The Woodstock age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1844-1845, 1844-05-23
SCANDAL AND SCANDALMON-
GERS.


GERS.
Sir Walter Raleigh has it, "If the D
vines do rightly infer from the sixth Con
mandment, INou shat not kN-scandali2
ing ones neighbor with false and moiciou
reports, whereby his spirit is vexed, an
his health consequently impaired, is Ill
gree of murder" We fully accord in th
sage opinion expressed by The discovere
of the beauties to be found in The enter
prising and growing State of North Caro-
lima. Sir Walter speaks of d,grcc Now
in running our eye over the Crimina
Statutes of New YORK, we find It nowhere
set down that to utter "ScandaW (be i
never so malicious) is regarded by the po
tent law as coming within its jurisdiction
or purvlew'
We have, to he sure, whole pages of law
and commentaries too, upon the subject o
SANDER, verbal and printed. but we cal
no where find that our sagacious compi
lers and Legislators have taken the trouble
to say one word about scandal, as much
more subimalcd in its crminailies, as in
general it is more lamentable in its effects.
Your SANDER is an opea, intentional, direct
and effect shaft, and for the matter Of ef-
fect we may properly include scandal But
in the main, there is sort of despic able
crawling, insinuaiing underhand way with
those who use themselves to scandalize
their frail fellow mortals, which ought to
meet with the absolute contempt of every
well bred person. Nor are words necessa.
ry for your scandaImonger. Oh no.! How
pregnant of meaning is look, shrug of
the shoulders, or lifting up of the hands!
Were we disposed to do deadiy injury, to
the reputation of any man, woman, or ju-
venile we should have no occasion to omen
the mouth, or TO say one word that by any
possible distortion might be construed into
scandal or SANDER BY way of iIluslra-
ton
you are acquainted with Miss Popjoy,
the young lady whose father possessed him.
self Of some seventy Thousand dollars in
the grocery liner
$40 be sure am-why do yon askl'
"But for satisfaction of my thought
that's aN" and then you shall be favored
with very significant look, and pregnan,
gesture, the effect being to leave on your
mind fixed impression that the aforesaid
Miss Popjoy actually had been doing
sOmethiRg-somewhercw
Probably your first inquiry (icelng some
little interest il the daughter of the elder
Popjoy who made money in the small gro.
Gerry Way might be-
"What the deuse has Miss P----been
aboulr
"Abont' Why, about nothing out of
the usual order of things, so Ear as am in.
formed. But ,chy do you ask"
ooh, why do ask! | am sure I can,
say. l only had hint this morning.
THAT'S ALL"
And so the portentous "TmAT's ALL,
shall 60 from one charitable scandaImonger
to another. and so forth again to another,
until finally, by repetition, most vile s,o.
ny is indnstriously circulated by all The Cos.
sips in sacks and pelicoats, to the very
manifest injury, hurt, dscredit, and annoy
ance of the vir,uons, amiablc, discreet and
intelligent Miss Popjoy aforesaid So much
as illustration.
Therefore would we have sandal incor.
pordted in the calender of crimnall,ies, and
we would no, onI y punish every violation
OF the law to the utmost, by fine or imp-is.
onment, as the wisdom the Iawgvcrs
should dictate, but we would also have tina,
unruly and ol,cn,imes unrigh,eous member
the tongue, placed under heavy bonds to
keep the peace toward all the world, and
especially towards the near and dear
friends or acquain,ances of its own.
From the days Of the Iigbi,es down to
fhe present time, refined scandal has been
the ridicue of comic authors, aversion of
sensible, high-toned people. Noiwiths,and-
ing which, the evil has unfortunately in.
increased in proportion to its Reproduction.
Every highway and byeway has its Mrs
Candor and Sir Benjamin Backbi,e in
almost every house. Honorable exceptions
do exist. We know of families where
scandalous syllable uttered against hu.
man being is never brealhed. "a com.
modify Of good Names" as Shakespeare !;
hath it, may not be met with in the COM +,
mon small talk of the town. 1t would not !;
be cause for record, however, in the Book ;,
Of Lamentations, iflhis folly were com Il
prised within the cold domain of pen,iIi,y
to which aifectation usually confines itself {.
For we do know Of those young and mid +,
llc.aged single ladies', who are so modest 8,
yithaI, that because potatoes have eyes, r
hey hardly dare to take an airing in the r
.arlen who are nevertheless endowed by q