The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-03-05
GOSPEL THUNDER.
Or. TAlMAGE THINKS GAMBLING THE
CURSE OF THE AGE.

Vice.
NEW YORK, Feb. 22---A decided sch
sation was produced in this city and in
Brooklyn, to-day, by DR.. Talmage'S an
nouncement of Il series Of sermons |
which he proposes to preach on "Thc |
Ten Plaques of these Three Cities" In
this sermon, which is the first Of the
series, he pays his attention to the pre-
ed it III the Academy Of Music in
brooklyn, IN the morning, and again
this evening at the Christian Herald
service in thi" city. His text was taken
from Exodus iv. ~, ii: Let my pno-
PIE go, that they may serve me: for
Will at this time send all my plagurS."
Last winter in the museum at Cairo,
Egypt, saw the mummy or emhalmcd
BODY OF Pharaoh, the opprcSsor uf the
ancient lsraelites. Visible are tn" very
teeth that he gnaShed against the israC-
h'lsh brick-makcrs, the sockets uf the
merclleSs eyes with which he looked
upon the overburdenCd people Of God,
the hair that iloatedin the breeze off
the Red sea, the very lips with which
ne commanded them to make bricks
without straw. Thousands Of years
after, when the wrappingS OF the mum
my were unrolled, Old Pharaoh lifted
up his arm as If in lmploration; hut his
SKINNY bones cannot again clutch his
shattered sceptre. 1t was to compel
mat tyrant to let the oppressed go free
That the memorable Ten Plaques were
sent. Sailing tha Nile and walking
amld the ruins Of Egyptian cities, l.
saw no remains of those plaques that
Smote the water or the air. None of
the frogs crOaked in the one. none Of
the locusts sounded their rattle in the
other, and the cattle bore no sign Of the
murraln, and through the starry nights
hoVerlng about the pyramids no de-
St:oylng angel swept his wing. But
there ae ten plaques still Stingiug and
nc1oullng and curSlng our cities, and
IKE angels of wrath smiting not ONLY
the iirst born but the last born.
SPEAK 10 you To-Day concerning th"
11ague OF Gambling. Every mau and
woman in this house ought to he inter
eSted IN this theme. Some years ago.
When an association for the SupprrSs ion
OF gambling was organized, AN agent
OF the association came to q prominent
citizen and asked him to patroniZc the
society. lie SAID, No, can have no
interest in such an organization. am
IN no wise affected by that evil" At
lIlat very Tune, his son, who was his
partner III business, was one Of the
''>"' iNc' pIttltlS III IltuTllt & famous
gaming establishment. Another re-
fused his patronage on the same ground
not Knowing that his first hookkrcppr.
though receiving Il salary OF only ~ ,ONU
was losing from 500 TO SlW per night. |
ne president Of Il railroad company
refused TO patrOniXc the institution.
saying: "Ihat society is good for the
defense Of merchants; but we railroad
people are not injured by this evil"
not knowing that at that very time,
TWO OF his conductors were Spcndinm
lhree nights Of each week at faro Ia
DIES III New York. Directly or iudi-
rectly, this evil strikes ut the whole
world.
Gambling is the risking Of something
more or less valuable in the hope of
winning more than your hazard. The
Instruments OF gaming may differ. but
the principle is the same. The shut
nlng and dealing of cards, however fun
OF temptation. is not gambling, unless
stakes are put up: while on the other
hand, gambling may he carried on with.
out cards, or dice, or billiards, ora ten
pm alley. The man who bets ON horses.
on elections, on battles the man vino
deals IN ''fanCy' stocks, or COl.UuCiH Il
business which hazards extra capital. |
or goes INTO transactions without lOun. !
datlon, but dependent upon What mcl I
call "luck, is a gambler. " Whatever |.
you expect TO get from your nrIghbor !
without oncrlngan equivalent III mon ,
ey or tlme or skill, IS either the product |
OF theft or gaming. Lottery tickets ,
ana LOTTERY policies come into the same /
category. FAIRS for the founding Of .
hospitals, schools and churches, con-
Quoted on the railing system come un-
uer the same denomination. DO not,
I 1hpTRtnrn nint.
rllY with any instrument, or game, or |
time, or place, or think the principle |
depends upon whether you play for Il
glass OF wine, or one hundred shares of
railroad stock. Whether yuu patroniXe
auction poolS,' "Frcnch mutualS," or
"Dook-making;" whether You employ
faro or billiards, rondo or keno. cards
or bagatelle, the very idea of The thing
is dlshonest; for it processes to hcStow |
upon you good for which you give no
equivalent.
1t is estimated that every day in
ChrlStendOm eighty million dollars !
pass from hand to hand through gamb-
ing practices, and every year IN Christ
cndom one hundred and twenty three
billion one hundred million dollars
change hands in that way. There are in
New \ ork, Brooklyn and Newark about
eight hundred confessed gambling os-
tablishments. There are about
three thousand five hundred pro-
1esS'onal gamblers. out Of the
eight hundred gambling establish
ments, low many Of them do you
suppose profess to be honest? Ten.
Ihese ten protesting to be honest be-
cause they are merely the ante chamber
TO the seven hundred and ninety that
are acknowledged fraudulent. There
are hrst-claSs gambling est tablishments
on 90 up the marble stairs. gu ring
the bell. The liveried servant intro
uuceS you. The walls are lavender
tinted. The mantels are Of Vermont
marble. The pictures are .Jephthah's
Daughter" and Dore's "Dantr's and
Virgins Frozen Region Of He'll" a
most appropriate selection, this last,
for the place. There is tie roulette
table, the finest, the costliest, most cx-
quisite piece Of furniture in the United
States. There is the banquctting room
where, free of charge to the guests, you
may find the plate, and viands, and
wines and cigars, sumptuous beyond
parallel.