St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1896-07-11

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exoitemen& A thousand voices IN on
nature demand It. It i right Il 4
hsalthful. Il il inspiring. II y : Dc
sire God-Givsn. But anything thai
Art gratif1es this appetite and
hurls It back In . terrific reaction /,
deplorable and wicked. Look out fol
the agitation that, like . rough
musician, in bringing out the tune,
plays % hard he breaks down the in.
strument e0od never made man strong
enough to endure the wear and tear Of
gambling excitement. No wonder II,
after having failed in the game, men
have begun to sweep on imaginary
gold from the side Of the table.
The man was sharp enough
when hs started 1t the game, but
: maniac 1t the close. At every
gaming t. bio sit one on each side,
Ecstasy, Enthusiasm, Romance-the
frenzy Of Joy; on the other side. Fierce.
ness, Rage, Tumult. Tho professional
gamcster schools himself into appar.
emit quietnesa The keepers Of gam.
bling rooms arc generally fat, rollicking
and obese; but thorough and profess
sional gamblers, in nine cases out Of
ton, arc pale. thin, wheexy, tremuloua
and exhausted.
A young man having suddenly In.
herited large property, sits at tho
hazard tables and takes mp In dice box
tho estate won by = fathers lifetime
sweat. and shakes it and tosses it away.
Intemperance soon stigmatises it,
victim kicking him out, . slaving tool.
into the ditch. CT sending him, with
the drunkard's hiccough, staggering
mp tho street where his family lives.
But gambling does not in that way
expose it, victims. The gambler may
Be eaten up by tho gamblers passion,
yet you only discover it by the greed in
his eyes, the hardness Of his features,
the nervous restlessness, the thread.
bare coat and his embarrassed bust.
mesa Yethe II on the road to hell, and
no preachers voice or startling warn
ing. or wife's entreaty, can make him
stay for . moment his headlong career.
The internal spell is on him; . giant IL
aroused within, and though you may
bind him with cables, they would
part like thread, and though you fasten
him seven times round with chains,
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 see the cross of the
Son Of God, over them all the gambler
would leap like roe over tho rocks, ON
his way to perdition.
The whole world is robbed! What Is
most sad, there are no consultations for
the loss and suffering entailed by gam
Ing. II men fail In lawful business
God pities and society commiserates;
but where, In the Bible or society, In
there any consolation for the gambler?
From what tree Of the forest ooxes there
} balm that can soothe the game
ster's heart? In. that bottle where
Sod keeps the tears Of His children,
lre there any tears of the gambler
Do the winds that come to kiss the
laded cheek Of sickness and to cool
he heated brow Of the laborer whis.
ger hope and cheer to the emaciated
'ictim Of the game Of hazard7 When
IN honest man II In trouble, he
las sympathy. "Poor fellow"
hey say. But, do gamblers
,ome to weep ct the agonies
# the gambler? In Northumberland
vas ono of the finest estates in En-
rland. Mr.. Porter owned it, and In o
rear Rambled 1t all away. Having lost
he last acre. Of the estate. he came
Town from the saloon and got into his
arriage; went back; put mp his horses,
md carriage. and town house, and
|layed. He threw and lost He started
or home, and on : sideallcy met . friend
rom whom he borrowed ten guineas:
vent back to the saloon and before .
,reat while, had won sec, 900. He died
{ last . beggar In st. Giles. How
many gamblers felt sorry for Mr.. Por- |
er? Who consoled him on the loss Of |
is estate? What gambler subscribed |
o put stone over the poor mans |
rave? Not onel
Furthermore. this sin II the source |
4 uncounted dishonesty. The game
I hazard itself IL often = cheat. How
many tricks and deceptions In the deal
ag Of the cardsl The opponents hand
J oftimes found out by fraud. Cards
re marked 80 that they may be desig-
ated from the back. Expert
amesters have their accomplices,
nd one wink may decide the
anne. The dice have been
ound loaded with platina, 80
hat doublets come mp every time.
'hese dice are introduced by the gam
lers unobserved by the honest mon
rho have come into the play. and this
ccounts for the fact that 90 out Of .
10 who gamble, however wealthy
hen they began. ct the end are
ound to be poor, miserable. hag-
ard wretches, that would not now
. allowed to sit on the doorstep
the house that they once owned. In
gaming house In San Francisco .
Dung man. having just como from the
lines, deposited large sum upon the
&c and won $4,000. But the tide
irns. Intense anxiety comes upon the
Of all. Slowly the cards
emit forth. Every eye II fixed.
ot : sound IL heard, until tho ace
revealed favorable to the bank.
here arc shouts Of Foul! foull'' but
% keepers of the table produce
,eir pistols. and The oproar IL silenced.
i'd the bank has won So5. 000 Do You
III this game Of chance? There II
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