Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-08-11
MEN CHEATED
into Ruin BY the Tempting Of the
Gambling Passion.
= Sin that Works lnsidiousiy with Drum
or Flag, aud Carries 1t. Victims Down
In silent Procossion-Sermo by
Rev. II. DEWITT THimaEe. DID.

DIR. Talmage, in his sermon, depicts
the insidious modes by which evil
habit gains supremacy, and shows how
splendid men are cheated into ruin.
Text: Isaiah W, 1S-"Noe unto them
that sin as it were with a cart rope"
There are some iniquities that only
nibble at the heart After a lifetime
of their work the man still stands up
right, respected and honored These
vermin have not strength enough to
gnaw through a mans character But
there are other tranSgressions that lift
themselves up to gigantic proportions
and seize hold of a man and bind him
with thongs forever. There are some
iniquities that have such great empha-
sis that he who commits them may be
said to sin as with n cart rope. sup
pose you know how they make
great rope. The stuff out OF which
1T is fashioned is nothing but tow,
which you pull apart without any ex-
ertion of your fingers This is spun
into threads, any OF which you could
easily snap, but n great many of these
threads are INSTRUMENTATION you
have rope strong enough To bind an
OK or hold ship in n tempest | speak
TO you of the sin of gambling. A cart
rope in strength is that sin. and yet
wish more especially TO draw your
attention to the small threads of in
huence out of which that mighty in
Iquity is twisted. This crime is on the
advance, so that IL is well that not
only fathers, and brothers, and sons
be interested in such discussion, but
that wives, and mothers, and sisters,
and daughters look out lest their
present home be sacrificed, or their in
tended home be blasted.
No man, no woman, can stand aloof
from such a subject as this and say:
1t has no practical bearing upon my
hfe;' for there may be in short time
IN your history an experience in which
you Will find that the discussion in
volved three worlds Heaven
and hell There are gambling estab-
lishments by the thousands. There
are about !, 800 professional gamblers.
Out OF all the gambling establish
ments, how many of them do you sup
pose profess To be honest? Ten
These ten protesting to be honest be-
cause they are merely the ante-cham-
Der to those that are Acknowledged
fraudulent There are first class es-
adjustments You step little yay
out of Broad way, New York You 90
up the marble stairs. You ring the
bell The liveried servant introduces
you. The walls are lavender tint
ed. The mautels are of Vermont
marble. The pictures are Jeph-
thahs Daughter and "Dore's, Dante's
and VirgiPs Frozen Region of He'll" a
most appropriate selection, this last,
for the place. There is the roulette
table, the finest, costliest, most ex-
quisite piece of furniture in the United
States. There is the banqueting room
where, free of charge to the guests,
you may find the plate, and viands, and
wines, and cigars, sumptuous beyond
parallel. Then you come TO the second
class gam bling establishment To il
you are introduced by a card through
some roper in" Having entered, YOU
must either gamble or fight. Sanded
cards, dice loaded with quicksilver,
poor drinks mixed with more poor
drinks, will soon help you to get rid
of all your money to tune in short
meter with staccato passages. You
wanted to see. Iou saw. The low
villains of that place watch YOU as
you come in Does not the panther.
squat in the grass, know a calf when
he sees it? Wrangle not for your
rights in that place, or your BODY will
be thrown bloody into the street, or
dead into the river.
You go along a little further and
YOU find the policy establishment. In
that place you bet on numbers. Bet
ting on two mum bers is called sad
die; betting on three mum bcrs Is call
ed gig betting on four number, is
called a horse" and there are thou
sands of young men leaping into the
saddle, and mounting the gig. " and
behind that horse" riding 10 per
dition. There is always one kind of
sign on the door" Exchange" most
appropriate title for the door, for
there. in that room, a man exchanges
health, peace and Heaven. for loss of
health, loss of home, loss OF family.
loss Of immortal soul Exchange sure
enough and initiate enough
Now you acknowledge that is a cart
rope of evil, but you want 20 know
what are the small threads out OF
which IT is made. There is. in many.
disposition TO hazard. They feel a
delight IN walking near "A precipicc
because OF the sense OF danger. There
are people who 90 upon Jungfrau. not
for the largeness of the prospect. but
for the feeling that they have Of
thinking, What would happen II !
should fall off?' There are persons
VINO have their blood f,liped and ac-
celebrated by skating very near an air
hole. There are men VINO find a posi-
tive delight in driving within two
inches Of the edge OF a bridge II is
this disposition 20 hazard that finds
development in gaming practices. Here
are $500. l may stake them. II /
stake them / may lose them; but may
win $1,000 Whichever way 10 turns.
have the excitement ShuiHe the
cards Lost. Heart thumps. Head
dizzy. Ait aga.n-just 70 crafty this
desire for hazard
Then there arc others who 20 into
this sin through sheer desire for gain.
10 IS especially so with professional
gam biers. They always keep cool
They never drink enough 90 uubaIance
their Judgment They do not see the
dice so much rs they see the dollar be o.
yOud the dice, and for that they watch
as The spider In the web looking as II
dead until the ~ passes Thousands
81 young men in the hope of gain 20
into these practices They say.
We'll, my salary is not enough 10