St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1898-02-26
VOL. XXIII.-NO. 8.

tations delicious but destr active. You
who have crossed the ocean many
times have noticed that always one of
the best rooms has, from morning
until late at night, been given up to
gambling practices I heard of men
who went ON board with enough for
European excursion who landed with
out money to get their baggage up to
the hotel or railroad station. To many
there IS complete fascination in
games of hazard or the risking
OF money on possibilities 1t seems a.
natural for them to bet as to eat In
deed, the hunger for food is often over
powered by the hnnger for wagers.
1t is absurd for those of u who have
never felt the fascination OF the wager
to speak slightingly of the temptation.
| 1t has slaiu multitude of intellectual
and moral giants, men and women
stronger than you or i. Down under
its power went glorious Olive Gold
smith. and Gibbon, the famous his
torian. and Charles Fox. the re-
moved statesman, and in olden times,
senators Of the United States. who
used to be as regularly at the gambling
house all night.as they were in the
halls of legislation by day. Oh, tho
tragedies of the faro table! / know
persons who began with a slight stake
in q ladies' parlor. and ended with the
suicides pistol at Monte Carlo. They
played with the 50 uare pieces of bone
with black marks on them. not know
ing that Satan was playing for their
. t--.es at the same time, aud was suse
to sweep ali ti.~ takes III on his side
of the table State legislatures have
again and again SANCTIONED the mighty
evil by passing laws in defense III fass
tracks, and many young men have
lost all their wages ut such So
called meetings" Every man who
voted for such Infamous bills has ON
his hands aud forehead the blood of
these souls.
Stock gambling comes into the same
catalogue 1t must be very exhilarat-
ing to go into the stock market AID,
depositing u small sum of money, rnn
the chance of taking out fortune.
Many men are doing an honest and safe
business in the stock market. and you
are an ignoramous if you do not know
that it Is just as legitimate to deal in
stocks as it is to deal in coffee. or su-
gar, or Hour. But nearly all the out
siders who go there On q financial ex-
cursion lost all. The old spiders eat
| up the unsuspccting flies / had
friend who put his hand ON his hip
pocket and said in substances: Il have
here the value Of $3.50, 000." His home
is to-day penniless- What was the
matter? Stock gambling. OF the vast
| majority who are victimized You hear
not one word. One great stock firm
goes down, and whole columns of news
papers discuss their fraud or their dis
aster, and we are presented with their
features and their biography. But
where one such famous frn sinks, 500
unknown men sink with them. The
great steamer goes down. and all the
little boats are swallowed in the same
engulfment Gambling is gambling.
| whether in stocks or breadstuffs. or
dice, or race-horse betting. ExhiIiara-
tion at the start, but . raving brain.
and shattered nervous system, and
sacrificed property, and u destroyed
soul At the last Young men, buy no
lottery tickets. purchase no prize pack
ages, bet on NO base ball games or yacht
racing. have no faith in luck. answer
no mysterious circulars proposing great
income for small investment, drive
| away the buzzards that hover around
our hotels trying TO en- trap strangers.
TO out and make an honest living.
Have God ON your side and be candl-
date for Heaven. Remember all the
nm he of xaI NTH Ax.tv.-a
at the start, aud there are plenty of
helpful hands to fetch the gay charger
| to your door and hold the sElrrup while
you mount But further Oh the horse
pIunges 10 the bit in . slough inextri-
| cable.
The best honey is not like that which
iona than took ON the end of the rod
and brought to his lips. but that whicl.
God puts on the banqueting table Of
/ mercy, at which We are all invited to
sit. was reading of . boy among the
mountains Of Switzerland ascending a
dangerous place with his father AL
the guide. The boy stopped on tbs
edge of the cliff and said:
There is flower ] mean 20
get" Come away from there
said the father; you will fall OIL. /,
No" said he; Il must get that b-au-
tiful flower" And the guides rushed
toward him to pull him bnck, when,
| just Us they heard him say, Il almost
nave it," lie fell a,uU0 feet Birds Of
prey were seen few days later circ-
ling through the mir aud lowering
gradually to the place where the corpse
lay. Why seek flowers OF the
edge of a precipice when you can walk
knee-deep amid the full blooms of
the very paradise of God? When
= man may sit at the Kings banquet.
why will he go down tlle steps aud
contend for the refuse and boues Of
hounds kennel? ..Sweeter than honey
and honeycomb." says David. is the
truth OF God. with honey out Of the
rock would have satisfied thee says
God to the recreant Here is honey
gathered from the blossoms of trees of
life, aud with q rod made out OF the
wood OF the cross 1 dip it up for ali
YOUR souls.
The poet Hssiod tells of an ambrosia
and q nectar, the drinking of which
would make men live forever aud one
sip of the honey from the Eternal Rock
will give you etesral life with God.
Come off the 1ituiarial levels Of a-ssfsfuI
life. Come and live on the upiands Of
grace, where the vineyards sun them
selves On. taste and sse that the Lord
is gracious" Be happy now aud happy
fore.er. For those who take differ
ent course the honey will turn TO gall
For many things have admired Percy
Shelley, the great English poet, but
deplore the fact that it seemed . great
sweetness to him to dinhonor God. ThaI
poem Queen Nab" has in il the MAJ
ligning of the Diety. Shelley WIS inn
plous enough to ask for Rowland Hills
Surrey Cnapel that he might denounced
the Christian religion. lie WAS in great
glee against God and the truth But
his visited Italy. aud one day on ths
.. Mediterranean with two friends in q
boat which was q feet long he was