8
THE DAILY EVENING TELEGRAPH. PHILADELPHIA, MONDAY, JANUARY 28, 18G7.
PUDLIC CAMPLING.
A Dliconrx Delivered Yeittrday K veil
ing n Trinity Methodist Kplcoial
Chtrch,by the Pwator, II. II. Nadal, D.D.
IKPBCIAL Itl'OBT TOn Tnit KVRMNO TKLKORArH 1
"iVonde tfiinqs honirt in the sight of alt men.
Rom. ail, 17.
What is Gambling ? It is playing for money,
or other Blake, whether the game be one of
ekill or purely of chance. Is such playing
honest or dishonest? There are several ways
f parting with property recognized among
men as honest, namely, by gilt, by sale or
exchange, and by bequest. A gift or bequest
may be procured through fraud or deceit, and
dishonesty may be practised in buying or selling.
Hut, in themselves considered, giving and buy
ing land selling arc fair and proper transac
tions. Gambling is something entirely different
from both giving and buying and selling. It
is not giving; so lar is the loser in the game
from a benevolent intention towards ths win
ner, that he regards him as his antagonist, and
Dgapes in the game for the avowed purpose of
stripping the said antagonist and enrichlug
himself. It is not a matter of purchase and
sale, lor the winner Rives nothing, and
rroposes to give nothing, in exchang".
for the stake he carries off. A gift blesses both
him that gives and him that tas.es. It yields
the giver the luxury of conscious benevolence,
and the receiver the scarcely inferior luxury of
gratitude. A genuine, hearty gift has beauty
and sweetness about it. It tells of frtendsalp,
of love, or of goodness. Wethowour presents
with a BOit ot happy pride; and we think with
pleasure of what we have given away. When
we have ttiven for anything an equivalent in
money or property, we say we have bought it;
trad when we regard money or property ns the
product of our honest labor, we say we have
earned it. In both of these words, "bought" and
"earned," there is a pure and pleasant ring they
imply right and jiibtice. But in the acquisition
f money by gambling the case is quite different,
The winner cannot say "I bought it," or "I
earned it," or "It was given to me;" he says, "I
won i'." And that means that he pave no
equivalent for it; that he from whom he took,
it parted with it most unwillingly, and so lar
from giving it, characterized it as 'lost."
But the question is whether or not gambling
is honest. We do not deny that a bet may be
iairly made and (airly carried out, nor that a
game ot cards may tx fairly played, even where
a regular gambler is one of the players. That
is. there may be no fraud used by either party
in the bet or game; but is there not a question
lying back ot the mere manner in iwhich gam
bling may be done? The real question is.
Whether gambling is not dishonest, even whea
fairly done? We think it is. The most that can
betid lor the right of the winuer to keep the
money won, is that the loserwent into the game
fully, Aware of the chance?, and would Uim-
' iiave kept the stakes had he been successful.
.. -ouly paying that the two parties io
But this - U;&ribund to the chances of
the game agre , isg pr the loser was, in
the game; and thai tht cn)eni however
a seme, voluntary. Mere 1 ,m aeree to
cannot make wrong right. Two ma briuj to
fleht a duel, aud one is Killed : will we ftv;. "
all HuhL hnr.Himu
nn coAnnna my, in 11. ill
weapons, and regulated the whole atlair aecoru' t
ing to the rules ot honor ? Do the rules ot ,
honor, however punctiliously guarded and ob- ;
peived, take troin the soul oi the survivor the i
guilt of murder, or irom the soul ot the dea.1
man the guilt of suicide? Is not the guilt en
hanced bv the verv tact of the cool, deliberate I
apreeraent ot the parties to "set their lives upon
h throw?" All Christian civilization answers,
"Certainly." Or, take the lower case of two
bullies engtigiug in a regular fisticuff tor the
dirty honor of the championship of the prize
rine. They agree to be beaten each just as
much as his antagonist is able to beat him.
But does the mere voluntariness ot Iho stiugnlQ
make their bruisiug of one another right-.,?
Ha not each done the other a wronrr lu e very
injury indicted ? Could any agreement je
them a right to ppill each other's blood and
bruise each other's faces? You answer, "No;
they are a hundred told, more wicked tor the
brutal agreement than it they had fallen upon
each other in a ruotnentot passion, and injured
one another against the convictions of their
cooler judgmcut."
Now will not this logic apply equally well to
gambling? Wby not? Have we any more rmht
to ir jure a man with his consent in his property
than in his person? If a man caunot give a
duellist a moral right to kill him; if one bully
canBOt give another a moral right to kick aud
cull him, to break a limb or knoca out an eye
or a tooili, can one eanibler give another a rieut
to rob him ? It is clear, therefore, taat however
the parties gambling may consent to the rules
of the eanie. the gambler's gains are dishonestly
gotten. They are neither earned, nor secured by
other equivalent; they are not given to him, and
the tact that by the rales of the game it was
agreed that either should take the other's
money if he could, only makes the wrong the
greater by proving ttat it was deliberate.
We mai be t:ld that the equivalent rendered
by the successful gambler to his. victim is tne
chance to become winner. But whatever else
this mav be, it is certainly not an equivaleut.
An equivalent is that which a niau receives for
Lis money, and the loser receives nothing for
bis. By the very terms of the game, the loser
acrrees to part with bis money without an equi
valent, and the winner to take it without malting
a return. That is the meaning of having a
chance. It is to agree to be injured ourselves,
or to injure another. Indeed, each one, know
ing that he may be either winuer or loser, con
sents both to injure aud to be injured. The
ehance, therefore, so far irom being the loser's
equivalent, is a direct violation ot the law
which demands an equivalent. Indeed, it is
only chance, so far as the two players are con
cerned; as it retpects the law which requires us
not to injure our neiahbor, it is no chance at
all. Whichever wins, justice is violated and
robbery is committed.
This has been the common opinion in all aees
and nations. (Jambling has usually teen asso
ciated with great crimes against the peace and
purity of society. It has been supposed to make
way for duelling and suicide, and we know that
both ot these have frequently resulted from it.
Jam biers havo almost always been regarded as
intamous. ciuite as much so as counterieiters or
burglar?. Nearly all natious, ancient and
modem, have found it necessary to pass laws
lor the prevention of gambling. In ancient
Home the law at one time went so far as to con
fiscate the gambling-house and everything in
it. If any one maltreated the keeper ot a irain-bling-house,
the abused man had no recourse in
law. He was regarded as a common enemy. In
the Eastern empire, at one time, any niouey lost
In gambling could be recovered bylaw, and if
the loser would not sue, the maaistrate mlgbt
do it, and devote the mouey to the public u.ie.
The Christian Church, Irom the earliest times,
lias always repelled uamebters irom her coiniiiu-
iiion. And so Bhe does still, at least in all th
communions known as evangelical. Nor n the
tstate in our day. in this respect, much, it at all,
behind the Church. Drinking-hoiisea may bo
licensed, but not giunbling-houses. If we are
not mistaken, every State of the American
Union has stringent laws against gambling.
