The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-09-08

a more refined and religious temper
 might be better pleased with this an-
 nouncement which Is favored with the
 milk of human kindness, T do love
 idge-whist; did so many charities
 with the money won byit last Lent.
 and I do hope shall make as much
 this Lent"
 And yet, another act in this interest
 ing drama of bridge-whist has been
 performed to the astonishment of many
 of it's admirers who enjoy 1t as an
 agreeable pastime. It Is true that there
 aie persons in society who are not
 proficient in the mysteries and pre-
 vious lore of this enchanting game. and
 do not realize the magnitude of their
 failures, or the unfortunate result of
 their all too innocent playing. until
 the butler equipped with score and
 count. speeds the departing guests, with
 d carefully prepared statement of their
 losses, and the amount due, which. If
 not paid immediately, IS expected to be
 paid at no distant date. In the face
 of these facts, can we wonder at the
 reply of a young lady to her grand
 mother who expostulsted with her up-
 on her ever-increasing love of cards.
 and urged her to leave off to some de-
 gree at least an amusement which
 however innocent, was threatening her
 with a wicked waste of time. when SC
 many useful and important matters de-
 handed her attention,
 Why. grandma. how con yau say that. when last week won over thtr- ty dollars?
 An, all these incidents. absolutely true plainly reveal the way the tide flows, and point as planily to the ever increasing strength and rapidity with which it must flow hereafter. We are called by the nations of Europe a nation of gamblers, and with whatever earnestness or indignation we may re- pei their charge do not our women. In making gambling and gaming the cen- tral figure of ideal amusement. there- by lay a heavy mortgage upon the future of our country. Is 1t not g. real corruption of pieaures which inevitably poisons the tastes of the young men and young women of our day? Is not this thing a evil folding us tighter and tighter in its grasp every year? And Is any form of evil more insidious In Its approaches? So pleasing. so in- structing, so attractive in its air of innocence, yet one of the shortest and surest paths by which the heart of man can be pushed to the most brutal savagery It was the experience of Xavier which, thus testified :--"I have confessed as many as five hundred thousand souls, and have listened to the recital of crimes which curdled the blood in my veins. and made the haifs of my head. stand on end, yet never once heard the crime of covetousness confessed" The records of police courts bear testimony to the incontro- vertible fact. that the hardened erimt- nal the highway robber, the burglar. who goes to prison for life. caught the foul contagion which destroyed him. when as 8 boy. he won cents aHd nickIes, from his playmates on the street. The seed once sown, cannot fall to bring forth fruit after its own kind m
 But what have we to do with crime or criminals? We do not approve ot gambling or gamblers.--say the in- nocent maiden, and the discreet matron, and, aye the fashionable, pleasure low Ing society woman. And may we not answer that you have all to do with the publication and preservation or society and indeed the whole world. That astute patriot who said: Let me make the songs of a nation. and I care not who makes it's laws."--mtght have found a very proper antiphon in the words: Let me make the standard for the women of a country and l care not for the men," If thine eye be darkness, how great is that darkness. if the home becomes a seat ox corrup- ton how can we hope that the streams which issue therefrom shall De pure and undefiled? Is it too true that the monster of such frightful mien, that to be hated needs, but to be seen. Is too amiably and complacently endured by the well-bred and estimable women of our land.--alas. 1t is already pltied and bk some embraced; how long shall it be before betting on cards shall be- come a custom unquestioned and loyal ly respected? The women of the Southern States of the great American Republic can hardly be ignorant or the admirirg veneration with which they are regarded throughout America and throughout Europe, and be 1t said to the credit and the glory of the men of the South, that they have even shown themselves loyal to their women. And what has constituted that abiding ana charm, which has made Southern women admired and respected in every land? Is 1t not because they have ever proven themselves true to the kindred points of heaven and home that they have never lost their in whatever field they labor, or, to whatever duty they have been caIled, they have been faith fuI sisters and daughters and wives and mothers. Is it not largely due to the truth that no amDlLlon or heAAASA, could seduce them from un- swervinE loyalty to those who were dependent upon them for happiness that the Lares and Penates held the first and strongest claim to their ai- legiance. ... women be as the past? Will they not pause and think, and whatever others may do.rise superior to the temptations which now beset an innocent pas time?
 The woman who plays cards, bridge. whist ov euchre or anything else Tor money or gain has already, descended one step from the lofty height of womanly dignity. It was no mean authority in the city of London. who 1T have never seen woman. from the Southern States of the American Republic, who was wanting in the lovely quality of wOmanliness Let us hope that 1t may be said. In all honor and truth. both at home ana abroad; ;-'sThe women of the Southern states will not play cards for money there are no gamblers among them.