Connecticut western news., 1896-05-21

or crowd around your anvil, or seek to decoy yen of. They will want you to break out in the midst of your busy day to take a ride with them. They will tell you of some people you must see, of some excursion that you must take, of some Sabbath day that you ought to dishonor They will tell you of exqui- site wines that you must taste, of costly operas that you must hear, of wonderful dancers that you must see, but before you accept their convoy or their com panionship remember that while at the end of useful life you may be able to look back to kindnesses done, to honor able work accomplished, to poverty helped. to a good name earned, to Chris tian influence exerted, to Saviour's cause advanced-these pleasure seekers on their deathbed have nothing better to review than torn playbill, ticket for the races, an empty tankard, and the cast out rinds of a carousal, and, as in the delirium of their awful death they clutch the goblet and press it to their lips, the dregs of the cup falling upon their tongue will begin to hiss and, un- coil with the adders of an eternal poi son.
 The Gambling Spirit.
 Again, avoid as you would avoid the death of your body, mind and soul any one who has in him the gambling spirit. Men who want to gamble will find places just suited to their capacity, not only in the underground oyster cellar or at the table back of the curtain cover ed with greasy cards, or in the steam boat smoking cabin, where the bloated wretch with rings in his ears deals out his pack and winks at the unsuspecting traveller - providing free drinks all around-but in gilded parlors and amid gorgeous surroundings,
 This sin works ruin, first, by unhealth- ful stimulants Excitement is pleasura- ble. Under every sky and in every age men have sought it The Chinaman gets it by smoking his opium, the Per sian by chewing hasheesh, the trapper in a buffalo hunt, the sailor in squall, the inebriate in the bottle and the avari- cious at the gaming table. We must at times have excitement A thousand voices in our nature demand it It is right. It is healthful. It is inspiring. It is desire God given. But anything that first gratifies this appetite and hurls it back in terrific reaction is de- plorable and wicked. Look out for the agitation that like rough musician in bringing out the tune plays so hard he breaks down the instrument God never made man strong enough to en- dure the wear and tear of gambling ex- citement. No wonder if, after having failed in the game, men have begun to sweep of imaginary gold from the side of the table. The man was sharp enough when he started at the game, but a ma niac at the close At every gaming ta- ble sit on one side ecstasy, enthusiasm, romance-the frenzy of joy; on the oth- CT side, fierceness, rage, tumult The professional gamester schools himself into apparent quietness. The keepers of gambling rooms are generally fat, rol- licking and obese, but thorough and professional gamblers, in nine cases out of ten, are pale, thin, wheezy, tremu- lous and exhausted.
 A young man, having suddenly inner ited a largo property, sits at the hazard tables and takes up in a dice box the estate won by fathers lifetime sweat and shakes it and losses it away. h. temperance soon stigmatizes it's victim, kicking him out, a slavering fool, into the ditch. or sending him, with the drunkard's hiccough, staggering up the street where his family lives But gam bling does not in that way expose it's victims. The gambler may be eaten up by the gamblers passion, yet you only discover it by the greed in his eyes. the hardness of his features, the nervous restlessness, the threadbare coat and his embarrassed business Yet he is on the road to hell, and no preachers voice or startling warning CT wife's entreaty can make him stay for moment his headlong career. The internal spell Is on him, giant is aroused within, nnd though you may bind him with cables they would part like thread, and though ycu fasten him seven times round with rhains they would snap like rusted wire. and though you piled up in his path heaven high Bibles, tracts and sermons and on the top should set the cross of the Son of God, over them all the gam oicf Nouio iC8P, 1AAo Aoo oscA sho rocks, on his way to perdition.
 A Rninous Lever.
 A man used to resping scores or hun dreds of dollars from the gaming table will not be content with slow work He will say, What is the use of my trying to make these $50 in my store when can get five times that in half an hour down at Billy's?'' You never knew 8 confirmed gambler who was industri- ous The men given to this vice spend their time not actively engaged in the game in idleness, or intoxication, or sleep, or in corrupting new victims This sin has dulled the carpenters saw and cut the band of the factory wheel. sunk the cargo, broken the teeth of the farmers harrow and sent a strange | lightning to shatter the battery of the philosopher The very first idea in gam | ing is at war with all the industries of ! society. Any trade or occupation that Is of use is ennobling. The street sweeper advances the interests of society by the cleanliness effected The cat pays for the fragments it eats by cleaning the house of vermin. The fly that takes the sweetness from the dregs of the cup compensates by purifying the air and keeping back the pestilence But the gambler gives not anything for that which he takes recall that sentence. | He does make return, but it is dis grace to the man he fieeces, despair to his heart, ruin to his business, anguish | to his wife. shame to his children and eternal wasting away to his soul He pays in tears, and blood. and agony. and darkness, and woe. What dull work is blowing to the farmer when in the village saloon in one night he makes and loses the value of a summer | harvesti Who will want to sell tape, and measure nankeen, and cut gar