There are few, b6wever, bold enoueh in sin
to defend what i usually characterized as eatn
bling. There is a wholesome, general horror of
Droteseional gambler and of their resorts,
usually called hells, and there is now and then
a feeble, if not a merely pretended etlort, to
discover these haunts and to bring their keepers
and visitors to light. All are ready to allow
that such gambling 1 associated with every
crime, with robbpry, with blusphemv, drunken
ness, and with every form ot impurity. But we
come to-night to inquire whether there are not
.kof forms of Gambling rite among us which
we yainly labor to whitewash into respect-
bility. It wealthy and respectable people breed
line horses and cultivate their "peed with more
tare than they train their rhiMreu. and then
match them against other horses on the race
course lor large sums of money, ate they not
gambling?
Are they not doing boldly, in the face of the
world, wliat others of Iopss note are doing lu con
cealment? When we have "m't concrt," at
which hundreds of people are gathered toother
under the thin diupniso of some trifling per
loimance, for the purpose ot participating in a
lottery, are we not Gambling Just as really as if
we sat down at cards and played for large heaos
of currency ? To such questions there can
be but oue honest niinwer, and that is,
that the lottery, the gilt enterprise, the
liore-racc, the raffle, arc all forms ol gam
bling, all games of chance, in which money or
property is risked. So numerous are the gift
enterprises becomine, and so do they threaten
to damage public morals, that even tho secular
press, slow as it uuull.v Is to attack fusiiiouable
vice, Is beginning to resist.
But perhaps we bad better select as an illus
tration the most recent and notable iu-tanco of
this lorm ot gambling we reler, of course, to
the preat Ciosby Opera House Lottery. For
lotteiy it was, norhing more nor less. The
tickets and prizes were drawn in the usual way,
and the drawing was as much a game ol chance
as it cards or dice had been UBed. The case of
this lamous lottery seems to be this: A certain
Sir. CroBby, heretoloro unknown, but famous
now for 1 he test ot the century, had run him
self hopelessly in debt in building an opera
home in the city of Chicago. Some of bis in
genious iriends suggested the formation of an
art association, which shall add some three
hundred pictures to the luckless opera house.and
establish alottery, of which the house and pic
tures shall be tho prizes. The scheme was that
theiesbould be 210,000 tickets at $5 apiece, aud
302 prlze.. The Opera House they valued at
$000,000, and the pictures were supposed to bo
wonh $100,000, making $700,000, nominally,
to be contested for by 210,000 ucket-hoMers,
bringing the loitery men, if all sold, $1,050,000.
But 25,000 tickets remained unsold.
According to members of the press with
whom 1 have talked, the account stau.ls ab.iut
thus, namely: The Opera House is wortli about
$300,000, instead ot twice that; the pictures,
$100,000; the expense of ad veuisuiB'.etc., amounts
to about $200,000, making the outWy bv the pro
jector of the lottery, $000, 000. The amount of
money received, if the tickets had all been sold,
would have been $l,0.r0,000: which would have
left in the purse of Mr. Crosby $450,000. But
25,000 of the tickets remained unsold, and there
lore were so many chances for Mr. Crosby to
draw from his own lottery. The whole receipts
Irom the lottery therefore, instead of $1,050,000
would be only $925,000, from which, deducting
the six hundred thousand tor Opera Houe",
pictures, and expenses of advertising, we have a
clear profit from the atlair, lor the projector, of
$325,000. But still further, each ticket-holder
had only one chauce in every Gfitl to draw a
prize, while Mr. Crosby, with 25,000 tickets le't
on his hands, had about oue chance in every
nine, and actually did draw about $ 0,000 worth
of the prizes. Philadelphia bought over '27,000
tickets, expending lor them well on to $140,000.
he drew 1C prizes, losing, at the estimated
value of the pictures drawn, about $100,000, a
sum half sullieieut tor the endowment ot a re
spectable college, quite enough to erect 60 neat
residences lor Hie poor; enoush to furnish lor
the destitute 10,060 tuns of coal; ortob iildat
least ten neal jnissiouury chapels aud Sauday
Schools.
We need hardly call attention to the fo'ty of
such unequal gamin-,'. Aud it is altogether
astounoiiig that any sune person would be will
ing to plav at such a game, a pame in whica
only one ticket in every six hundred and sixty
six could win, in which there could only be
lhree hundred winners in a population of
210,000 ticket-holders; a population about equal
t0 hat ot jJoslou or Chicago. Why the chauce
wa v?oti 1 ,n Crosby's loitery than it would
i . i. vrikSPD'a lirn hunk nnrhanA woise lhan
be at Md'T'cy's tiro bank, perhaps woise than i
O
U would MJn jny a j
1 i,o rtrnwinir. it looks as tboiiB. .,,i,i
oi iuui, .,-, my results oi i
; have given bucn a wild tue7lie a momynli8 con. j
i siderution. Ana y tuc waoie country was j
1 tossed, tu'o c .cinpost of excitement about it.
1 Aue people taw it in every paper, am taiiseu
1 themselves out of their reason respecting it; .
i and to such a pitch did the furor rise that this
1 city, the "Quaker Cilv," proverbial tor steidi- J
I ness. sent at least one' reporter all the way to j
' Chicago to lepoi t the drawing as it proceeded.
' And such was the excitement among our j
: ticket-holders that when the magic messages,
i reporting tne uanies ot the fortunate persons, I
! began to arrive, the newspaper otlice to whicu j
they were sent was thronged to excess, and the
i street in front was lit'-rally crowded, so tut 1
I theie was no getiine out or in. ( (
But is it true That this opera-house lottery is
1 sjnonymous with gambling? Is every lottery, J
1 bv whatever name known or disguised, gam
i b'ling? Was not the lot.it is asked, used in l
! the olden times, and that too by tho men who
are presented in sacred nis'ory as examples ot
punty? We have beard this defense set up, ,
even by men whose piety, if not their learning, ;
ought to have taught them better. The lot, as
used by the eleven apostles, lor instance, was a
Eolcmn, prayertul appeal to God in a en-tain
emereencj. ' They wanted to fill the plac
of Judas, uiatcd by his treachery and
death, and they selected the two b.'st
men in tuelr judgment lor ibs plac,
and then casting lots prayed that God woul I
in this way decide between them. Was there
any money at stake here? Was any oue tryimr
by this method to restore a broken fortune ?
V as any earthly business, any a-ain of any sort,
put at hazard here? The simple fact is, that
the lot, us used by tne apostles and as sanc
tioned in the Scriptures, is purely a religious in
stitution; and it is as much a degradation aud
blasphemous prostitution ot it to use it ior
protane or worldly purposes, as it is to pervert
the lawful oath before tne civil magistrate into
prolaue swearing. May a man aoandon himself
to diuLkennets, aud plead a6 an excuse that
wine is used in the sacrament? May a man
corse and swear like a pirate, and plead as an
apology that an oath before a magistrate is
allowable? Slay an incendiary Bet tire to a house,
and urge as an excuse that God sometimes
strikes the dwellings of men with lierbtmug?
