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PRICE, 6 CENTS. 
 
 if , 
 
 A. BERMON 
 
 ON 
 
 Cards, Oancing, Theatres 
 
 i 
 
 ■c-v 
 
 i 
 
 AND 
 
 ♦ » 
 
 CARNIVALS. 
 
 ''N 
 
 ' 'i^: 
 
 Preached Sunday Evening, Jany. 30th, 1887, 
 
 •BY- 
 
 REV. H. FRANCIS ADAMS, 
 
 PoBtor of the First Baptist (Jhurdi, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. 
 
 TARMOUTH, N. 8. : 
 
 PSIlfTBD AT THE "ItKRALD" OFFIOB. 
 
 1887. 
 
 !^ -\' 
 
1 John, 2: 15-16—" Love not the world, neither the things that are 
 
 in the world. If any ntan love the world, the love of the Father 
 is not in him. For all tliat is in the world., the lust of the flesh, 
 and the lust of the eyei, air^ ^e pride of life, i^ not of the 
 Father, but is oftlie tvorld.''^ 
 
 2 Corinthians, 6: 17 — '* Wherefore come otd from among them^ 
 
 and be ye separate, saith the Ijord, and touch not the unclean 
 thing; and I wUl receive you.'''* " 
 
 In their epistles to the cburdies, the Apostles often bad to 
 admonish the professing christians, for their inconsistent conduct 
 in relation to the world : And although eighteen hundred y«>ara' 
 have passed since those holy men laid down their apostolic pen, 
 their words; of reproof and warning; are just lui needful and ap- 
 
 {ilicable to the world-loving obriatians of to-day, as they were then, 
 t is a sad fact, that mariy professing christians of this age of 
 boasted oivilizatioA and kviowledge, need the words of our two 
 texts as much as the crude Christians of the Ap«'>stle*s day. who 
 had just emerged from the darkness and vices of heathenism. 
 What does this fact prove ? It proves that the human heart is the 
 Bamt; in all ages and in all clinlBS; (hat the pleasures of the world 
 are the same in theii* seductiveTascination ; tbnt unless the christ- 
 ian obeys Christ's command to " Watch and Pray," he wil. enter 
 into temptation and fall therein ; and finally that th« devil is the 
 same " Roaring lion, that gueth about seeking whom !ie may 
 devour." 
 
 In one of the late Union Prayer Meetings a gentleman re- 
 marked, that parents in the rural parts of Yarmouth county, had 
 complained that their sons and daughters who had come to this 
 town to obl:ain employment, had become corrupted by the society 
 they met here. And that same gentleman said, that Yarmouth had 
 been regarded by them as ** A Maelstrom of evil." In a subse- 
 quent ntt-eting I said, that I did not believe what that brother said, 
 was true; but since then, I have had occaision to revise my 
 opinion, and I here and now apoloo^ize to that brother, for igno- 
 ranily denying the truthfulness of his statement For while there 
 is not so much open shame-faced iniquity in this town, as there is 
 in some places, nevertheless tliore are undercurrents of vice that 
 are far more dangerous, because they are concealed by a social 
 respectability, that boasts of the alliance of some professing christ- 
 ians. The devil knows, that if he can secure the presence of pro- 
 fessing christians at a dance party, or at a card table, or at a 
 theatre, or at a carnival, that his schemes for the ruination of the 
 young and unstable, will be sujcessfully carried out. Aad this is 
 just where we stand to-day. Scores of professing christians go to 
 dance parties, play with ace cards, encourage the theatre, and 
 patronize the carnival. And thus these abominations are given a 
 gloss of harmlessness, that is more seductive and destructive to 
 our young people, than all the loud vanities of Boston*s theatres 
 and gambling nells combined. 
 
 Professing christians, who thus pursue the world's pleasures, 
 must have ceased to find their greatest delight in doing tne will of 
 God . The Word of God com mands us in Cmossians ,8:17: * * What- 
 
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 soever ye do in word or deed, do all in tlie name of the Txird 
 JesuM." I*" '1 evidv^nt tliai tliis precept applies to all that we may 
 say or do >.i our amusemnts and pleasures, as well as in the more 
 serious affairs of life. Those amusements and pleasures which 
 can stand this test, are safe and commendable, but those that are 
 condemned by it, are unsafe an. I dangerous. Apply this test to 
 the parlour dance and the public ball ; to the home card table and 
 the jumbling saloon; to the amateur plays and the sensuous 
 theatre ; and the indelicate carnival . What is there of an elevating 
 character in any of these amusements ? In what degree do they 
 help us to overcome the oarnal nature that is in us? How much 
 do they contribute to nobleness of character P W ho asks a blessing 
 on a game of whist? Who can pray that a dance mayHake them 
 purer? Who goes to a theatre to promote their truesr welfare? 
 And what does a carnival leave in the memory, that will help to 
 make one more chaste? I have observed that those persons that 
 are fond of these engagements, are not deeply in love with their 
 Bible, nor are they the true helpers in the church of God. And 
 those homes that have their dance parties and whist games, are 
 not characterised by family religion in a marked degree, and often 
 there is none at all. It is Christ and His church on one side, and 
 the world with its cards, dances, theatres, and carnivals on the 
 other. 
 
