Star of the Kanawha Valley. [volume] (Buffalo, Va. [W. Va.]) 1855-1856, 1855-03-21
For the ''star Of the Kanawha Valley"
THE SLANDERER.
Course the tongue

Suise the tongue
hence slanderous rumor like the adders dro,
pistils her venom, with errng friendships "a in
Turning loves favor" "'.. f.
or all beings made in the image
OF their Maker and who enjoy life
liberty and the pursuit of happiness
tnere Is none SO contemplate as the
sianderer; none who have as small
souls, and none whose daily occupa.
ton Is so low and degrading. The
slanderer, "foulest whelp of SIM is
something worse than a murderer
for he takethg from a man that which
Is better than lite-his character ;
None are exempt from the tattle OF
his polluted tongue-zhe does not dis
criminatc between Individuals The
man in high authority holding the
relns OF official stations and reguIa-
ting the affairs Of government, il not
exempt from his foul touch. X The
judge seated upon the bench Of Jus
tlce, administ ering the law, and the
officer executing it, are alike the tar
gets at which he levels his. missiles
OF destruction. The warrior, upon
the field Of battle, facing death at the
tcannon's mouth, to avcngc his coun-
trys wrong, and spilling bis hearts
best blood to pcrpetuate his country =
glory and renown, is. the object of
the .slanderers vituperation and
abuse. And the humble and honest
peasant, too, pursuing his daily avo-
cation, earning his bread by the
sweat Of his brow disturbing and
nolesting no one, il not spared, the
envenomed shafts Of malice and de-
traction hurled with proud scorn at
his unprctending merits, to .blacken
his fair and untarnishcd cscutcheon.
But last, though notlcast, the minis
ter in the pulpit. his lips touched with
'haIfowcd fire from an altar on high
preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
and the humble believer, supplicating
the pardon Of his sins, and the. ,ac<
nfhimsclf, are not free fr5S,n
the sIaMderer's vile, unmixed, unsift-
ed. unauthorized caltImny. =.
Oh! miserable slanderer! ARE none
so high or none so low, none so good
or none so mean, as to- escape thy
malice? Though weScale the cliffs
Of fame, and register our names high
cstnpon the scroll ofimmortality, lily
sweet voice is there to detract from
our merits, lndto cast n dark stain
upon our character. It we descend
to the lY% and grovcling position Of
abjcctscrvitudc, thou art there~scek
ingto increase our infamy and to
darken, il possible. our record. /.
We. would TAIN have persuaded
ourselves that the soiEupon which
we tread, and that the air which we
breathe, could not have given life to
and sustained a creature like thee!
Butwhat a mistaken notion, for where
there is the more intelligence refine
ment and character, there thou art
busiest in OBTAINING and blackening,
for be we as 'chaste as ice as pure
as snow, we cannot escape thy cal.
umny!
Oh! most loathsome and abomina-
bic slandcrcr! there is no death that
could be visited upon thee that would
be painful enough TO punish thee for
thy crime. The fortunes of the in
QUESTION are insufficient for it, and
burning at the sta ke is too easy q
death for one whose tongue is loaded
with foul, .blasPhemons curses, and
who seek to rtiict upon their fellow
men the infany Of their lying scan
daf. To an honest man, thou art the
most infamous OF all human beings
and thy loathsomc carcass. if left to
the vultures, would visit disease and
death upon them, that would spread,
like an tPidemiI, through the whole
feathcred tribe, until not a fowl of
the air was left to MARBLE the sad
story of their unutteI able woe. III
thy bones were thrown into the wa
tiers, every fish would instantly be
struck dead. Even the vcnolnous
reptiles that crawl upon the earth,
would die frOm the effects OF close
with them. ~.
The slanderfr--base. black.hcart.
ed, triple-tongued, janus.faccd, clo-
ven. footed slanderer!-"like the
loathsomc worm, leaves his path
marked with the filth Of malice, and
scum Of talsehood, and politics the
arrest flowers, the choicest fruits, the
most delicate plants, in the green
hose Of character. Living, he is a
traeling pest-house,-dying impen-
iteH, his soul is too deeply stained
for Icll, and should be driven to that
imaginary element less blank, be-
yondh he confines ofall worlds, shrou.
ded ii the darkness Of nonentity,
withoh a pain or pleasure to relieve
the AWFUL monotony Of that dreadful
vacuum 0, reader, never Islander
the mann Of another--sooner plunge
a daggerhrongh his or her heart. So
deep doesNhe slanderer sink in the
murky watrs Of degradation and in.
fanny, that,aS an angel apply an
Acknowledgement lever, with lIea-
ven for q fulcum, he could not, In
q thousand ye,rs, raise him to the