Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-05-22

.neep, or o. SoTTupIing new victims.
.H'nis 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 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
compensaies 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 q return, but it is dis
grace to the man he feeces, despair to
his heart, ruin to his business, anguish
10 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 be
makes and loses the value Of summer
harvest! Who will want to sell tape,
and measure nankeen, and cut gar
ments, and weigh sugars, when in
nights game he makes and loses, and
makes again and loses again, profits OF
season? John Borack was sent as mer'
camille agent from Bremen to England
and this country. After two years his
employers mistrusted that all was not
right. He was defaulter for $S7, coo.
1t was found that he had lost i'll LOm'
bard street, London, $50, 600; in Fulton
street, New York, $40, 000 and in New
Orleans So, 900. He was imprisoned,
but afterward escaped and went into
the gambling profession. He died in
lunatic asylum. This crime is getting
its lever under many mercantile house
in our cities and before long down will
come the great establishment, crushing
reputation, home comfort and immortal
souls.
Games Of Chance.
The whole world is robbed. What is
most sad, there aTe 10 consultations foI
the loss and suffering entailed hy gam
ing. If men fail in lawful business,
God pities and society commiserates,
but where in the Bible or society is
there any consolation for the gambler:
From what tree Of the forest oozes there
a balm that can soothe the gamester's
heart? In that bottle where God keeps
the tears Of his children are there any
tears Of the gambler? Do the winds that
come TO kiss the faded check Of sickness
and 10 cool the heated brow Of the Ia
borer whisper hope and cheer to the
emaciated victim Of the game Of haz'
ard? When an honest man is in trouble,
he has sympathy. Poor fellow! they
say. But do gamblers come to weep at
the agonies of the gambler? In North
cumberland was one Of the finest estates
in England. Mr.. Porter owned it and
in a year gambled it all away Having
lost the last acre of the estate, he came
down from the saloon and got into his
carriage, went back, put up his horses
and carriage and town house and play
ed. He threw and lost He started for
home and on q side alley met friend,
from whom he borrowed ten guineas
He went back TO the saloon, and before
a great while had won ego, 00O He
died at last q beggar in st. Giles. How
many gamblers felt sorry for Mr.. Por-
ter? Who consoled him on the loss Of
his estate? What gambler subscribed to
put stone over the poor mans grave:
Not one. Furthermore, this sin is the
source Of uncountod dishonesty. The
game Of hazard itself is often a cheat.
How many tricks and receptions in the
dealing Of the cards! The opponents
hand is ofttimes found out by fraud.
Cards are marked so that they may be
designated from the back. Expert game
sters have their accomplices, and one
wink may decide the game. The dice
have been found loaded with platina,
so that doublets come up every time
These dice are introduced by the gam
blers unobserved by the honest men
who have come into the play, and this ac-
counts for the fact that ninety-nine ont
Of a hundred who gamble, however
wealthy when they began, at the end
are found TO be poor, miserable, haggard
wretches, that would not now be allowed
to sit on the doorstep of the house that
they once owned.
In gaming house in San Francisco a
young man having just come from the
mines deposited large sum upon the
ace and won $22, 900. But the tide
turns. Intense anxiety comes upon the
countenances Of all. Slowly the cards
went forth. Every eye is fixed. Not
sound is heard until the ace is revealed,
favorable TO the bank There are shouts
Of Foul FoulP' but the keepers Of the
table produce their pistols, and the up
.oar is silenced, and the bank has won
k95, 900. Do you call this game Of
chance? There is no chance about it.
But these dishonesties in the carrying
on Of the game are nothing when COM
pared with the frauds that are commit
ted in order to get money to 60 on with
the nefarious work Gambling, with its
needy hand, has snatched away the
widows mite and the portion Of the or
phans; has sold the daughters virtue to
get the means to continue the game, has
written the counterfeit's signature,
emptied the bankers money vault and
welded the assassin's dagger There is
no depth of meanness to which it will
not stoop There is no cruelty at which
it is appalled,. There is no warning Of
God that it will not dare. Merciless,
unappeasable, fercer and wilder, it
blinds, it hardens, it rends, it blasts, il
brushes, it damns. Have nothing to do
with gamblers whether they gamble on
large scale or small scale.
Cast out these men from your compa-
ny. Do not be intimate with them. AL
ways be polite. There is no demand
that you ever sacrifice politeness. A
young man accosted a Christian Quaker