 I have heard that I s.aid from this pulpit, that I approved of 
 ca'.d-pU\ying Every truthful man here who heard me preach that 
 sermon to young men, on " Is the young man safe ?" knows very 
 well that I never said that. Wfiat. I said was, that " there is no 
 sin ic the cards themselves, but me assocthtions are so corrupt, 
 that it is unsafe fur an}' one to touch them." In just the same way 
 dancing in itself is not wrong, that is dancing in the abatruut, but 
 did you ever ste dancing in the abstract ? The parlor card-table 
 claims freedom from the vulgar associations of the gaujbling 
 tables, around which sharps and flats gather; but you know as 
 well as I do. that thousands have been hopelessly mined for time 
 and eternity through card-playing, the ta^te for which they first 
 received in their homes. Caras have led to gambling, and gam- 
 bling to forgery, and forgory to prison, .-nd son.etimes to suicide. 
 You know very v/ell that those young people, who are inf itualed 
 with card-playing, never become worth anything in any of the 
 noble attainments of life. Amaieur card-players get so tascinated 
 by the games, tliat they will meet night after night, and waste 
 time, and health, and money in the folly. And they have gone so 
 far in this iniquity, as even to spend God's holy da} . in a secluded 
 quarter, in card-playing. Not a great while ago a number of 
 yt)ung fellows were gathered together in a dirty hole of a garret 
 on a Sabbath afteincion, around a pack of cards. Think of it, ye 
 Fathers and Mothers, to what an extent this thing will lead the 
 boys, when they will break God's h«»ly day, to satisfy a craving 
 for card-playing. These bold vonths locked the door, but. their 
 fathers got scent of this demoralizing thing, and obtaining a forced 
 entrance into the place, there they beheld their own sons with 
 cards on the table, and money stakes beside them. Say yon, ** I 
 suppose you read that in the Boston HenthlV No sir, I had it 
 from the lips of a father in this town, and I sui«pect it was not 
 Piaay blocks from this church, where the scene was tran»Hcted. 
 But from whom do these young fellows learn this evil habit ? 
 Alas, from full grown men. Men who have their secret gambling 
 room, where they spend half the night in winning and losing 
 money around a pack of cards. And I suspect that thht blindless 
 window (lately they have put up a blind, to the more easily blind 
 
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 pnssers bv') where the light burns till the hands reach a lon;^ waj 
 beyond oia cnrt'ew tioiu, is one of the gaiublinff dens of the older 
 men. 
 
 Ace card-playing has gotten siich a bad name, that it must for- 
 ever be regarded by all christian people, as the inalienable pro- 
 perly of the devil. And those professing christians who indulge 
 in it, are helping satan in his cruel work of ruining our young 
 people. No wo:.der tluit we halve so few consecrated young men 
 in our churches, the i<phere wliere the noblest, type of nianhoud is 
 grown : and no wonder that we have in ou** town such a number 
 of gay worthless young men, when our youths are educated in 
 card-playing by t'^eir seniors, during the most critical period of 
 their liviMk viz., from twelve to twenty years of age. 
 
 A yining man who had just learned to play carda, was so elated 
 with his first success, that iic went out and bought a pack. He 
 called on his way back and showed then:i to an old player, who 
 had spent most of his time in this senseless employment. He 
 fingered them familiairly for a moment, and then returned them, 
 saying, " YOU HAD UfcTrER GO HOME AND BURN THEM.'* 
 The young man was so amazed at such advice from such a source, 
 tliat it set him thinking seriously. Surely if any one was com- 
 petent to judge of the woithlessness of such pursuits, he was. 
 His advice made such a deep im;t^1t'ession on the mind oftheyouth, 
 tliat he never played again. 
 
 A Yarmouth captain was once visiting St. John, N. B., when 
 he met a friend in the city. After the usual interchange of cuii- 
 toniary recognitions, the friend tmid " Come, Captain, let us go 
 down to the hotel anithave a guiue with cards." But the captain 
 courteously declined. Nevertheless tlie friend urged, and per- 
 suaded, (and you know how S4mie fellows of the card-playing 
 fraternity will nag at a man to join them in their folly) until the 
 captain came out .'<quarely, and said " You call yourself my 
 frienil, don't you P Will now, if I go and play cartls with you, 
 and I win your money, or you win my money, will we not want 
 to play on till the loser wins his money back, or what is more 
 likely till he loses a greait deal more ? Then if we part with nioney 
 in the pockiits of one, that was won from the other, will we re- 
 main Iriends? No, I will not play cards with you or anybody 
 else." And you know that the captain was very logical ; for some 
 of the besl friendships have been broken and some of the w«»i".st 
 forms of enmity have been made itround the card-table. Study 
 history and y«m will find that cards have ever had iminoral sur- 
 mundings. reaching such a state of wickedness under the patron- 
 age of Clharles the First, that political pamphlets under the m(>st 
 shocking titles appeared, in which tlv vices of the court were 
 associated with cards In "Pepys's Diary," '.ir.^ui llie date of 
 February 17th, l(J(>7,Jt is stated that on Sabbath evenings he fonnd 
 " the quceiie, the duciiesse of York, and another or two, at cards, 
 with the room full of ladies and great men." That of ccmrse look 
 place under the Second Charles, who reigned frouj 1660 to 1685. 
 Yon never yet heard of an inveterate caril-player being converted 
 to God. who did not once and for ever throw card-playing over- 
 board, and ever afterwards abhor the very sight of a pack. And 
 you never knew a profe<'sing christian who played ace cards, but 
 who was regarded by men and women of the world as being 
 grossly inconsistent with the holy religion they profess to believ«) 
 and follow. When a man or woman becomes ensnared in this 
 trap of the devil's, no one can foretell to what they are going to be 
 brought; for cards have led many to the dogs, and finally to the 
 devil. 
 
