Year: 1875




this mental labor expended? | think
any of us that play can answer that
question. ] know | can, and do it cor
rectly. It is expended to no end nor
purpose whatever. 1t is expended in
a fruitless effort to solve a problem
that has no solution, namely to tell
which of two or more "hands" at cards
is the best without seeing any except
one; or to tell which of two cards will
come out Of a lot without seeing either.
We all know that the mental excite
ment occasioned by this guessing work
is so strong that it will enable us to
keep at it for from ten to forty hours,
and perhaps longer, it we have money
to pay.f our guesses. And of what
avail is it if we do guess well for a
night. a week, or year? Our expert
cnce has taught us that we will not
quit after we have guessed we'll for Il
time, but that we will continue, and
that sooner or later that portion of our
winnings which we have not squan-
dered will all go to pay for our bad
guessing. So that in the end we will
realize nothing from the whole guess
ing transaction except that reward
which every man must eventually take
from the gambling table-our own dis
appointment. The social and financial
dcstructivcncss Of the habit is beyond
doubt the most Objectionable feature
Of the practice To those that follow it.
and it is the one that should make us
stop following it, In this connection
its workings come most directly in
contact with our lives, and its evil ia.
tlucnccs are most often felt The case
is plain and the result is obvious. Ii
we lose our money until our pccuniary
ability will not allow us to 1--we in cora.
fort, we must suffer; and il we persist
lin line of bad conduct until we have
forfeited the good will of the commu-
nifty, and cannot claim reasonable
share of respect and friendship, then
VIC mus, hc one Of two things: either
very brutal or else tolcrahly miserable


But gambling is shoal land we all
know III where every man with "A le-
gitimatc vacation in l;f. and more
especially those who depend on others
for that vocation. will eventually find
himself social, and financially
wrcckcd-ind himself w.thou, friends
and withnnt money. Once embarked
in the practice, its unaccnun'ablc fas-
cination absorbs our minds to tho de.
trimcnt or total exclusion Of every
brighter and better aspiration Of our
nature. 1t "blitcratcs tho recollection
of every righteous lesson of our boy
hoods better days: smothers the de-
sire and makes ns absolutely unfit to
minglc amid the home scenes Of the
permanent and better portion Of the
community where we are living. 1T
invariably entails destitution while it
occasionally begets crime. 1t causes
us to lose tho confidence of our EN-.
ploycrs and often our situations; and
beyond doubt or exception it is the
most destructive agent of any named
in the calender of bad habits; of that
moral stamina and iron will so essen
tial for every one Of us to possess who
have no inheritance on earth except
our hands with which alone and un-
aided we must work ont our destiny
in life. Let me ask, did any Of us ever
go to the gambling table and stake
our all (say, for instance. just one
hundred dollars) and after losing it
get up and go forth to do battle with
the world with the same moral cour-
age in our spirit, the same firm and
manly resolve in our hearts that we
would yet carve out aa independence; ;
that we might one day live for our
selres, if only for a little time, before
we die; l ask, did apy of us ever feel
as strong for duty after VIC had made
our losing, as bcforei think not;
and l have done that same many. many
times.


It is not because We place greater
value on one hundred dollars, in itself,
or perhaps 90 great as he who has
countless thousands; nor is it because
we have just one hundred dollars
worth Of moral courage and good re.
solves in our composition, 20 that
when we lose our hundred dollars we