and down, tossing the
q unwary crafts into The He'll Gate
| speak of what | have seen with my
f own eyes. l have looked off into the
f abyss and have seen the fOaming and
y the kissing and the whiTling of the
/ hOrTid deep in which the mangled vic
a Tins writhed one upon another, and
: struggled, stTangled, blasphemed, and
r died-the death-staTe of eternal despair
!. upon their cOuntenances as the waters
o. guTgled over them. To a gambler 5
i, death bed there comes no hope. He will
q probably die alone. His former assOci-
ates come not nigh hi dwelling. When
: the hour comes his miserable soul will
n go out of a miserable life into a miseT'
p able eternity. As the poor remains pass
a the house where he was ruined old com
!. paniOns may look out and say, There
, goes the old carcass-dead at last" But
/ they will not get up from the table. Let
r him down now into his grave. Plant
q no tree to cast its shade there, for the
h long, deep, eternal gloom that settles
@ there is shadow enough. Plant no for
= get-me-uOt or eglantines around the
q spot, for flowers were not made to grow
: on such a blasted heath. Visit it not in
f., the sunshine, for that would be mOckery
. but in the dismal night, when the stars
K are out and the spirits of darkness come
V down hOrsed on the wind-then visit the
q grave of the gamblerl