/ 
 
 "What about the parlour dance?" say jou. I say that the 
 parlour dance is the feeder and the bulwark of the licentious ball 
 room. The latter could not' live one day without the former. The 
 parlour dance claims the respeclabilitv of select society, but th« 
 spirit of the dance is the saiue, the drift is the same. All its in- 
 fluences are away from Christ, and are injurious physically, u»en- 
 tally, and morally. Late hours, late suppers, and the unusual 
 excitement, followed by the weariness that succeeds violent exer- 
 tion, has undermined the health of thousands. What observer 
 does not know that thousands of once sweet and innocent ^irls 
 are to-day the vile outcasts of soc'et}' (who lonjr for the silence 
 and darkness of the ^rave), whose first step towards ruin was in 
 the parlour dance, but whose last step was in the public ball 
 room. The parlour dance is but the thin en«l of the devil's wedgs 
 — the thick end is the public casino. To the young people pro- 
 tected in their cosy homes, there is no appearance of connection 
 between these two extitroes; but satan knows there is, and so do 
 the watchmen on Zion's walls. In Germany, the number of 
 dances and their duration are regulated by law, and in the United 
 Slates there are laws against its worst f<»rms. Pr(»fess4»r Wasti^l, 
 of Ijouisville, Kentucky, who taught dancing f«>r twenty-sev^n 
 years, says: "The time has come when I must really blush for 
 my profession, because of certain new-fangled dances which have 
 been introduced and become fashionable." A dancing master in 
 Philadelphia says: " We see j-ear after year a marked advance in 
 the improprieties of the dance, and the waltz is calculat«;d to do 
 more injury to the young man than many of the vices preached 
 against from the pulpit." These fiien declare that the advance of 
 the dance is such that it can be neither controlled nor reformed. 
 The only safe course is to abolish it altogether from the home. 
 
 One of the most prolitiu results of dancing is the stirring up 
 of passiims and lusts of the flesh, that tempt partners to take im- 
 proper liberties with each other. Y«»u know if you have danced, 
 and if you have not, then karn from those who have, that young 
 men and women cannot embrace each other in dancing, withimt 
 experiencing feelings th.it are born of the flesh, which, if fed by a 
 round of parties where there is dancing, begets low and sensuous 
 thoughts. Why is it that (lancing masters alw:iys give up their 
 profession after they are converted to Gnd ? Because their minds 
 are purifled. and they cannot (;onscientiously remain in a calling 
 that is productive of impurity and often leails to. the ruin of some 
 of our most lovely gir'.s. Why is it that men and women of the 
 wiu'ld talk so lightly of the professing Christian who goes to a 
 dance party? Because they kntrw enough of the divine standard 
 to which a Christian is supposed to conform, to compare what 
 they are to what they ougliL to bo. They know that the religi(m 
 of Jesus is such a pure and Utvely thuio^, that its disciple who 
 leaves the exalted position <jf walking witli God U) waltz in the 
 dauce room, is leaving the spir t lal delights of grace, and is going 
 down to the fleshly pleasures of the world. 
 
 But you throw up into my face, " Why, Mr. Adams, mem- 
 bers of some churches dance, and are not reproved by their 
 pastors, nor prohibited by their creed." I answer, " Is the fact 
 that some churches permit their members to do evil, any warrant 
 for you to do so? Are those churches your Bible? Are those 
 dancinif professors your Christ?" "But," say yon, "I know of 
 some Baptists who dance, and have dancing m their homes, and 
 have parties till three <»'clock in the morning." Well, suppose 
 there is a i)oor weak soul that has his or her name on the church 
 roll, who finds delight iu the world's amusemeDts ; you know aa 
 
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 well as I do, that that professor is breaking the law of the church, 
 violating his covenant with his God, and his example is mure 
 injury to the cause of Christ than all the infidelity in town. One 
 ol the deacons of this church informs me that members of this 
 church have been visited and admonished for dancing ; and in the 
 case of one woman who refused to give up the ungodly practice 
 after she was admonished, she was e:(cluded from the fellowship 
 of the members. And if there are any here, who during my pas- 
 torate have been guilty of this breach ot their covenant with 
 Christ and His church, we are very sorry that we have not hoard 
 sufficient of the particulars of your cane to have instituted proi^eed- 
 ings that would vindicate ttie reality ot our rules of discipline. 
 The church of Christ will never be the great power she ought to 
 be in the world, in bearing witness to truth and lioliness, until all 
 her members come out from among the carnal pleasures of the. 
 fleshly-minded sons of Sodom. 
 
