The Arkansas advocate., 1834-06-20
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Fefhaps, Ii We were to iadge of the mag nitude of vices and crimes by the disastrous and deadly consequences which they pro- dlce-.by tie alienation Of feeling and mis- cry Of heart which they ereate-bv tho herce ennity which they nurse and feed between man and nan--there is no vice So dehasings and no crime so detestable, as ISLANDER. We do not purpose to speak only of the open and malignant lie of cal umny, the invented falschood and the fnnl libel. The relation of circumstances true n themselves, but viewed with tie ee!d, ca! eiilating, deliberating eye of serpent like hatred, and told with such an air and in such ] 2 manner as to appear more criminal than ,aey are--the taking one single act. and thence judging of and descanting upon a whole ehafac ter--the want of that common charity which ought to guide us n our con- munion with maukind-it Is all criminal, and sometimes in degree hardly less than the unblushing slanderous falsehood.
 I.etus commence will the fcnlast species Of all this serpent brood, and let IS ifi turn examine all. It is a reYoliing and painful scrutiny, for it leads us to look in upon the blackhess and darkness of lie human heart-but 1t IS doubtless a useful and a eal- utary enc. Ihe open and deliberate slaa- derer of reputation stands at the head oI the list. Such men are probably rare-inen who slander and ealumniate from the h. nate depraYity and the viper venom of tlieir hearts. Bgt when thev do cross OUT path, as VIC journey onward through the toilsomo and yet net unpleasant tracks of fife, they pass like dark clouds by us-we start as at the passage of a stealthy tiger-we gaze after him as a wonder and terror. He assassin who steals behind bis unready vic tin, iii the dark streets of many-eriraed Venice, and strikes the stiietto into lis baekeand steals away cautiously and win a cat-ii'le pace, is mol more criminal, rot more abandoned, not more snpremely de- testable il the eye of God and man, than the slandeHer of character and the biagier of reputation. ' he anonymous villain 8ho etaits, or the tame editorial slave who en- dofses, or suffers to go ior5h in lis columns baseless islander, written lie, are equal ly beneath any contempt except that most withoring of all, the constant, gnawing curse oi' seli.contempt. Still, base and degraded as such men nay be, there is but little daa- ger b be apprehended from them. The yellow venom of their slander nay once or twice be thrown among society-the poi soned arrow may once or twice be hurled one or two hearts may be brolsen-bat then tbc power of the demon IS at an end. Tho brand is soon and plainly and iFrevoca5ly stamped upon tlss wretch, and contempt, and avoidance, and detestation huat the pale villain into the abyss of shame and obliyi- on. But there Is | second class.
 The secret sneercr at virtue and fur fame-he who comments ia words, but in spirit and in fact, ruins, as far as he may, character and repniaiion-w who uttefs inu- endos and darl. hints-the malicious, black and venomous worm, that cfawls and crauls, and still bites, even to the death-the Iago whose heart IS none the less lothasome be- cause the foul scum and steam of' tic ean'- dron bubble not up openly il sigit-h he who pretends 10 sanctity, and hoils poison iii the palm of his hand when he greets yon-who speaks, even when uttering his sneers, in the language of Iago, the lines which all quote because of their vivid truth:
 {. Good name, in man, and woman, dear my lord,
 Ys the immediate jewel of their souls. 1 Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis sone-
 thing, nothing;
 ''Twas mine, it's his, and has been slave to
 thousands;
 But he that flches from me my good name, Robs me of that which not enriches hlm, And makes me poos indeed-o
 --this man is dangerous. The law can take no hold ot hiia. When misery and ruin follow his steps, he locks eoldly around him, and asks, hy, what evil have saids'' He hides his yillainy under bright nlask-he uses no dagger, bat the poison that works secretly and speedily. sse have seen the peace of family broken up, the wife and husband estranged, coldness and dstrast coiling li.e icy worms within hearts once devoted to each other and yet he or she who did this, have smiled and smiled as they held the cup of poison to the lips ol
 inc unsuspectine victims. How IS the mark
 of detcstation to be placed ol such s1ander- CTS as these, and when! Only after they
 have wrought their deadly work long and e.lectually.
 l. makes but little difference wilethei
 these men confne themselves to the truth
 or invent and carefully utter the secret ane , olarded calumny. In either case, the con seauence is the same, the motive Is the same. and the evil equally as great. onf
 distorts such facts as he or she does relate suppresses others, and invents, though Wlif
 ca,,fion and care, such additions as mas5
 t: ,.Eonant nsrnoses---the