An appeal to God by lot In the true spirit of re
ligion iu an emergency, especially ov an in
spired man, is emiueutly proper, bul
to drag the institution down to ques
tions and purposes ot gain is to gauble.
Even in modern tin.es. when good men, iu some
juncture ot the religious life, have stool in
doubt as io the course to be pursued, they have
resorted to a devout aud prayertul use of the
lot. But the idea of employing it tor the pur
pose of eretting money without an equivalent,
was as far from their thoughts as th siu 01
Achnin Just think of an aoostle turning ib?
wheel of a modern lottery lor an opera-no je 1
It any one had proposed such a thing to Peter,
hO WOUId have responueu us uc uiu iu "v.- iu-i
of Simon Slagus: "Thy money perish with
thee; thou art in the trail of bitterness and in
tue bond of iniquity." One of the most sol tmn
of all relicious acts is an apoeul to God by lot,
while lotteries are acknowledged to be mere
games of chance, so injurious that our legi-la-tures
have made them a crime.
We do not forget that the great lottery in
question had' tho sanction ot respectable names
in all the great cities. These no uoubt iusured
fairness lu the drawing; and it is to be feared
that they also communicated to the affair a
gloss of gentility w hich served to blind manv a
thoughtless person to the wroDg involved. But
we must not forget thiit sin has frequently been
retpeclable. Theie were respectable people
connected with the legalized lotteries of titty
years aao. Lotteries have been organized for
the buildias of churches. Washinntou'B Slonu
ment in Baltimore was built by means of a lot
tery authorized by a Legislature. But no
amount of respectable pationage or favor, aud
uoiamouut ot human legislation, au convert sin
into virtue, or make of a lottery anything better
than gambling.
Thi6 very respectability is an additional ob
jection to such schemes as Crosby's loitery.
When respectable men so far forget themselves
as to give their influence to a system of gam
bling which sweeps over the breadth of the
whole country, it show that the bonds of pub-
lie opinion on noral questions are In danger
ofbtiiiu loosened. The respectable men who
five their public sanction to lotteries have
either lost all h bse ot their wromr, or they
think the public conscience is weakuod on
the subject and that they are in no dauber of
being railed to account.
Aud this lat:er, we lear, is the trne state of
the esse. The spirit ot eamblinc eem9 to have
taken possession of the public mind as with tho
power and lace of madncfs. It careers over the
country and the world like a destructive tor
nado. It looks as ihO'iifh it would tear up the
even toundntious t ncrnt and wrong, and ob
literate, or at leant cover up lih Hying rubbi'b,
the very sense of honesty be' wen man and
man. W hy, if ii comes to be settled that a gam
bling operation is a legitimate method ot allen
atli s property, tleu whvmd, in time, anv other
method of iobtcrj? l.o,k abroad! See the
gan bbna In the so-called highest circles both
here and in Ktirope. Think ol Bac en-Baoen,
with its gambling princes and mildonans,
wh( re dice and cards rest not, day nor night I
Itrn.en.ber Saraioga, lornicrlv a nappy and
innocent resort lor tne s ck and wcaiv.now a
place at which gambling holds perpetual csrnl
val. where tven women idav deen mid bet wuh
all the boldness of men, sli'iimuo husb mds and
brother, and convening themselves irom ladies
into disgiittiug, swnegeiine Amazons. Here,
too, within two or three years, bas come the
horse-race, bringina its excitine bught of bet
ting ana blush r and bravado in the place of the
genial quiet which foimerlv was so noteworthy
a feature of the place. 01 all the forms of
gambling, horse-racinc seems most nearly albcd
to coarseness and vulearity. Toe race implies
the jockey, and at the mention of that word the
refilled intellect begins to shrink.
Close upon the heels of the lottery just drawn
comes ancthei, alreprty beeinning to crow I the
newspapers. It is a lottery pn tenuirm to be for
the bmebt of the soldlr rs, and thus appealing to
the rstriotism of the nation acainst its virtue.
O' the same nature is the great 3 acbt race across
the Atlantic, which has just taken pi ice. We
do ixl afluni tljat greed ot rain was the chief
incitement wuh those who have been .made
heroes by the preat yacht race. But we take it
for eranted that there was oon-iderable betting
on it, and we know tt at the victor was immedi
ately challenged by a prince of tnn bio )d royal
tor a race around the Isle ot Wight tor a wager,
and accepted the challenge.
The b artless spirit of pambiine is marl est in
this preat ocean boat-race in its recklersneso of
1' Linan Jite. It was foolhardy and Heaven
oaring in the extreme to cross the great ocean
in a diminutive yacht, when mammoth steamers
were advcttlsing for passengers. It was espe
cially so when noibine h gbef was in view than
the honor of an empty aud trivial victory.
And tnen wha might have been expected actu
ally took place. Human lite was sacrificed
not one lilc, but tlx at leasi. But what is that
if the whims of godless devotees of pleasiue
and small amtitiou are to be gratitied? "Ob, bul
they have raised subscriptions lor the widows;
they have gone bevond their bond.'' Their pro
lai e tolly has lclt husband aud fathers at the
bottom of ihe sea, but they have Iouiki out the
value of human li e, aud paid the price. When
the yachts reached Lurlani the whole
island shook and resoundid with
cheers. The s'x dead men, murdered
by the race, did not give the slightest check to
the rejo citg on eituer side of the Atlantic.
The lam els t.wa'ted the heroes everywhere.
The royalty and nobility ot England threw open
their palaces and welcomed tlicm with pieans.
The Emperor ot Fi ance personally coograluia ed
the victor, and this great land gratcfuly ac
cepted the eomplirrents. Our view is that we
ought rai her to blush and hang down our heads.
We are reminded by thee daring, fancy mariners
of the "Seycu wise tncu of (Jotuatn," who went
to sea in a bowl. Ii it was something; grand to
cross the ocean in a li' tie yacht, at the risk of
being washed over by th first big wave, it was
surely greater couratre to attempt to cross ii a
oowi. it is, mueea, a nooie smrit that prompti
the lisk ot lite
lite in the causes ol Ood and humanity,
" . T" , 1 1 1. I
bul U iris vutrilo as It is rash to try how
near vve can
drive to the edge of the nrecl
...
Ihese gay mariners have doub'less
guown rourage,
turn their coun
nel, instead c
and 11 ttiey wouia 0111 y
rape into some nooier cuan-
ot froiliv and thouautiess
applause, they might wiu the grateful ttari and
prayers of humanity. The courage of tuese
men, baptized wirh the spirit ot Curlst. would
make them fitting successors ol John Howatd,
and enrry tbtni uudifinayed through the loath
some and iutected prisons and almshouses or the
woild, the good angels ot the poor aud su tiering.
