The Grenada sentinel., 1897-08-07
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The 1nsidious Modes by Which Evil
Habits Become Fixed.
The Making of the Rope That Binds the
Gamblers Soul How the Threads Are
spun and Twisted Into tne
fAtefuI Coil.

| Rev. 4. Dewitt Talmage, in the fol-
lowing sermon, shows how splendid
men are lured to heir ruin. 1t it
based on the text:
| Woe INTO them that sin ss 1t were with a cart
ropc--l>aiah v. u.
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 mans character. But
there are other transgressions that lift
themselves up to gigantic proportions,
and seize hold Of man and bind him
with throngs forever. There are some
iniquities that have such great en-
phass of evil that he who commits
them may be said to sin as with
a car rope. l suppose you know how
they make great rope. The stuff out
of which it is fashioned is nothing
but tow which you pull apart without
any cXcrtion of your fingers. This is
spun into threads. any of which you
could easily snap, but great many OF
these threads are interwound-the
you have rope strong enough to bind
an OK or hold ship in tempest. speak
to You of the sin Of gambling. A cart
rope in strength is that sin, and yet
l wish more especially to draw your
attention to the small threads Of in
huence out of which that mighty in
iqul,y is twisted. This crime is on the
advance. so that it is well not Onl Y
that 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 intended home be blasted No
man, no woman, can stand aloOf from
such subject as this and say: 1T has
no practical bearing upon my life" for
there may be for a short time in your
history an anexperence in which you will
find that the discussion involved three
, worlds earth, Heaven, hell There are
gambling establishments by the thou
sands There are about 800 profes-
' sional gamblers. Out of all the gam
bling establishments, how many OF
them do you suppose profess to
l be honest? Ten. Then ten pro-
Tossing to be honest because
tner are merely the antr-cnam Der
to those that are acknowledged fraud
I ulent. There are tirst st-class establish
Iments. You step little way out of
Broadway, New York. You go up the
!, marble stairs. You ring the bell. The
:, livered servant introduces you. The
. walls are lavender tinted. The man
tells are of Vermont marble. The pic.
tures are "Jcphthah's Daughter" anc
Dorc's "Dantc's and Nirgil's Frozen
Region Of He'll, a most appropriate Sc
:, lection, this last, for the place. Their,
is the roulette table, the finest, cost
Il lest, most exquisite piece Of furniture
\ in the United States. There is tht
I banquetin room. where. free Of charge
Z to the guests, you may find the plate
l. and viands, and wines, and CT
i" gars, sumptous beyond parallel
d Then you come to the sec
e ond-class gambling establishment
I To it you are introduced by care
Il through some roper in Having Ell
tered, you must either gamble or fight
y Sanded cards, dice loaded with quicksil
v YER, poor drinks mixed with more pool
r drinks, will soon hell you to get rid 0
+, all your money to a tune in short mete
with staccato passages. You wante'
!. to see. You saw. The low villains o
q that place watch you us YOU come in
r Does not the panther squat in thu
4 grass, know calf when he sees it
IS Wranglc not for your rights in tina
=, place, or your body will be throw
bloody into the street, or dead into thu
river.
You 90 along little further an'
~ find the policy establishment. In tina
:, place you bet on numbers. Betting OF
two numbers is called saddle" bet
10 ting on three numbers is called g ig;
" betting ON four numbers is called
u horse and there are thousanes 0
T. young men leaping into that saddle,
* and mounting that gig and behin'
e that 'horsc" riding to perdition. Their
q is almays one kind Of sign on the doc
II -"Exchange;;" most appropriate it'll
e for the door, for there, in that room,
r man exchanges health, peace ant
e Heaven for loss of health, loss o
" home, loss of family, loss of immorta
d soul. Exchange sure enough and in
II finite enough.
< Now, you acknowledge that is car
T. rope of evil. but you want to know
h what are the small threads out o
Il which it is made. There is, in many
e disposition to hazard. They feel
& delight in walking near the precipic
n because Of the sense of danger. Their
are people who go upon Jungfrau, no
for the largeness Of the prospect. bu
il for the feeling that they have o
"a thinking, "What would happen if
>. should fall off, There are person
= who have their blood 6lliped aud &C
r CELEBRATED by skating very near an air
- hole. There are men who find pos
p. tive delight in driving within tw
:, inches of the edge Of bridge. 1t
:. . this disposition to hazard that find
" ;, development in gaming practice:
:. - Here are $500. may stake them.
" Istake them l may lose them; but
> may win 1000. Whichever it turns
IL have Tho axr;temant shuttle th