Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-05-22
ways PLAYS and never works.

regular DuslutcS IL - " pay btsA45 SA~AN
or 90 a-boating. All these sports are
grand in their places. / never derived
so much advantage from any ministerial
association as from a ministerial club
that went out TO play ball every Satur-
day afternoon in the outskirts of Phlla-
delphia. These recreations are grand 70
give us muscle and spirits for our regu-
lar toll. | believe in muscular Chri-
tianity. A man is often not SO nea q.
God with a weak stomach as when he
has a strong digestion. But shun those
who make it their life occupation TO
sport. There are young men whose in
dustry and usefulness have fallen over
board from the yacht There are men
whose business fell through the ice Of
the skating pond ard has never since
been heard Of. There is beauty in the
gliding Of boat. in the song Of skates,
in the soaring Of a well struck ball, and
l never see one fly but | inycluntarily
throw up my hands 10 catch II, and 50
far from laying an injunction upon ball
playing CT any other innocent sport, l
claim them all as belonging Cf right TO
those Of us who toll in the grand indus
tries Of church and state.
But the life business Of pleasure seek
ing always makes in the end a criminal
or a sot George Brummel was smiled
upon by all England, and his life was
given to pleasure. He danced with the
peeresses and swung a round Of mirth
and wealth and applause until, ex-
hausted Of purse, and worn out Of body,
and bankrupt Of reputation, and ruined
of soul, he begged a biscuit from a gro
Ger and declared that he thought a
dogs life was better than mans
Such men will come into your Office,
or crowd around your anvil, or seek TO
decoy you off. They will want you to
break out in the midst Of your busy day
to take a ride with them. They VIII
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 70 kindnesses done, 10 honor
able work accomplished, 70 poverty
helped. to a good name earned, 70 Chris
tian influence exerted, 70 a Sayiours
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 III
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 10 hiss and, un-
coil with the adders Of an eternal pol
son.
The Gambling Spirit.
Again. avoid as you would avoid the
death Of your body, mind and sou! 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-
BILE. Under every sky and in every age
I men have sought it. The Chlnaman
gets it by smoking his opium, the Per
7 sian by chewing hasheosh, the trapper IN
E a buffalo hunt, the sailor in a squall,
+, the inebriate in the bottle and the ayari-
cious at the gaming table. We must az
{ times have excitement. \ thousand
q voices in our nature demand 1t. Ii Is
D right. 1t is healthful. 1t is inspiring.
4 II is desire God given. But anything
4 that first gratifies this appetite and
: burls it back in a terrific reaction IS de-
I plorable and wicked Look ont for the
q agitation that like a rough musician
in bringing out the tune plays so hard
\ he breaks down the instrument God
A never made man strong enough to en-
4 dure the wear and tear Of gambling ex-
4 citement. No wonder if, after having
u failed in the game, men have begun 10
d sweep off imaginary gold from the side
d of the table. The man was sharp enough
n when he started at the game, but ma
4 MAC at the close. AT every gaming Ia
a Bile sit on one side ecstasy, enthusiasm
le romance-the frenzy Of Joy; on the c.ii-
Il or side, ferceness. rage, tur-aiG The
h professional gamester schools himsell
I ;niu apparent quietness. The keepers OF
10 rambling rooms are generally fat, rol-
Il licking and obese, but thorough ana
q. professional gamblers, in nine cases out
r Of ten. are pale, thin, wheezy, remu-
il lous and exhausted.
ie A young man, having suddenly inner,
tied a large property, sits at the hazard
10 tables and takes up in dice box the
W estate won by fathers lifetime sweat
Id and shakes it and tosses It away. In
ne temperance soon stigmatizes its VICTIM
70 kicking him out, slavering fool, into
a. he ditch. or sending him, with the
y, arunkard's hiccough, staggering up th'
- street where his family lives. But gam
:. bling does not in that way expose IL
- - victims. The gambler may be eaten ul
~ by the gamblers passion, yet you oni.
"a discover it by the greed in his eyes IN
30 hardness Of his features, the nervou
restlessness, the threadbare coat an
his embarrassed business. Yet ne Is O
the road to hell and no preacher $ Voic
., or startling warning or wife's entreat
:, can make him stay for a moment hl
- headlong career. The internal speh
We ON him. a giant is asoused Within an
if though you may bind him with cable
n thet would part like thread, and thoug
nd Won fasten him seven times round VIII
by chains they would snap like rusted Wir'
rs and though you piled up in his pat
lot heaven high Bibles, tracts and sermon
m. and on the top should set the cross
,lp the Son Of God, over them all the gan
IN bier would leap, like roe over u
ur- rocks. on his way to perdition.
-th A Ruinous Lever.