As it is they have only played a game, ouly run
a boat race, at a great expeuse ot money and
the loss of sis human lives. Iustea 1 ol blocsing
men, they have but won an irrat'.onal hurrah
and given nn impulse to the spirit ot gambling.
Whatever the prince of the blood iu Euelaud
or the would-be French Oieear may think, what
ever the frothy aud thoughtless may say, we
hold that the grat yarbt race was not ouly a
useless piece of pomp, an expeusive vanity, but
that it is marked ami stained with the Dlood ot
men. We think ol it only with pain, and if we
could reach the earsot its little heroes, we would
remind them that the praise they hive heard is
not the voice of the wise, or the good, or
thoughtful, but only of the troth ot society,
no mrtter bow gill with foreign titles or with
American gold.
Another evidence of the prevalence of the
gambling spirit among us is seeu in the lowest
siiatuni 01 liie in the term ot prize-tlghts, now
rapidly on the increase. As in the Crosby Opera
House lottery, we see gambiine putiiug on the
double veil oi art and respectability ; as in the
bold ers' lottery, soon to come olfin New York,
w
we see it snugly enscor.ccd in the unitorm 01 the
"liovs in Blue." sutiue under the Siar-Spangled
Banner, with a crutch lor a flagstaff, as in the
horse-race, we hear it prate about improving
the breed of horses: as in the yacht-race, we see
it bearing the trident of Neptune, and hear it
declaim about triumph over the sea. So iu the
prize tight, we see it allying itself with the brute
in man, and playing its gauie. with the list, ac
cording to the rulea ol the ring. Aud wby not ?
It one party is to gamble according to its tastes,
why not another? The Pooles, the He.ers, the
Moinsseys have no taste ior pictures; but they
have pluctt quite equal .to that of yacht-racers.
Like the victims ot Crosby, they are loud ol exui
bitionsot art,"ihe manly ail ot sell-defense;" like
them, they have a passion lot bettina, which
the laro bank and kindred private game oo not
entirely satisly, because they do not briuu them
sufhsiewly beiore the public eye. Tuey must
exhibit aud til the newspapers in the line ot
things iu which they are SKilled, an I their pri.e-fii-bls
areas natural a result ol the gambling
piopensity at an art lottery. They have as m
leLie a gratitt ation in tlnahiug and tkveing
an antagonist as Mr. Crosby has in outwituug
the gullibl public. Hiey do r.ot beat one
another bla ker and bluer, in actual colors, than
the uiore respectable ljtiery men 00 iu a ter
ribly em nest figure. Aud as long as gambling
is fashionable, Umay be expveted that each ol
the gaihb'iug classes will come to lUe suriace
in its own peculiar style.
But we b-ar Just low a caveat to proceedings,
lidweleel ourselves blush while w near it. N e
are r minded thai the cliurohes irequ"U'ly ralllo at
tiieir funs. We coulesa u with dtoi cm uioi uticuuou.
1 his is only an audiiioiml tvideuot ot the extent 10
which ihe siilritot (rumiiijr has putietrat a tte publio
hie. ihe Church ialll,- are as compete specimens
ol gamhiiiiK as iho Opera I'oueo lottery, aud cith. r
of tin 111 is as rai pauibliuir as the oiieraUoii ol tue
lnA.I,i.lilf r.aaAkn i . . ... 1 il .1 ,111
ends cau sauctily baa means, aud the ufflrumiu" of
tueconlrar is a-false and uiMtadiug in au Ameri
can l'rotentaiit Church Fair as in the Itouiiaii
Inquisition
lu our Ohurch fuin in addition to t'teoounto.
nance oi ienpeclaui .lv, a iu the ''opera hoae
rstile " we give to naaioiing the stored (Mtuotic-iw ol
itlbflon. Vepiaouci)y a sert thut tue saored iusti
tutiun ol the lol may to turned Into au aiuusemeut,
as it oue sin nid ilay at baptism or the Lord's
bupper, or that it may t.e perverted Into earnest
paiuolinjr lo repair chinches, or to build tliein. lu
either case the C Lurch i lending herself to every
lunool namhlinvi u virtually preadiug her hai.ds,
saying irrace ever tvery faio tauk, In every ' he""
In the country. If Crosby' lot.ery, with iU names
of retpeoiabie patrons, luteuaide the samhhug
spirit iu the trad In a and ianhiouable world, the
r i. Dies ot the churches tend to remove rehmous aod
mural scruples, the lust breukwater that holds back
the threateulnir liiumlatiou of ganiblinir. If the
Church addles, the world will dance, ol course, Like
priest like people.
JLe Church's n files are felt, however uncon
sclonoly, In verv bet on evory borso-raco, at every
card taolo, In cvory art lo itery, aye. in every pn.n
huht. When the brlilo ol Christ rafllivs find pockots
her pains smid iliennii;c ol par laulosaud flat term a
licaux, everT panibiiuir he l rle in dieniiy. 1 de
clare mos( lolrmniy t lint whatever wron thero may
be in tlie,:anabiei' calling, theChiirch,tn our opinion,
hires it in prlnolplo, In lmr rollles, and tho only
dillerenre between her and ihe roenlar irmblnr in
tin easels, that he perhaps does his part ritdelv,
ptotai.elv, ana In a place set apart to sin, while he
dees licis pcnicelly, piously, aud in the church or
jicmie-ioem.
This aMice of fioly things, this profanity, this
proKiitution of the sacred ollice oi tne Church,
taplit to te stopped, even it it be necesrary to idop
the fairs Fair" may I e made usoiul, but thoy are
not lalf so impoitant ns tho maii tennuce of too
Church's purity. Lie t'.hnrcli has boen poor, and
can a fiord, It need bo, lo be noor again, bnt she can
rot afford, no matter what may bo the bribo, to be
the pimp of worioly Inst, wetherelore ho poni
ttntly under the world's accusation, and coniexs
Hint we deserve the scourge ot the old proverb,
I hvsicien. bral thysoll "
(iiif ot the treat evil IlKo'y to result from this
vast flood-tide ol pambbnn is the tepoai of the laws
bv which mot ol the states bad suppressed lotte
ries Indeed, this Crobv sfheme has already sho vn
that our lottery laws are a dead letter on our statu to
books. Too law ot lnnslvnia, as we nnderstand
It, forblus lot'enes In the rita e. and makos It a pun
IsliaLlo cfl'etifo to ofl-r a ticket lor alo, or to ad
vertise a lottery in the newnpspers. And yet, how
mam pspers here have been tilled witn advertise
ments 01 this reat "rlt etiterprie!" The authoil
ties knew that a change of name did not aitor the
tliirn one iota. A Komish pnost, when caught at
Ihe house of a l'rotc tant, aud obliged to stay to
dim er on a day on whieh he was allowed to eat no
tnent, taw the cruel heretic cook puttiuv a pieon oi
Vacou into the pot hanrinar over the fire. He in.