 A professing Christian mother in this town was desirous of 
 having a company of young friends, for the pleasure of her sons 
 and daughters; but the sons said, "No, mother, don't have any, 
 fhr you know that they would not enjoy themselves if we did not 
 have cards and dancing," and they had none. What a low state 
 of morals must exist in this town, if friends cannot enjoy an even- 
 ing at one's house, without resorting to amusements that are more 
 prolific of moral ruin among the young than any other two things 
 that you can mention. A Christian mother said to me the other 
 day: " Mr. Adams, there are certain houses in Yarmouth that are 
 perfect dens of iniquity, where tit is one continual round of par- 
 ties." What is this continual round of dissipation doing for our 
 young people ? Arc they made wiser, and lietter, and purer by it P 
 Do they get from such a source strength for heroic word and work 
 in life? Go, ye weak-minded youths, and stand by the side of 
 yon fallen woman, and ask her to tell you the story of her fall into 
 shame. What will ve say P Will yc say that it was through 
 regular attention to her Bible, through daily habits of devotion, 
 and through finding her way to the house of God, and seeking 
 alliance only with the pure and good P No, you will not expect to 
 hear one solitary sentence like those fall from her lips. But you 
 will find that nine out of every ten will attribute the beginning of 
 their fall to the parlour dance, where passions were arouse*! that 
 were never afterwards allayed. And over the grave of nearly 
 ever}' poor girl, 'who was once the joy of a dear mother's heal't, 
 and the comfort of a care-pressed father, but who was trapped by 
 the devil through a vile man, who bewitched her in an unguarded 
 moment, and whose life was blighted by the foul breath of sin, 
 and whose soul Was blasted of all its purity in an evil hour— over 
 the grave of nearly every such victim may be truthfully written, 
 
 " DAMNED BY A DANCE." 
 
 At a dancing party, given at the residence of Mr. Scott, near 
 Avoca, Alabama, the aancers became much heated and exhausted 
 by dancing till the usual morning hour. In this condition they 
 started home. On the way the weatlier changed to an exceeding 
 cold one, producing alarming results on their excited systems. Of 
 those engaged in tne dance two died next morning, seven died a 
 little later, and all suffered more or less. This is only one of thej 
 many instances of the fatal results of dancing. 
 
 You all surely know that the body of a young, growing gi 
 is one of the most delicate pi.3ces of work that the Almighty ev( 
 created. And, in view of the functions she has to perform 
 womanhood, there is no period of her life when greater cai| 
 
 
(T 
 
 should be bestowed on her health and the cultivation of her moral 
 powers, than between her twelfth and twentieth veara. And yet, 
 stranee to say, these nre the years when she is allowed to expose 
 herself to contract, by chills and other imprudent conduct, some 
 of the most violent diseases— diseases which, as a matter of 
 charity, are attributed to innocent causes. Talte an illustration. 
 A lovely, delicate f^irl of seventeen, is permitted to go to a dance 
 
 Earty at eight o'clock. The amusements, including dancing, are 
 ept up till three in the morning. Aft^tr being in a hot room or 
 rooms for several hours, tired, weary and exhausted by the round 
 of pleasures, she puts on her wraps and ^oes out into the mid- 
 night air, to wena her way home. Now, what but a miracle of 
 (jod's mercy is to prevent her from contracting that indefinable 
 thing we call a cold P This pleasure hunt is kept up for a few 
 years, but at last the hectic flush appears, the mevitable cough 
 shakes the lungs, and the doctor is called in. He pronounces it 
 "consumption." He says, "Any consumption on the father's 
 side ?" They bay " No." " Any die of it on the mother's side ?" 
 Again they answer, " No, sir. We certainly cannot account for 
 this disease in our daughter, for not any of the family ever had it 
 before." Ah, they little think of that night when she came out of 
 a dancing room, her clothes all damp wuh perspiration, and the 
 fatal chill laid the foundation for disease to prey on her frail and 
 delicate organs. I tell you, that if you were acquainted with all 
 the imprudent things girls do in their teens, you could trace the 
 cause of most of the diseases that make so many of them prema- 
 turely old. Do you say that is a stretoh of my imagination P Ah, 
 you know that it is a picture true to life. I e'lve you facts. I 
 give you everything but names; yuu can furnish the names with- 
 out my aid. 
 
