The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-04-07
GOSSTppING.


GOSSIPPING.
There Is no more exquisite enjoyment to
minds constituted in certain way than that
of gossip As refined epicureans prefer q
slight faint in meat. to perfectly fresh and
,ound article, so does the palate Of the Cos
sin crave only diseased and decayed matter.
It is generally supposed that the taste for
scandal is peculiar to the female sex, and it
il the universal opinion, that half dozen
old ladies, over q dish of smoking hyson,
will rob, assassinate, dissect, bury and damn
more good names than any human power of
resurrection can again restore. When the
body of man is consigned to the grave, the
spectacle Is one which, but that it is so COM
mon. would ell every mind with horror But
there is consolation even in that dismal
scene, in the faith of future restoration OF
the fallen fabric OF humanity. Amid the
cold, sepulchral darkness, Hope throws
some feeble rays of light, not enough to dis
Del the gloom, but sufficient to relieve it, and
to give promise of better day. But when
the reputation of man or woman falls into
the hands of gossips and is deliberately but
chered, there is no hope for it. An evil re-
port may be set in motion by the feeblest or
the vilest human tongue, and it viii gather
strength as it proceeds, until it undermines
and destroys the fairest fabric of human cha.
racter. The beautiful structure of a good
name, reared by the labors and selfdenial
of ND hoA <nn
strong for all the trying blasts of adversely
and temptation. may in moment be doomed
to destruction by the incendiary torch of any
miserable imp, whose envy and malice may
suggest to him so atrocious mode Of graft
fcation.
1t is scarcely fair to impute the appetite
for scandal and the practice of it exclusively
to the female seq. Those gossipping old Ia
dies, who are scalding tea and reputation,
are not the only people who like to feed on
moral garbage. Human nature is essentially
the same in man and woman, and those who
are themselves prone to any particular vice
or frailty will always be the first to suspect
and accuse others. In truth, we are aware
of no better standard of character than this.
When you see man or woman who never
speaks Ill of others, who never circulates de-
famation even by a look or gesture, you see
very elevated and noble nature, one in
which you may place implicit confidence in
any matter of business or friendship, or in
any relation of life. But beware of the re-
taller of scandal! He who is now whisper
ing, and significantly smiling, and rolling a
putrid piece of SANDER like sweet morsel
under his mouth, is the very man of all
others who is especially and particularly
given to that very vice, or failing which he
is imputing to others. He suspects them be-
cause he judges others by himself, and the
pleasure he takes in their real or alleged of
fences arises from the consciousness of his
own infrmity, which is soothed and allevi-
ated by the thought that other men are as
corrupt as he is. Those savages, who prac-
tice cannibalism, occupy considerably
higher place in the scale of humanity than
the gossips and scandal mongers Of civilized
society. The cannibals are willing to fight
for their prey, and moreover, they have been
accustomed to that sort of diet A fine, fat
tender man or woman, is temptation toe
luscious for them to resist. So they knock
their victim in the head, put him out of his
misery at once, cook him nicely, eat him anG
grow fat upon him. But your devourers o
character perform their atrocities with none
Of the courage or openness of the savage
They 90 about in the dark. When they stab
they stab in the back. They cannot look
their victim in the eye and perform their
work openly. They 60 about in the dark
and. amid the wheat of a good NAME amid a
field bright with the promise of glorious
harvest, they silently sow tares of ISLANDERS
which will never be removed till the last day.
Almost all other crimes admit of some pal
liation. Murder may be committed in the
heat of passion, robbery from want, other Of
fences under the pressure of some mighty
temptation which proves too strong and sud-
den for the power of resistance. Defective
education and constitutional organization
will account for many of the crimes and sins
OF humanity. The drunkard, who has de-
graded himself from man to brute. who
wallows in the gutter with the swine, who
brings want and shame upon his innocent
family, may be the helpless victim of an ape.
lite born in him, and which he has no power
to resist But the dealer in scandal has no
plea of anger, passion, temptation, or organi
cation to offer. His nature is purely, coolly,
maiiciously and deliberately Satanic. Wher-
ever he sees an Eden he seeks to blight and
destroy it, not that he can gain any thing by
1t, but because he cannot endure that others
should be happier than himself.
THE RENCONTRE AT CHARLOTTES
WILLIE.
The letter of our correspondent,-which
should have appeared yesterday,-giyes
some account of the examination of young
FfouRSoY. The Jcfersonian of Yesterday