Stantly bethought him ot hia miraculous powers. Aud
s the meat went down, he repeated to himself, "tio
oown gammon, and come up salmon." "And wbon
dinner ran served, the meat," s.ys the tradition,
"had teen transubstantiated into good fisu." So
here, Mr. Crtsuy says go in lottery and come o it
gift pntupilfp," and "gut enterprise" it is. llie
authorities of the State accept the moat for fish.
sow tho danger is that lottery men gonorally will
te able 10 see through this transparency, and will
icek to revive the o d tashioned lottery, and that
tho foer and iguoiaut unu superstitious will be
fleered at every corntr, jut as too gtnteol and ro
spcctable have teen lutely. J hen will como hack
the time so well reniembeied bys me ol us, when
lottery I andbdls, promising fortunoxto everybody,
tell all areuidus tidck as tno fumous leaves in
allooit roea ; wl en a screen like Unit ol tho door of
a giopeery, narlicd the fotiory cilice; and wnou
iLc oodcees ol Fortune, spreading hor charms ou a
thou-and signs, and poised iu air, pound wealth
lor the mi lion on the expectant crowd tuat stood
gai'inr t-t her (cct.
Anotfcr effect of such schemes as that of Mr.
Cn sby will to, we fear to bring to tho surlneo and
raieo to honor such men as Mr. Morrissey. indeed,
we think we see a law by which tho same wave that
brought ihe "opera bouse gitt enterprise" aud the
glory of the ocean yacht race, ought also to havo
brought Morriw-ey into Congress, it the principle of
playing for stakes, and ennctiing ourselves in ill at
wat comes to be accepted as right, the ruat is all a
matter of taste, and tho difference botweon bully
gamblers and gentlemen gaiuolers will omy bo liko
the citleience between a lurnicr ana a lawyer, a
diffcicLce of rough and smooth. And when Mr.
ilorrifey gits into Congress, it he'hoj d bo twiitud
wi:h bis old culling bv tho-o woo have hud chances
in the fesMoi.iibic gilt enterprises, ho may well vin
dicate liui'telt by their examples, and as to the dit
leicnco iu the mete mode ot pnmolinv, ho need ouly
reply, "Ibete is no Ulrputing aouut tastos."
I 'liallj, we see in this irruption ol gaming great
fcSDfcr to i ur Christian civilization, "luouauait
not steal" i' a law ot 1 hat civilization, and the for
bidden kct is at ouce a sin and a disgrace. Hut if m
uir ct mcthous of ewind ing, such as gilt enterprises
undoubtedly are, should come into voguo aud be
et me the acctp ed morality iu regard to ihe tramtlcr
ot proi crty, it is such a dishonesty in itelt, and
involves so much chicanery and deception iu tho
carrying out, ti. at the very louudatious of morality
will le tendered insecure, l a siou, lust, greed, am
bition, license, wi 1 become dominant. Spiritual
iralities will fade away In the popular mind into
shadowy mpeistiti ns; and, if it wero pnaftiblo,
Cbrisiiauily would share the late of tho do ishod
heaihei itm ot the age of Augustus. And it is possi
ble lor tl.o progress of th Church to be stayed by
Ltr cwje. wanton toying with the world, it is pos
fible for ii-TC iO become small and feeble again,
R tnbbt billden under the iuouutaios of worldly lust
ntd wicked las', ion and cns.oiu.
If, wiih this serpent of gaminr sting'n? tho very
sources of pub io morality, tho e cat body of tho
people thou d lu 1 into a spiritual douriura, aud
grow, even partially oblivious of the great, ihe
oivicc law ot right, how woud tue guiding stars ot
life tall from their orbits and become common ns
dirt ui der men's feet, and bow woold the ai' rush
lack lo tho impurity, the skepticism, tho slavery,
the ciuclty ot ino anciint pagan world ! What
woulc hliutrtben tLo re es'uolislinieut of slavery f
11 moia'ity is bae lets, nothing is sin. It' a man's
prorcrty may bo iow!m y taken away by aswiuaie,
why might not he himtu;i be ownedy '
If pr ze-fijibts tao place u der the eye, almost,
ot the poi.ee, and it, lu ihe corumercitl capital of
the nuion, a rich prize-fighter may be elected to
Cong i tes, why may not ihe gladialoriul games of
the ancients be restoied, and men hack each ot'ior
to pieces in the amphitheatre, amidst tno appiau.se
ol lauies, as ot old. It is reported, indeed, iu the
ncwsi'Spers, that the great World's Exhibition at
1 hub this year is to be graced by several bull-fights.
Ibis io in keeping with the universal lever lor
ganiifjit rhymes admirably with the gilt outer,
piisps. yacht race, and ejection of Morrisey. and
st ems to come quite naturally Irom an Emperor
who won his empire by a sort ot military "gilt
concert," aud who has written the lno of a great
heatucn tutor, in whom he chooses to find a type of
hin.be I and his Government. Let the Bonaparte
beware! A levolution in Fiance that: was meant to
bchirnd men, loll by Hb denial ot God. Reaction
towards heathenism may do the like lor Kapoieoa
and his house.
Ji this rush of the w orld towards gambling Is not
soon cheeked, there is no telling where it will end.
Let all, and etpcciallv tho young, according to tne
provnb "beware of beginnings." "Behold ho.v
great a matter a little fire kindleta." &o one sud
denly teconies totally corrupt, imllyiug with vioo,
mitigating it, apologizing lor it, always precede tho
t uibiace of it, and the little vies, so called, are em
brcced first. Ko one suddeuly becomes what is
ta ltd a blackleg. Ihe tepiun ngol such a character
lies lar lack, perhapsin the hoy's winning ot toys,
or, if iu niatuie lue, perhaps in Church lairs iu social
card paities or "art gilt enterprises." First the
took with a bait, aud the bait guded and scented
witu the t nsel and cologne ot tespeciability aud
luth.ou, and then the uakod hook in due time be.
comes itself a charm.
bhy at first, but deceived and drawn on by de
giees, wo by-aud-by lose our power ot discerniug
bei ween good aud evil, aud roundly laugh at tho
tciU Icb ol tLose who sail retuxe to yield up their
hci.eny and simplicity. Even religion opens hor
aims to leeeive sin, and tne Church places it on
hir a tars. At the rate at which things are now
moving, without providential prevention, we may
expect to i ee cards have au honored plaue in every
ILriHian lamily,aud parents aud their children
playag lor small change.
S e may expect to see realized in spirit, at least,
wl at is said to b- common among curUiu Komish
priests, who play curds lor the prayers laid ou them
for penance, aud the loserdoes the praying of the
winner. I his is inUicd a remark, u e Instance of the
cxirttues to which gaming may be carried Hut it is
not at all stranger in iho catho io Church that 'gilt
euloiprites" among 1'rotes auts; auu Irom present
appcuiantcs, we need not woudui to see a Church
laro tank at a Chi roll lair.
li.Ceed, 1 have already seen ono substantially, in
what is called ttie wheel ol fortune; all i hat was
wanting was the i-ulsauiliou ol euros lor numbers,
a substitution whica would be qube iu keep'Ug with
the s n u ot tho linns. It wou.d ouly be takiug the
taittfl the hook, or preeeutiug the taoru without
the ceceulul flow or.
e do not pretend to Judgo the many Christians
in unu outoi ihemiuisuy, w ho may have had tickois
miLe late lotttiv, we dea wuh principles and
actons; God is the judgo of all the earth, lint
ai'iiii tt tho wrong wo nmst cry out all tho more
tan tsilv, the moto numeroUbly and respectably it
Is ationizea. Agaiu wo say, avoid bugiuniugs!