 A revival was in progress in the Houston Street Presbyterian 
 church. New York, in whic'i a young lady was deeply convicted 
 of sin. Being invited to a dance party, she went. Conscience 
 was outraged, but not slain. Again she was found at the meetings 
 and was urged to decide for God. An invitation to another dance 
 turned her feet from the house of (iod, to the house of worldly 
 pleasure. That night disease pounced upon her frail body, and 
 she returned home to sicken and die without hope. Two short 
 weeks found her among the seekers of religion, then in the ball 
 room, again in the place of prayer, again in the ball room, and 
 then where ? IN HER COFFIN ; one of the many thousands of 
 victims of the dance. 
 
 A voung lady, who was a professing christian, invited a young 
 gentfeman to bo one of a social dancing party at the house of a 
 triend. Not many months after, during a season of religious 
 interest, she came to him to converse on the subject of his soul's 
 salvation. He reminded her of the invitation given some months 
 before to the dancing party and closed with the remark, " I don't 
 want such christians to talk to me." 
 
 A christian father in this town has been trying to train his 
 children in the paths of purity and righteousness. His unconvert- 
 ed daughter (whom that father has been longing to see come into 
 the kingdom of God) said to him one day " Pa, do you know, 
 Miss so and so was at a dancing party the other night, and she is 
 a member of such and such a church ; now if she may go to dance 
 parties, why oan*t I go. Pa P*^ What could that father say P What 
 could you say to that girl P Do you not see that the inconsistent 
 professor of religion is the greatest stumbling block in the way of 
 souls commg to Christ P Do you not see that such christians are 
 trying to serve the Lord with one hand, and the dovi! with tbe 
 
8 
 
 other? Oh, it is a burning shame that so many professors of 
 Christianity prefer their own carnal desires before the wil) of God; 
 that they will go to a dance party throuj^M a raging storm, •even 
 though It cost them a dollar for ctmveyunce, but will not go to u 
 
 erayer meeting even on a line evening; and that they will rather 
 e the damnation of a weak soul, than deny the lusts of the de^h, 
 
 A son was entreated by his mother to give up balls, because 
 they diverted his attention from the more serious things of life. 
 But he justified himself by the example of p ofessed christians'. 
 
 Ho especially referred to a Miss P who he said ** usetl to 
 
 make me very unhappy by her religious talk, but lately she has 
 become very agreeable and attends balls." The spirit of God 
 strove with him, but he silenced it by saying, " I AM 8AFE IF 
 SHE IS." One day he received an injury, which sent him un- 
 conscious and unprepared into ETEKNITY. Did dancing keep 
 him from Christ P Or does the U )od of his soul stain the gi . inents 
 of that professing christian P 1 tell you, ye dancing and card- 
 playing christians, eternity will make some awful revelations of 
 the results of your influence on the destinies of some souls. The 
 other evening several members of this church were invited to 
 attend the evening at a friend^s house. When the time had ar- 
 .ri\ *d when they all ought to have been in bed, (resting for the 
 duties of the next day) some one proposed that they make up a 
 set and have a dance. The two or three Baptis s declined to take 
 Any part; and as there was not enough to complete the quorum 
 without thom, the proposition to dance fell through. V/as any- 
 body a loser for the failure ? Would any tme have been any better 
 if it had been a (-uccess? And if th«»se professing Baptist christ- 
 ians had engagt-d in the dance, would they not have gone down 
 many per cent, in the esteem of their unconverted friends? As it 
 was could those worldly friends have done less than think them 
 very consistent? Ah, you all know that the inconsistencies of 
 your lives have robbed you of the spiritual power needed to testify 
 lor Christ in the midst of this crooked and ]jerverse generation. 
 How often have sonje of you, when 1 have ursed you to spi-ak to 
 some (me about their soul's salvatitm, said to me: " It is so hard 
 to speak to tliem about Christ." Alas, in most cases yuu stand in 
 tlie way of your own usefulness. 
 
 Christian girls are now asking me if I think they can go to 
 the •• Carnival." What is the ditference between tht carnival and 
 the public ball? One is on ice and the other on a wiixed floor; 
 but the costumes and skating with unknown partners, and the 
 temptation to take iniproper iiberties, and the ungodly characters 
 admitted, and the whirl and exuitenieut, and the exposure to the 
 almost if not quite midnight air, make the Ball and the Carnival 
 TWIN SISTEKS. W hat is the cliaracler <»f the y«)ung men who 
 go to the carnival ? Are they not in many cases liie unconverted 
 sons of well-to-do families, and others who thi-nk themse ves such P 
 Are they not in many cases, the frivolous card-playing, smokii g, 
 dvinking dudes, of what some people call "Yarmouth Society?" 
 Are they fit partners for christian girls? Where is the pure- 
 minded girl that would have the arm of such Sodomitish fellows 
 around her waist, and his nasty tobaccoed breath pufiing in her 
 face? Ladies in this town have gone to carnivals in ilie past, 
 have taken the arm of masked partners, and have gone the round 
 of pleasure; but when the hour to unmask has arrived, and the 
 lady has seen the face of her partner, in some cases what a sense 
 of disgust and mortification has filled her soul P Virtuous ladies 
 have skated at carnivals with fellows, froiu whom they would turn 
 their heads on the street, as being utterly ott'eusive to their moral 
 
