The Sumter banner. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1846-1855, 1852-02-24
INSTANTANEOUS,
From Ancient tFla.l City.

from an old number Of the "Boston
Starr touching the odious habit of
of shack biting" I've do this, be-
cause We fully coincide with our
friend, iii the opinion, that if they are
considered i'll a calm and candid
spirit, they may be read with prciit,
in almost any community-most Of
the i'll blood that is experienced
among neighbours, springs from the
vale OF Gossip and s;andcring in Sc
cret.
{ t,, From the Boston Daily Star.
BACK BITING. -MIND YOUR OWN
BUSINESS - The idea of vcnomus
serpents in the wild aud untrodden
haunts of the forest, is familiar to all
- and it carries species of shrink.
ing alarm at ever ycnturiny where
such reptiles abound. But there
are snakes in the social circle
rs ycnomous, as deadly, and as full
of 'cnmity to man, as the revolving
thing upon which the early curse Of
Ged descended; but who cause nouc
Of that unwholesome terror and
wakeful caution, which the physical
danger will arouse. And yet their
fangs are more to be dreaded, their
poison is more subtle and fatal, and
their slime more offensively, than Of
Willy animals that make their coil in
solitary places. The g back blter,"
the whispering slanderer, strikes not
his victim by a visible blow but he
kills your good name, inaicts the IA
tai sting upon your character, in Sc.
crct, by stealth the more fatal that
it is hid from open view. Such is
the secret slandercr, the snake who
whispers, who revels in the agonies
of his victims, tortured by wounds
from an unknown source. Such
creatures are infinitely more to be
dreaded, than the crawling serpent of
the woods.
There is another class Of back
biters not less vcnomous, but whose
path is traced by the misery of those
whom their Cabling tongues have
made wretched. These are your
family gossips; creatures of invctc-
rate suspicion, and zeal for insinua-
ting, and limiting, and drawing
strained conclusions 50 determined, :,
that time only adds to its virulence.
They have a bulldog tcnacity Of bate;
and when they once get unon the
trail, they never cease until the poor
victim is sacrificed; and then comes
the current of hypocritical sympa.
thies, and regrets that Miss
should have behaved so'--or " that
Mr.. shouid turn out such bad
man" This class of i" back biters"
swarm in every circle. They sit at
your tables, mingle in the family, and
have the ear Of all whose wondering
credulity finds ready vent in their
hasty tongues. They are of keen
scent, and snuff up the contamination
Of thousand individual errors, that
meyer we're committed, except in their
own minds. They are permitted to
go unchecked, and thus are the limo.
cent and unsuspecting ruined, friends
entangled, affectionate hearts severed
and families made the scene of anger
and diScord. Such is your uossininr
/" back biter."
There is another class of "back
biters" who take their course for the
newspapers there are editors
Of the same stamp. They generally
"pg together" This class must
meddlc with the business of every
prominent man or association--must
blacken reputation or detamc
good work, not because it is any of
their business, or that they are under
any obligation to do this but it is
the work of natural proclivity to
modelling and back biting" From
these classes Of +" back bitcrs,' come
hall the uimcultlcS OF society, ana 1t
would be well if the world would set
about hunting them back to their pro
per insigniticance. Let all men, and
women, be content to mind their own
business and be less anxious to regu.
late the concerns of others. Each
one will then have plenty to do,
and viii have no time to attend to
their neighbors. Above all, beware
Of the g back biter." When he
whispers his lying insinuations in
your ear, turn from him in disgust:
and while you are careful to guard
yourself from him, take care that
you' do not +" back bite" also, that
You do mind your ovm business, ex-
clusiyely.
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