KeinKK hi tin even a doubtlu1 thing. Always give
v rtue tl.o Im uetiv of your doubts, surely thero are
tale wtj s enough open, both of p'casure aud busi
ness, lu which we may go. Lot us be resolved that,
ii rtead of Leuig mere tirilt ou tho tide of gnuibliug
nuw ro ling through the lunu, we will do our bc?t to
sum it and throw it buck.
in hue, loi lib authorities of this country, let the
runs ol this State and city, consider ca mlv and
nlie-so, to what they are pledged by t heir lolemn
dttth vf iffice! Let them put a stop to gaming,
w bother by the chuiches. by art associations, or in
tl.e city "bells." whether veiled or naaed Lei tue
I'hurib wash her hands ol ad participation iu any
and every lorin of gambling, uuuor whatever pro
Unse and lor wiiaiever purpose.
And, thristlau Irother, when tempted to lake a
near cu to riches, lenieuil er the hill to which lluu
van's pilgrim cuuio when be bad crossed "tne plain
ol cbbo." It was the "hid mere," a tiithy lull, wuh
silver mine in it, into which many ledaud Donsiied.
One Leuiss, "who loved this present worl I," stood
on the hill end called to Christian to turn aside.
Let t biiMian'a answer bo yours. "No " said the
hoi est pi gnm "1 know you, Urhazi was your great
graudtather and Judas your father; and you have
tiud in their s'ps; it is but a devilish prank that
thou uscht. Thy lather was hanged lor a traitor,
and tkou newrvest no better reward."
OUR YOUTH.
Sermon
Itliode
Prllvrnl by Blahop Clwrk, of
Island, at the Church of the
Epiphany, I.aat Kveulnp;.
f PECIAI-Bi:rORT FOR TDB EVENING TPXEOBAPn.
The annourccmcnt that Bi-hop Clark, of
Khode Island, woold preach at the above-named
church, corner of Fifteenth and Cliesnut streets
(Rev. Dr. Newton, Rectot), drew out a very
large concourse of people, filling the galleries
and the body of the church completely. The
Kev. Pr. Titfany, ot Ocrniantown, coudtiotedthe
Introductory church worship, after which
Bishop Clpik delivered tho following sermon,
which commanded profound attention on the
part of the confireration. Tho text was:
'Ee thou tttrong, thtrtfurc, otiif allow thystlf a
liifin." 1 King ii, 3.
Every age ol the world demands lis own peculiar
style of men. hibiren and youth pas througu
very different kinds ot training in different condi
tions ot society. (Sometimes it is indispensable that
ihe discipline ol the youug should bo almost exclu
sively physical. 1 bey must be able to endure great
bodliy hardships, brave the winds, the snow, the
hi at of tho snn, must walk beneath tho frosty star
I ght, and endure the raiu which drenches them.
Tlioy must have a keen, sure eve and sinewy arm to
tend the swilt arrow to iu mars, and strength to
hurl the Javelin into the leopard's snull. They must
be able to live long without mod, to ran quickly, to
leap fearlessly, to stand iwithout quivmlng. on the
topmost crag ot the highest mount.
in another stage of society men must bo trained to
a systematic sell-denial and criptuial sacritioes,
holding ail worldly positions so loonely that they
may be relinquished at a moment's warning. Every
libra of the soul mnst be made so stiong that the
laceration ol the body shall Le unheeded, and the
individual keep himself In coustant maitvrdom.
This may be demauded by the political or religious
necessities of the time. Then, again, in ottwr
periods ol history, the child is inere.y cal ei to tread
in the footsteps ol his lather. 1 he same procosses of
lue aud thought are repeated lor successive genera
tions IV o special emurveiioies arise; no new expe
riences occur, i he clock strikes the hour, tne earth
rolls around, man goes forth to labor until the even
ing, andovery day is only a ttansciipt ot yesterday.
1 1 urpose this evening to consider what is t'ie
peculiar style of truliniig now demauded for our
young men and what kind ot character specially
needs to be cultivated.
hocietv has entered apon another of i's transi
tional stages. 1 he generation whica iscomkg ou
to the field of actii n will live in stirring times.
Luring their time, probably, there will be wrought
out a more general and vital change in the condi
tion of society than has been accomplished In any
oue epoch since the night w hen the bright star
Hashed over Jerusa em. A work of preparation
lias Deen going on ior tno last hlty years in theo
retical science, in practical arts, in commerce, in
travel, lu the circulation of Intelligence, in political
principles. In criticism, and in philosophy, tho
mults ol which remain lor them to elaborate. The
rays may possibly converge to a focus during the
li etinio ol ibose whom 1 address to-night.
It is a great thing to live in such a period as
thi-; in some respects it is a great privi ego; in
other respects it involves groat peril.- Eor ,as might
heexrjccted at fucIi a crisis, there is a strange con
jutictiou oi the miiid'solements, both claim good aud
evil. It needs a wise judgment to discriminate be
tween the two; for tho counterfeit, coined like
silver, and stamped like the genuine, would Boom
to be more valuab.e than the geumno, whica is
abuted and bent in its passage irom band ro hand,
receiving an appearance hardly mdicatiug its vslue.
The glittering fa Bchood and the homely truth lie
together on evory side We see a tingulurming ing of
intlueucee llutlUy rivulets empty themselves into
me ciear river oi irutn, ana ot atllmty with its
waters; phosphorescent meteors gll-ton among tho
eternal stars ; mock uns gleam fiilully ou', lighting
all the fco'izoe wuh a wild, fictitious, glaiing light;
spurious revelations throw discredit upon the real
OOCtrine ol inspiration; men cii'l them e ves after
the name Of ChiiBt, falsifying His Bpiiit and doc
trine wbiie others, proiesing to be tue real Christ,
de ny iiiB name.
Ihese aro strange times, full of peril, full of hope.
In oue quarter there is a blue sky and glorious sun
light, in another quarter there is a black-draped
cioud, crossed and cut with red and jupged lire,
and hoarse with thuud rs. It is mcli a time as this in
which you should Le able to comb ne strong
individual forces with a clear individual
d cemniect. You should never rush teedless
ly into the 8' rite, neither shotnd vou turu aside
from the contest of the cau-e. V u sliou'd learn to
Judge between good and evil, and tiien be road to
strike rranin iy ior tne ripnr. it is inaisponsaDie
that you Bhouiu put yourself into a wholesome and
thorough discipline in youth, You need, in the
first pace, to cultivate, your inteihctual laculties
with the greatest caro. It is getting to be of com
paratively littie importance, in all our departments
ot business, how a young man commences lue, if he
will only cultivate his lacu ties.