 % 
 
aeoM. And yet knawinff this, even obristian girls want to go. 
 With indisoriminate deounciatinas of amuseiuents I have no 
 
 syatpathy. Both the body and the luind raquireBE^CREATlON ; 
 but the great truubJe is, tliat so many people call some things 
 reureation, that are in real i^ DISSIPATION. Aniuseuients of 
 a right quantity and quality are essential to both sexes; but too 
 niuon of even a good thing, may become an evil; and a very 
 iitUe of a wrong quality, like poison, may become a very great 
 evil. Nothing at first sight seems more tutrmless, or better 
 ealculated to exeraise the Inidy than one ortwo hours skating. 
 But how ranuy will content themselves with ENOUGH of this 
 amusement ? In many cases they will go day atler dAy, and night 
 
 'atler night, letting every thing eli« that pertains to their in- 
 telleetuatand moral culture go unattended, till their abuse of an 
 «fchvrwibe healthy amusement uses up all their vital forces, and 
 then follows a physical collapse, involving a^ heavy doctor^s bill. 
 
 The New York Triburte gives the testimony of a physician in a 
 large country town, that the excessive exercise, long hours, and 
 exposure to cold drafts in rip ks, have greatly incn^sed debility 
 among girls and young wotuen, and have laid tlie foundation uf 
 serious disecises, that have taken most of the buoyancy and 
 pleasure of living, out of their afler days, and some have reached 
 an early grave. The New York Sun has a long interview with 
 oneof the chief promoters of rinks, in which an account is given 
 of the indelicacy indulged in by certain young men, und«T the 
 cover of teaching uninitiated young girls how to skate. A young 
 lady in this town wanted to go to the Kink. Said her father 
 <* \Vell, I will buy you a pair of skates and a season liekut on «>u« 
 condition, that i:^, that y(»u go every day yuu want to go, but only 
 between the hours of two and four in the aficaoou " Did slie 
 accept? No. Why ? Because she wanted to go in the evening, 
 when the crowd is there. And that fatlier was determined tliat 
 his pui<e and lovely daughter should not be ex|M>sed to the 
 temptations, and glitter and glare, which are generally found in 
 *'ink)i, when a mixed crowd of men and women are skating there 
 in the evening. In days to come that girl will have to thank 
 God for such a father, when she looks upon some of the bioodless 
 and detormed women hobbling thrtmgli lift*, whose parents al- 
 lowed them, wlien girls, to go where they liked and with whom 
 they wouid- 
 
 I suppose when that opera house goes up. Satan will use it as 
 a means for ensnaring tliu young into the way of folly. When- 
 ever a theatrical company stops here to give a play, young pe«>ple 
 ask " is it «; rong to ^o to Kyerson's hall to-night ?^' And those who 
 ask tills question are not of the dissipated and dissolute class, 
 (they will go without asking) but clean young men and maidens, 
 too pure to be corrupted by a needless exposure to the dcnnoriiliz- 
 ing influences of the stage. That such a question should be asked, 
 whenever a troupe of actors and acti-esses pass through Yarmouth 
 is not surprising, for the plct4>rial advertisements wltli which our 
 municipal. authorities allow tliem to paste up In promlcent places, 
 are of such an exciting character (sometimes they are even in- 
 ■deceut) aa to .awaken in certain uninitiated minds a desire to sea 
 the real characters. Before any here (who arc novices in the 
 world^) ooofemeDee to. patronize the stage, take a few wonls of 
 ««tracnlngiQrti4ia an old theatre fceqnenter. In the days of my sin- 
 'fiil estatei I TJaited jwarly every tlieatre in London. !The first few 
 titties I> babeld and heain iaipuce things before the fbotij^hts.J 
 was shoekud ; but after a< few visits alLaense of shame left iiie, and 
 )I> WAS) hungry^ for any tking ia the form of moral, oarrion that tbe 
 
 ■r 
 
 .i»l 
 
10 
 
 tflfLge coald serre up. To-day I would willragly bave ray ri^t 
 hand cut off, it' I covild erase from my mind and memory, some ot 
 the impure things I heard and saw in my teens. But tliey can- 
 not be rubbed out, ior they were imprinted with the deep black 
 ink of hell, when the brain was young and. fresh and vasily im<^ 
 premised. 
 
 1 am not now speaking to professing ehriAtians of the incon'- 
 Bisteney of patronizing the theatre, because I hope there ai-e non'e; ^. 
 
 at least none who are members of this church, who would com* '' 
 
 mit such a violation of their covenant with the Saviour as to en- 
 courage the impudent atid impure person itication a of the stage. 
 But I am just now addressing those wlio. while you are not 
 members of any church, you are not v ed In the iniquitous* 
 machinations of the world, the flesh, and li. devil; and a word 
 of warning n)ay be helpful to you whenever the temptation may 
 again arise to go to a " theatrical perf«)rmance." 
 
