The Progress., 1893-05-06
EVILS OF GAMBLING.
REV. THOMAS DIXON ON THE GATES
OF HE'LL IN MODERN BABYLON"

and His Disrespect For Tennyson-Au
Glasses In New York Infected.
New YORK, April 30-One Of a series
of sermons on the Shadows of the City;
or, the Gates of He'll In Modern Baby
Ion" was delivered this morning in As
sociatiOn hall to the great congregation
which packs the building to its utmost
capacity Extraordinary interest has
been manifested in the series from the
first When the hall is filed. the ushers
are compelled to close the doors, and
hundreds are turned away The text
chosen this morning was from Matthew
xvii, 30, They parted his garments
among them, casting lots"
Gambling may be defined as the art of
securing the property of another with
ont giving him anything in return. 1t
is to get something for nothing or the at
tempt to get something for nothing
When this is done by game or trick in
an artistic way, it is called gambling
When it Is done by force or in clumsy,
inartistic way, it is called thieving
There Is practically no difference be-
tween stealing and gambling. The prin-
ciple involved is precisely the same. Ii
is the violation OF the fundamental law
of nature, the law of compensation and
just exchange. Any man who CANDLES
steadily for II months will steal Men
may deny it. but those who know the
facts in gambling life know that it is
true. If the gambler does not actually
steal, III the vulgar sense of the word. it
Is simply because he has not vet met the
opportunity or the crisis demanding it.
Gambling is the total debauchery Of
the whole man. 1t is the debauchery of
his body as well as his soul. The body
is debauched because the conditions sur
rounding gambling imply it of necessity.
1t means the indulgence of every pas
sion that clamors for the destruction of
the body There is no fascination like
it. The spell it throws over the whole
personality of man Is simply resistloSs.
No serpent ever charmed its victim with
greater power. No fowler ever set his
snare with surer results. 1t is an appeal
to the pride and to the skill of man. Ii
is an appeal to his love of superiority, tC
his desire FOR power. to the heroism of
his nature. to his greed and lust for
gain. Above all. it is delusiou of his
religious faculties. 1t is playing with
the world of chance, which becomes
finally confused with the world of spirit.
Hence the debauchery of the gambler Is
complete and the wreck of character TO-
tai. When the spiritual nature is burned
out, there is nothing on which to build.
Body and soul of necessity collapse.
The gambler becomes the victim of
hopeless mental disease.
THE SURVIVAL OF THE BRUTE.
Gambling is nothing short of mania.
and gamblers should be incarcerated in
lunatic asylums with just as good rea-
son as that which requires that other
lunatics he isolated from society. This
disease of the mind when once fixed is
utterly hopeless. The victim follows his
will-o -the-wisp as the weary traveller
follows the fatal mirage. man recent
" set ont from Juarez, Mexico, to go to
Palomas in New Mexico and nearly lost
his life from a mirage delusion. He was
driving his wagon when he saw short
distance off in the deserta beautiful lake
shadowed by trees. Both he and his
team were thirsty, so he turned out OF
his course TO get water. After travelling
several miles the lake seemed as far off
as at first, but it was there, clear, dis
tinct, before him. He continued in the
direction of the lake and fancied he
could feel on his face the fresh breeze
from the water, but as the distance did
not diminish at last the idea dawned on
him, and he turned back toward the
road But the night overcame him. He
lost his way. On the morrow he could
not recognize any indication of his
course. All his efforts to find the road
were unavailing. AT last, after terri
BILE struggle of four days, wrestling with
heat, and with hunger, and with thirst,
he succeeded in reaching the road. more
dead than alive Such is the experience
of the man whose being is in the grasp
of this relentless demon. 1t is a craze;
it is a madness.
Mazarin was so fascinated with gam
bling that he played as he lay on his
deathbed until he became too weak, and
then he got some one to play for him.
Walpole tells of certain Lord Stavor-
dale, who, when under 2l years of age,
lost $55, 900 in one night, but recovered
it by a single great stake, whereupon he
swore a great oath, adding, Now, if !
had been playing deep, might have won
millions" 1t is said that two men were
found by the police in Hamstead road in
1912. one on wall and the other hang
ing by his neck from a lamppost, just
showed off," They had tossed all day,
first for money, then for their clothes and
lastly to decide which of the two should
hang the other. 1t was logical con-
clusion to the days work. 1t is the in
evitable conclusion TO the gamblers day
ON earth
Gambling is not an evil that has de-
veloped primarily in modern times un-