The Irish standard., 1906-08-11
With Prodigal Son as Lesson He Preached
to Wealthy Young Men and Drew
Grewsome Picture
Of High Society and Its Leaders, Whom He
Called Human Tigresses Against
j Whom There is No. Defense.

youred his Observation-Disclosures it
ravenously, clamoring for their prey
as the panther and the tiger clamored
for the raw meats tossed to them at
the geological gardens.
Against the man-eating tiger of the
jungle man might defend himself, but
who could hope to escape from the
claws of the man-eating tigress' in
society?
Some women Of the set to which he
referred seemed to combine the saw
agery of the animal with the cunning
of the devil. Smart and dainty ladies
though they We're, once they had
pledged themselves in the wine cup of
pleasure to the ''mammon of iniquity"
they became worse than savages and
far more cruel and cunning. For
woman was not as man. Given a
mans code of morality or immortality,
as the case might be, and you could
tell almost surely how he would act
under any set of circumstances;
whereas, no matter what a woman's
code the only thing you would be cer-
tain Of was that you did not know
under similar circumstances what she
would do.
He declared he had once said so to
smart woman. in society and she turned
upon him and replied: "And how
selves know?" OF one thing, however.
any man who ventured into the So
ciety of the fast smart set might be
sure-that if he went into it with any
money he would come out of it with
out any.
Even in my limited experience"
continued Father Vaughan, Il know
men who have been forced to play
bridge in spite of themselves, and to
play high and to play long and play
on till they had nothing more to play
for-husband and wife and children
crushed to death by the cruel, crafty
women in this set
He was talking of what he knew.
But there was a worse crime than that
of rocking young men and that was
running, at the gambling table, young
women. What a piteous series of
pictures he might put up for their
gaze. depicting the fall and ruin of in
nocent and beautiful English girls over
the card table!
Many a debutante had been drawn
into that vortex, in some instances by
the hostess herself. and had been
sucked down before the end of play to
the lowest degradation to which a
woman could come. Or perhaps she
might have risen from the table in
nocent Of what had happened till in
formed with the sweetest Goodnight.
darling" that her losses had been so
and so.
The family doctor and the family
lawyer could, alas! tell how many in
nocent and beautiful English girls who
had been ruined at the card table had
been brought to the verge of the grave
through the shameless anxieties oc-
casioned not by whist or baccarat but
by bridge.
What could girl with this gam
bling curse upon her do? She must
pay her debts. Where was she to find
the money? In her shame she dare
not go to her father or mother. So
she flew she knew not whittier till at
length some devil in human form, who
had laid the trap. made his bargain
and the money was hers. The debt
| was paid.
But, oh, my God!" added Father
Vaughan, poor girl, she becomes sc
Mortified at what has befallen her she
feels she can never be herself again
And this is going on every day."
If young men did but reflect upon
the utterly hopeless misery which
their animal pleasures not infrequent.
ly brought down upon their unfortu.
nate victims, the priest said, he coul6
scarcely believe they would act as the,
did now. Men of the class he re.
ferred to stopped at nothing. persuad.
ing themselves there was nothing 6
man might ask of girl which she
would not be willing to give.
1T is a pity these hell hounds 81