The Penn's Grove record., 1897-08-06

MA9
Northwestern" or "Fort Wayne" or
Rock lsland,'' or New York Central"
and the rat, tat, tat, Of the auctioneer's
hammer. and the excitement OF making
corners" and getting. up ."pools," and
carrying stock end a.break' from eighty
to seventy, and the excitement OF rushing
around la curbstohe brokerage, and the
sudden cries Of ssBdyef threei'' Buyer
tent Take 'eul'' tHovt mAnv?'' and the
making or losing Of ei0, 600 BY one opera.
tion, units a man to 20 home, and so he
goes up the flight Of. stairs, amid business
umces, to the dafkly e~dftained, wooden.
suffered room, gayly furnished inside.
and takes his place at the roulette or tbs
faro table. But / cannot tell all the pro-
cess by which men get into this evil. A
man went to New York. He was a Western
merchant. He went into q gaming
house on Park place. Before morning he
had Lost all his money save 81, and he
moved around about with that dollar In his
hand, and after awhile, caught still moro
powerfully under tho Internal infatdatlon,
he came up and put down the dollar and
cried out Until they heard him through the
SALOON, zone Thousand miles from home,
and my last dollar ON the gaming table,"
Many years ago for sermonic purposes
And in CON 2any with the chief Of police Of
New York visited one OF the most brilliant
gambling houses In that city. It was
night, u as we came mp In front all
seemed dark. The blinds were down, the
door was guarded. but after a whispering
ofthe officer with the guard at the door we
were admitted Into the hail, and thence into
the paflots. around bne table finding eight
or ten men in midlife, well dressed-al the
work going on In silence, save the noise Of
thB fnttling "chips'' on the gaming table
Id one parlor and the revolving ball OF the
roulette table In the other parlor. Some OF
these men. we were told, had served terms
4 In vr{oan Apaa ra~~ 1tf-.w.oal~A1 hoabaru
and brokers and money dealers, n some
were going theif first rounds OF vice-but
all intent UPON the table, as large or small
fortunes moved up and down before them.
Oh, there was something awfully solemn in
the silenee-the intense gaze, the sup
pressed emotions Of the players. No one
looked up. They all had money in the
rapids, and l nave no doubt some saw,
as they sat there. horses and car
riages, and houses and lands,
and homo and family rushing
down into the vortex. A mans lie would
not have been worth q farthing n that pres
once had he not been accompanied by the
police II he had been supposed to be on q
christian errand Of observation. Some Of
these men went by private key, some went
In by careful Introduction, some were
taken Ia by the patrons OF the establish
ment. The officer Of the law told me.
"None gets In here except by police man
| uuLt UT UY eOu1G ltLttIO Oh u DuLfOn. Wuitb
| we were there a Young man came in, put
his money down on the roulette table and
lost; put more money down on the roulette
| table n lost; put more money down Oh
the roulette table n lost; then feeling In
his pockets for more money, finding none,
in severe silence he turned his back upon
| the scene and passed out. While we stood
there men lost their property and lost their
souls. oh, merciless placei MOI once In
all the history Of that gaming house has
| there been one word Of sympathy uttered
for the losers at the game.
Sir Horace Walpole said that a man
dropped dead In one of the clubhouses OF
london. His body was carried Into the
clubhouse, and the members of the club
began Immediately to bet as 10 whether he
was lead or alive. and whom it was pro-
posed to test the matter by bleeding him,
1t was only hindered blythe suggestion that
1t would be unfair to some Of tho players.
In these gaming houses Of our cities meE
have their property wrung away from them,
and then they go out, some OF them to
drown their grief In strong drink, some to
ply the counterfeiter'e pen, and 30 restore
their fortunes, some resort to the suicides
revolver, but all going down, andthat work
proceeds day by day and night by night.
That cErtsropeSs say s2me rysgnss@s4
But have not some threads Of that cart
rope been twisted?
1 arraign before God the gift enterprises
of our cities, which have q tendency to
make this a nation OF gamblers. What
ever you get, young man, In such O place
as that, without giving q proper equiva-
lent, Is a robbery OF your own soul and a
robbery OF the community. Yet how we
are appalled, to see men wh0 rave failed
In other enterprises go into gift concerts,
where the chief attraction Is not music,
but the prizes distributed among the au-
dience, or to sell books whore the chief
attraction is not the book, but the package
that goes with the book. Tobacco dealers
advertise that on a certain day they will
put money into their papers, SO that
the purchaser OF this tobacco In Gin
cinnati or New York may unexpeot-
eddy come upon a magnificent gratuity.
Boys hawking through the cars packages
containing nobody knows what, until you
open them and ind they contain nothing.
Christian men with pictures on their wall
gotten in a lottery, and the brain OF COM
munity taxed to q ind out some now way
of getting things without paying for them.
Oh ,young men, these arethreads that make
the cart rope, and when a young man con-
sents to these practices he Is being bound
handand foot by o habit which has already
destroyed "a great mnitftude that no mar
can number"
Sometimes these gift enterprises are car
ried on In the name of charity, and some Of
you remember at the close OF our civil war
how many gift enterprises we're on foot,
the proceeds to go to the orphans and
widows Of the soldiers and sailors. What
enterprises care for the orphans and
wldows2 Why, they would have allowed
them to freeze to death upon their steps.
/ have no faith In y charity which for the
sake OF relieving present suffering opens u
gaping jaw that has swallowed Town SO
- Az ~l-k.a - urA1 - .fNI~ ~
the community. Young man, have nothing
to do with these things. They only sharpen
your appetite for games Of chance. Do one
of two thiDgs-be honest or die.
1 have accomplished my object II I put
you on the lookout. 1t Is u great deal
easier to fall b 1t is to get up again,
The trouble Is hat when men begin TO go
astray from the path Of duty they are apt
to say: There's no use OF my trying to get
back. I've sacrificed my respectabillty, 1
can't return." And they go on until they
are utterly destroyed. i tell you, my
friends, that God this moment, by His
Holy Spirit. can change your entire nature
minute. Your great want-what is itp
More salary2 Higher social position? No,
no.. 1 will tell you the great want of every
man II he has not already obtained 1t.
1t is the grace OF God. Are there any who
nave fallen victims to the sin that / have
DtCu I5UTCuGbutASf 4pt oAO III a HIA5Vus
You rush against the wall Of this prison
and try to get out and you fall, and you
turn around and dash against the other
wall until there is blood on the CRATES and
blood on your soul. You will never get
out In this way. There Is only one way OF
getting out. There is a key hat can uL-
lock that prison house. 1t Is the key OF
tho house OF David. It Is the key tina.
Christ wears at His girdle. II you will
allow him to put that key to the lock, the
bolt will shoot back, and the door will
swing open, and you will be q free mar in
Christ Jesus. Oh, prodigal, what a bust
ness this Is for you, feeding swine, when
your father stands In the front door, strain
ing his eyesight to catch the FIRST glimpse
of your return, and the calf Is as fat as It
will be, and the harps of heaven are ali
strung, and the feet free.
There are converted gamblers in heaven.
The light OF eternity flashed upon the green
baize OF their billiard saloon. In the laver
OF Gods forgiveness they washed oil all
their sins. They quit trying for earthly
stakes. Theytried for heaven and won II.
There stretches q han from HEAVIER toward
the head of the worst offender. 1t Is a
hand, not clipehed as II to smite. but
outspread as IL to drop a benediction.
Other seas have a shore and may bel
fathomed, but the sea OF Gods love