The eecret ot success Pes in improving ti too host
advantage such opportuDites as lie around ub. It
is not by changing their positions that n en acquire
influence. TLo good workman on the bench, who de
tei nmicB first that the article which he manufactures
shall be as peilect as be can muke.it, and then, alter
the toil ol the day is over, goes to work with
another set of tools, Lepiuning lo'inform himself, cul
tivating his mind, his moral faculties, in tho end will
become more influential than the soporifio person in
the pulpit, or the flaunting advocate at the bar.
'Ihe time has been when this general mental cul
ture won d have been impossible and useless, but by
the graced God it is bo bo longer. Go into the
City Councils, the legislatures, tho scientific conven
tions, lead over the laws, the sayings of popular
poets and journalists, all who give tone to popular
opinion and control society. Are i hey generally
such as were born in wealth, born in indituiious of
honor, and bred in universities f Some inherit dis
tinction, but the great majority of sooioty is com
posed of men who have struggled against obstruc
tions, and forced their way upward by their owu
strength. But it is not merely the cultivation of
menial powers with a view to high position which
is necessary. Ihe young man who cultivates his
mental and moral powers I Hereby elevates himseit
to a higher ciro.e in sooiety.
1 he world is bound to find out what there Is in
such a man ; what be is capable of doing Conse
quently, the young man should develop himself not
lor the sake of securing honor or titios, being elect d
to otlice, or tilling high positions, but trom simple
tegatd to what is due to his own nature
lie who utters his owu thoughts is tue one who now
awuktus the echo. The opinions of most men are
at the best only echoes. AV bat we noed in this gciie
tatiou Is that each voice thould have its own sivuifi
cation. One ol the great evils ot American society
ii popular opinion, manufactured out of the very
Btrange materials, wmcu canuoi oe reusteu wirnoui
the risk of a social martyrdom.
We want men who leel that they are strong
enough and intelligent enoush to sit In judgment
upou popular opinion, aud if an idol be ertctud in
the laud, even though i: should be seveuty cubits in
hoigbt. and glided tiom tin to toe and labelled witn
the most sacred name, they should have the courage
to declare it an idol, and have the mantuluots io
stand by the declaration midst the souud ot the
dulcimer and many-toned Instruments calling upon
Iho people to bow dowu and worship it. We want
men who will tell the proud Nebuchadnezzar that
be is only lit to eat grass with tho oxen; we want
men who can dare to w k quietly into tne lion's
den ol popuiar wrath, rather than bo disloyal to
God and ihe truth. .
lcuiiguiin are wanted to face the firy furnace
seven tiu.es heated, confident that the oon oi God
waiks with thim also in the flames to shield thorn
liom harm. Young men are wanted who wou d
bear tote poor rather than violate their conscioj
tlons convictions, who would rather be called liars
tbauenuuro the delamation of their coutesiiomj ot
truth: whO would be detained tore time rather than
loe their hold upou the geueiutions that are com
ing Aud uch men must commence their iraining
eariy ; bear tho yoke through their eutiro youth, kept
under uy earuesi and tnuhiul disoiolino, and luara
to tay w ith the divine Galilean to the wondering
stcctators: "Wist ve not thut 1 must be about .uy
lather's, business?" And lor an auotuer reason it
is incumbent upon you, youug men, to cultivate
your intellectual powers most sedulously.
I have alluded to the peculiar mingling or good
and evil elements which distiucuish the present age.
Yon mav sometimes be puzz'ed to know ou which
side ot the great questions, which agitate the time
and the people you ought to throw your Influence.
Lurinsr your day these proiound questions, which
have heretofore been confined io a tew extraordi
nary minds, will become puoilo, and be brought,
more or less, within ihe rauge of geueral obsorva
lion. Ihe great problems hlch lie at the very
foundation ol all belief, which bear most vita.ly
upon the whole construction of society, and which
sliect our masses, aB well as tudlvidual members,
will be Discussed, aualyied, oriiicized on thepubno
piatloims, in the public Juurualu, aud on the corners
ol the street'.
Tne indications of the last few years In this re
spect are very significant, fu Meets are beginning
to be opened by the lecturer aud reviewer to which
the world, in it early days, would not agree to
listen. And on these points it will be necessary tor
you to form an opinion. You will hear thoseopiuloua
wl ich your lathers believed in ao implicitly, and
with ad faith, talked of with a power of argunieut,
and a multiplicity ot bis'oncal lucts brought to bear
upon them, which will leud a bewituhiug charm of
eloquence that wdl soon stagger you, unless vou are
preuared Ior the time. Lrror will approach you,
talking like a rhud and looking III e a seraph, while
truth may present heiaelf clot nod in coarsest cornel's
hair. Iruth may tntis teem like fiction, and fiction
wear fhe semblance ot irulh.
II, (then, my Irienos, you wfsh to save yourselves.,
more espi cial.v II you with to exert a good ln
tluenee upon others. It Is incumbent upon you to
subject youisell In youth to a thorougn discipline,
asd you must noi only cultivate those powers by
w hich yon mut discriminate hot ween sophwtry and
sound Ingto. but also you sliou'd cherish inoe
bigbei intofiions which aie so specially necessary
to lite You must be able to distinguish between
that which Is fictitious and accidental, and that
w hich is vital and essential You must reach that
position a hero yon will not be injured, or in danger
ot giving up Ihe truth becMiise it i purclv divine,
or ImblD'ng error because It has divine vigor. And
you med not say, "1 am in no peril; I shall Just
receive what has been handed dowu to me by my
lathers 1 1 shall leto l ers do m (bidding ; passively
acquiescing in their Judgment. I shall not be doing
evil." 1 say keep awat irom that contagion.
If vou nlant voursell'nn aunh irrniind as tula. im
will find that you are standing on a verv supper?
mce iiib mucn witeraud more manly to know what
o believe, and whv von 1 e ievn it.. (;,ii lia mn
your facuitiri ior use Tho ship which never sails
never founders, bui it miht as well have loundcred
s to ride all its days in the dock. I call apon yon,
therelore, io get r-ady for the eventful times in
which you are to live; trim vour lamps, and beyoa
sure in discovering the laith" in which you ought to
walk. We live, indeed, in words, in thoughts, in
breaths, in reelings, and In the figures on the dial
Of the clocg of time, measured by our heart throbs,
lie most lives who th'nks most, feels the noblest, acts
the best. Your pre aration lor Ire wnl have to lie
very incomplete it you bring fn discipline only to
the intellectual part of nature.
t'ometimes wise mankind rank among the meanest.
The more we know toe better, lor the mind will be
guided by lofty principles the less we know, the
power of selfishness and sin will have dominion
over us. But it is uot within the scope ot this dis
course to dwell upon the luture which will environ
you. I say that I hope that the most, that all of the
young men beiore me have no desires to visit gam
bling dens, drinking saoon, aud the drama, and
that you will not sell y our souls ior the sake ol occa
sionally drinking until the midnight hour.