 I am not so ignorant of certain plays, as to make the sweep- 
 ing rtMuark that every play is immoral; nor am I so disgusted 
 with theatrical perfbrn.er i as a whole, as to assert tliat they are 
 ah corrupt in motives and in mind; nor do I believe that every 
 one who has gone to a play has ojcessarily gone to tlie d<igs ; but 
 I ilo unhesitatingly asj^rt in tlie name of Kighteousness and in 
 the name of every converted actor and actress, that the whole 
 tone and tendency of the "' 'ge, that is taking the stao;eas a wliole, 
 is antagowisiic to individual heart purity, and derogatory to 
 national moral-. I know that some will say "We must except 
 B<»me plays as being elevating in tone, and educating in influence." 
 But surely you know that tl tse are so rare, especially in this day 
 of glare and glitter and glamour, that to put the moral play over 
 against these that are impregnhted with impure insinuations, is 
 }ike (in their comparative influences,) Vhe splash of a pail of 
 water beside the irresistible Niagara. 
 
 You know that the chief object of a stage manager is not to 
 furnish the mdividual patron with sights and sayings, which shall 
 leave an elevating moral tone in his mind; nor does he c:ire one 
 straw about the influence ot his stage on the home life of his 
 visitors; neither is he interested in the advance of national morals; 
 the one absorbing aim of his life as a stage manager, is to MAKJB 
 MONEY. 
 
 The successful stage manager of to-day, (I do not know what 
 elements were essential to a successful manager of plays in past 
 days, nor do I need to know, as I am not concerned with what 
 the stage was, but what it is to-day) the man who can get a full 
 bouse and consequently a full purse by manipulation, is not he 
 who strives to keep his exhibitions within Puritanic limitations, 
 for that class of drama would not "Draw." For I understood 
 that some Ilenry-Irving-sort-of-a-manager did once try the ex- 
 
 f»erimeut of running a theatre in Boston, " that excliKled every 
 ndelicacy from the stage, and every improper pei'son from the 
 audience." But how much money did this ambitious reformer of 
 the stage make out of his well meant effort? He failed, and his 
 *' hign class theatre went into Bankruptcy." Why ? Because the 
 class of people who generally patronize theatres do not And such 
 " intellectual plays" congenial to their taste. 
 
 The successful stage manager of to-day, is he who can present 
 to the " public " a play that will have a little immorality in it; a 
 love story that will end in a divorce; a pantomine that will insure 
 the exhibition of a number of semi-nude girls; or a blood and fire 
 tragedy that will eiul in a murder or a suicide. These are tl>e 
 plays that *' TAKE " to-day. And it is just here where the church 
 
11 
 
 ^ 
 
 of Christ and the theatre cross swords. The MissioD of the 
 Church is ta win man away from his carnal nature to a pure and 
 holy Christ. The mission of the theatre is to dovelope man's 
 carnal nature by familiarizing his eyes and ears with obscenities 
 and vulgarities. And though of course no man on the stage 
 would avow, or even acknowledge that this is the specific mission 
 of the theatre, yet this is the RESULT of its work. And when 
 professing christians uphold the theatre by paying their money to 
 keep it open, and can sit in the audience and enjoy the piay, I 
 believe they have reached a low state of spiritual life, when it be- 
 comes very questionable if they are christians at all ; and ought to 
 be subjected to the wholesome discipline of the church, and if they 
 persist in upholding this, one of Christ's fiercest enemies, that 
 member ought to bo excludtnl from the fellowship of the Lord's 
 people. Every converted Actor invariably gives up his pro- 
 fession; and what is not fit for him as a christian to perform, is 
 certainly not fit for any body else to witness, whether he be a 
 christian or not, either old or young. 
 
 Some people say ** how is one to use the time when invited 
 out to spend an evening, if we ought not to play cards and d.ance, 
 &c. ?" An EVENING? Did you mean what you said? an 
 eveninw? Why don't yon say what you mean? Do you call it 
 ** An Evening" when you sit and talk till eleven o'clock, and then 
 pass round refreshment^. Then at eleven thirty you commence 
 dancing, and at three ii^the morning you begin to think of going 
 home P You arrive hinie, and after getting around the fire to 
 recover from the chilling t-ffects of exposure to the midnight air, 
 you settle your head on the pillow at f«»nr o'clock A. M. And 
 that is what you call an evening, " AN EVENING," eh? Well 
 I must confess that I would be puzzled to know how to till in 
 from eight P. M. to three A. M. in any man's home, and be en- 
 tertaining, to say nothing of the task of rubbing my eyes con- 
 tinually to pretend I were not sleepy. My evening closes at TEN 
 o'clock or thereabouts in any man's house; and I maintain that 
 that is late enough for any one to be outside their own door and 
 especially any young people. Jf you make your "EVENING" 
 with your friend dose at the respectable hour of ten o'clock, I am 
 quite sure that you can si^etid the time very pleasantly and pro- 
 ntably, without calling into service any of the amusements that 
 belong to a God-hating world; and moreover you will be surprised 
 to find how much smaller your family Doctor's bills will be, and 
 so-called consumption (often originated in mid-night air) will not 
 make so many gaps in the family. 
 
