Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Mass.) 1828-1830, 1828-11-11

of the slanderous, hypocritical reformer)
his head, we say, is the common recepta-
Gle of the moral filth of the world and
with all his good advice, he is as rank a
hypocrite as lives. Think of mans
cursing you with his sympathy, and lee
turing you for your faults, when he is not
even ballasted with love, but is overladen-
ed with vanity and spiritual pride. Such
one will let you know that he is inau-
enced by religion. His assertion is an
insult on religion-he lies; for if religion
influenced him, she would have awakened
conscience, and conscience would have
taken the beam out of his own eye, be-
fore he began searching the eyes Of others.
1t is very truth, religion never sent a
husbandman to work on another mans
vineyard when his own was overrun with
the briar, the thorn, and the bramble.
Few escape the meddler's bite we
have felt it, we have writhed under his
counsels and exhortations, and we too have
felt curse swell within our hearts and
sad TO say it has more than trembled on
our lips. But the meddler's disposition is
a sufficient curse without our adding our
maledictions. The crimes of the meddler
multiply themselves. He first mourns for
the sinful, and then prophecies their fur
Their fall and he watches with greedy eye
and halls with delight every new sin as the
proof Of his highly prophetick powers.
Have you never felt every feeling Jingle
within you, when you have heard some
demon of man, after telling of some
neighbours crime, ending WITH " did not
I tell you so for if man once falls never
trust him again." A thousand curses on
such prophecy and ten times as many
more on such advice. Turn from a man
who predicts the vices of another who,
without general character of love and
piety, blubbers sympathises and moralizes
over the faults of world. Turn from
him as you would from an assassin never
let your soul hold communion with him,
for an honest man should have nothing
to do with Satans vicegerent on earth the
great promoter ofsin. OF the slanderous
meddler, land all meddlers are slanderous)
it may be said,
FIis filth within being cast, lie would appear
pond as deep as hell.
We have drawn detestable character,
but though bad when held by man yet
when woman possesses it, heaven have
mercy on the social circle, for her tongue
is like the poison of asps, and is sharper
than any two edged sword.
To conclude, never degrade yourself
by being the receptacle Of the world
gossip; and never allow man more than
once without reason to whisper dis
graceful secret in your ear and if you
have strength, treat meddler's advice as
an insult, and kick the reptile out of your
doors or if it is a female meddler, never
admit her second time within your
dwelling: and when you pray to be de-
livered from famine and pestilence, pray
also to be delivered from scandal that you
be tempted not to sin and curse your
brother.
Never allow a meddler the credit of
leading you to correct any fault; if you
do you will plant worse thorn in your
side than ever st. Paul had /: and though
you should live to the age of Methusaleh,
your fault would be remembered against
you. And when you are dead as the
slanderer deals out his advice to your
children, he will repeat the story of their
fathers errors, and thus your sins shall be
visited on your children from generation
to generation. H. X.