Yon do not mean to becoino moral suicides, and
Jig your own graves, and be burled with the
burial of an ass You do not mean to sUmger
through lite with a blotch, d appearance, stammer
ing speech, and palsied hands, laughed at by the
thought 'ess, pitied by the wise, and shunned by the
good, l on do not mean to live iu such a mannor,
that when yen die, men will oraw a tull breath, and
say : "Thank God, he is gone " You do not mean
to sink so low that the mother who bore you will
say, m her anguish, "Would that he had dlod In his
cradle on that dreary night when the dark angel
seemed to be waiting at the chamoer door." Yon
do not mean to barter away your eternal birth
right for a mess ot poisonous pottago. lbat class of
youth who have made such a miserable league with
the devil, must be sought somewhere else, in some
other place to-night than In this house of God.
Have yon filled your vocation? I say unto you, pre
pare tor the solemn responsibility of the age in whioh
you live. ou must not be oon tented simply to be
tree irom the thra.dom ot low sensual bios ; it is very
important that ysu, in a time like tue present, should
cultivate the positive elements lor a nigh, genesous,
and honorable character
Ihere are vices of which no mention is ever made
in the criminal repoils. Church discipline rarely
interferes with an electioa. or puts any bar in the
way ol making money. But, after ail, there is a
coroding, as it were the bite of a viper, so fatal is It,
in these things, which aie now open, and more
orenly admitted. Every age brings with it rs own
peculiar influences, and it may be said of modern
Bociety, is as it w ere said of ancient 1 yre, her mer
chants are princes, and hor traihkers fill tho whole
eattb.
the power which tegulatea the world Is merely
scattered in the hanos of those whom we call "bast-
neBmen " commerce has brought the remote re
gions oi the earth into contact witn civilization.
These mercantile en erprises, with thotr money,
stimulate even branch of mechanical art. riiey
project ah manner of institutions, furnish capital to
carry them into execution ; bmld railroads, facto
ries, steamships, hospiials, and churches; control
the po itical economy ot the eonntry, dictate the
principle ot the people and to some extent the
teachings ot the puipit. Money there never was a
t nie w hen money w as so ail-controlling and power
ful as it is now, bo'h lor good and lor evil. There
are ten thoughts given to the accumulation ot
money where but one is given to other matters.
Cathedrals ot stone were once built for the glory ot
God; cathedrals of stone and glass are now erected
to the gh ry ot trade, f ne Crusades were once pro--jectcd
to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels; ex
peditions are now proj etod to open new markets for
the merchant.
Men wero once born with rank, now they have
tank who make tbcmseivi s rich. Under the present
condition ol things the fact baa become more promi
nent that prizes are occasionally won. This indi
cates that the community and mast of the people
are slow to return to their regular employment,
allured by attaining to immediate riches. As might
bo expected, we have had a succession ot good times
and bad times. We can rest satisfied with our pre
sent condition. This throws a feverish e oment
into society, and the retail is o car to every day life,
which by coustant discipline in its line, is bunging
about great and pernicious evils. And here we are
brought into contact with a radical evil, and this is
the spirit ol worldnness, "raiust which the Serin-
turca are so often replete l -. its advices. We learn to
mt asure every thing in this world by the table of
' 1'iofit and Lois "
A man may have good principles In his heart (or
rather in bis head), but if he tails he can discern a
gieat wrong with the eye of the mind, buta wrong
that is profitable he cannot so readily see.
He cannot be liberal in good times, because money
is too valuable to rive away, aud in bad times as
has no money to spare, tie believes in religion,
doubts not that he has a soul to save, but he will
save money first, and his soul afterwards. And still,
my friends, we must not close our eyes aguintt
speaking ot the situation we are in at the preseat
time.
Co long as the business world is a lottery, with
one glaring prize to fitly blanks, so long a the pre
sent feverish excitement lasts, whioh permeates all
circes of lite, all business, and the body politic, so
long as the natural cau-e and want of production n
incieased, and the supply inadequate tor the want
ol society ,o long as tuese things continue, but Chris
tian philanthropists may do what they pleae, it will
be Impossible to elevate the people much above their
present condition. The man who is hungering and
shivering does not care lor his soul, nor cares what
becomes ot it; and the man who is successial, is too
much engaged in trafficking in worldly goods, te
taken up witu worldly cares, getting rich ans.
making moneyjtoo last, to care for bis soul, which
he can put oiTnutil some more convenient season.
Young men, strive to be as steadfast in pursuit of
heavenly as well as worldly riches. Be more anxi
ous to secure true self-respect, than the resoeot of
the world and persons. Kemember that God under- i
stands you. lie kuows what you are by the emo
tions of your soul, ihe time U not very far off when
your fellow-creatuies also shall know yon and under. I
stand your heart; know your deeds, and judge your I
worth as a member of society. & I
1 have done, but a the thought comes over mel
that some ens of these young men, before ten yeartl
are past, will be lying in an Ing'onoua grave, on
wandering iu soameiui exne, so iaiien and so beg
gared, so degraded, that his name is not montioncc
in the homo which so lately rung merrily with hii
boyish laughtoi as I tbinlt of the bitter agoni
which will be suffered in that bereaved househo.d
ano as I seem to hear in the distance the tone o
the luneral bell, 1 must speak another word.
htep by step youug men are seen going down thi
wiudmg path, whose lowest ledge witf lei then
down into perdition. Some of vou say, "I am la ot
danger; I commit none of these faults 1 can stoj
my Beli, when 1 fO dosire" It maybe that the lint
is even now passed ; it may be that vou havo a readj
lost control ot vource'f. You may go from thli
church and make another downward step to-ulght
and before you sleep the manacles will be tightened
about your soul, aud soon jou perish. A while ago;
it may te said, he was a blithesome, hopelul boy,
A lew years hence, and he will be a clod, whethel
under rtound or above ground; but, nevertheless, t
clod dead dead deed 1
This is the end of him who once won all hearts,
and stirred such glorious hopes amid bis com
panions; and this is now the end. lie dies, au
events which have marked his deo ine are relieved,
is there nothing to loliow this death? is there not
a judgment? Is there not a terrib e harvest to M
reaped alter death? The dissolution of the sou!
irom this earth. y clay, the eternal agonies of a lu
i lixj
;anJ
mm imueu nuui, are ouiy ueguH.
Ke secure, If you would elevate yonrself
society: be niloa with rl,Ti,t.,r,i, ti, ,,
secure by relying imp.icttly and with abiding faitl
on the Holy Oue, who died that we, who have oltsl
crucified Him in the spirit.might live and have ever
(HDIIUJI tUV,
JT L O Xfc I s T
i
AND !
Preserver of Natural Flowers,
A. H. POWELL,
No, 725 ARCH Street, Below EisM!i
lumifeiittd iu Wuur m an iwous a tup
c
J