 There is one more thing that I desire to speak of. and then I 
 shall close this long sermon. I am very much shocked to know, 
 that there are some well-to-do people who keep wines and spirits 
 in their cellar; and who actually bring the accursed stuff on the 
 table when they have " Company." O what cruel temptation to 
 put before the young and unstable. It is a standing disgrace 
 (especially in this Scott Act town of Yarmouth) for any pro- 
 fessor of Christianity to keep a stock of the "Fire-water" for his 
 own indulgence, but to cross the path of a young man or v,-omuT» 
 with the vile thing, is a deed that ought to be as punishable as the 
 sale of it to minors by saloonists. I believe that if I had a son or 
 a daughter who went to a man's house, and he put intoxicating 
 beverages before one of them, I would have him arrested fordoin 
 what the most common saloonist is not permitted to do; or if 
 could not do that, 1 would be ttnupted to take the law into my 
 own hands. And th(!n some of you are not satisfied with an 
 occasiimal " Party," but you are Incessantly repeating the same 
 
^ 
 
 thiii{|;„Rs if life werej||;iven<«^ly to.biB wtsted in pleaspre. I am 
 quitesuro that tuaayoiMnot afford 8o miiny "Parties/* witliout 
 b^lectiag their dutierih other directioqs; and eternity will aioim 
 taveal how mtiny men vwere sent into Banicruptcythropgh ex- 
 oessive indulgence in this *',PAETY" business, or rather tbllv. 
 When I s«e a man give five or ten dollars as a whole yeat'*s sub- 
 «0riptlon to God's work and worship, and that same mtio spend 
 twenty and fifty dollars on a "paily", I pity his mean spirit to- 
 wards God, aad oaonot qommend his generosity towards his 
 well-to-do neighbour. 
 
 Christian men and women, I n the name of the Lord who 
 boiight jou and redeemed you from thedominion of sin, and who 
 bath bestowed on you the. birthright to eternal blessedness, I ap- 
 peal to you that you will come out from those who love the 
 world, that you will decline all invitations to those houses where 
 you know that these demoralizing amusements are indulged in, 
 and that you will abolish them from your own ho*nes. If the 
 whole of the 'hristians of this town will henceforth discounte- 
 nance ace cards, dancing, theatrical performances, and carnivals, 
 these things will soon be numbered with the past follies of so- 
 ealled Yarmouth society; aa4 if they are not abolished from 
 society, our Lots will come out from Sodom, and deliver their 
 souls from the, awful responsibility that must otherwise rest on 
 them. 
 
 Christians, once more I ask 3'ou. will you not. for the sake of 
 our young people, whose fut^ure characteik and destinies ara gbap- 
 ing now, for the sake of older ones wh > are weak and easily 
 tempted ; will you not fyr the jake of the honour of the church of 
 Christ; ABOvK ALL will you not i'or the sake of your DEAH 
 SAVIOUR (Whose heart you are wounding white you are walk- 
 ing with the world), will you not for HIS SAKE. TURN THE 
 WOULD OUT OF YOUR HEART, ABOUSH ACE CARDS AND 
 I>ANCIN(i FROM YOUH HOMES, AND KEEP OUT OF THE 
 THEATRE AND THE CARNIVAL? 
 
 And you, dear girls, who are not christians and members of 
 christian churches, I beseech you to reniember that nothing but 
 the GRACE OF GOD can save you fmm the bewitchery of a vile 
 lustful man, whose addresses Vou allow to be offered *o your 
 chaste soul. I most earnestly plead with you that you wiii believe 
 me, when, I say that you had better live and 'lie in your virgin 
 estate, than yield to the sorcery of a man whose chief delight is in 
 liquor, tobacco, cards, dancing, theatres and carnivals ; or you 
 may find to y >ar eternal sorrow that you are iiuraing a viper in 
 your bosom. 
 
 And you, young men, I entreat you listen to me as to a 
 brother. This houI of mine has been scorched, and still is scarred 
 by the abominations I have been denouncing. I do most earnest- 
 ly warn you to keep clear of those six curses that constitute the 
 Moloch of the 19th century, for you cannot pass through his fires 
 without your soul being singed, and perhaps your character 
 burned right up. I here and now, after eighteen years' familiar 
 knowledge of the world, and fourteen years'^ experience of the joys 
 »( the christian life, heartily recommend the Holy Son of (>od to 
 jou a^ tha only safe guide that you can have through the Mfu that 
 «ow is, MOto that whitjh js io come. YOUNG MEN, YIELD 
 tOURSELYBS TO VHtoT A&SAVIOUR, TEACHER, KING; 
 THFJJ BUILD UP A CHRJ»TUN CHARACTJiB, AND BUUUD 
 FORETEANIXY. AMEN/AND AMEN.