The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1864-08-27
sArUROAr. AUGUST q. lse..
DRrRACTION

DHNhANIIONs
THAcKERAY has said, In his usual pleasant
way, that shack biting Is all fair In Society"
u The laws Of that august impersouality, like
bh0se which arc administered in our Courts,
hre founded upon immemorial custom, he Is
right The number Of those who have erected
WnspieiOn into Christian grace, and practise
psander as Christian duty" differs little from
ne figures Of the census. The character Of
an absent person is not often discussed With
out ralsins Of the eyebrows or shrug o.
The shoulders doing what Il can to depre.
elate his worth. We're Il not for the weather
and scandal, society would with difficulty
exist. So lolg IS IL Is so, letus practise our
slAms.
As the great social philosopher above quoted
BAYS :-SAbuse me, and will abuse you but
: let MS Be Efiends when we meet. Have we
y not al entered q dozen rooms, and been
sure, ffom the couutenances of the smiable
persons present, that they had been dis
Scussing our little pecularites, perhaps as
We were on the stairs Was our visit, there
ovo the lees agreeablef Did we quarrel.
and say bard words TO one another's faces
= No, we walt until some Of our dear friends
aAke their leave, and then comes our turn.
Ny back s st my neighbor's service; as
soon a. that Is turned, let him make what
hces be thinks proper; but when we meet
we grin and shake hands like well-bred folk
Sto whom clean linen is not more necessary
than clean, sweet-lOoking countenance,
and nicely got up smile for company"
Hewho has fairly learned the wisdom herein
laid down, VIII contemplate with equanimity
tao amusement others enjoy at his expense,
sad the consciousness that his weak points and
shortcomings are being cut up by hIs friends
viii give no more uneaslness than to sec the
heAd OF the table carve the prandial roast. So |
4 @r as those whose regulations furnish the en- |
tertainments are concerned, it matters little |
."lago' talks some nonsense about his purse
being trash, and his good name priceless, but |
he did not believe II, and why should we? To |
oe sure, most OF US have known women who
swiithe In agony when pierced with the arrow
which Heavens last, best gift" knows 80
wed how TO shoot; but, of itself, that fact
would not be enough to render the amuse-
entimprt pcr. Do we not impale one ere lture
70 catch another, that the tortures of the two
may afford us sport? Clearly, then, that
weak and sensitive females weep bitter tears
because Of benevolent gossip proves nothing
against tattling. And yet, the practice is
hardly worthy Of encouragement, and we
even SO as far as 70 hold that no vice Is quite
- bad as it-whether we regard it In itself, or ,
rs consequences. Leaving the victims out
" the question, Let us pity, with ineffable COM
passion, the victors.
Nothing 10 this world OF misfortune Is 80
'ad as The unhappy one who can find no better
Tay Of passing the time than picking flaws in !
he reputation Of others. The primeval igno-
'ance that b necessary TO render it congenlal \
something TO weep over, and the meanness
hat can delight in It Is not pleasing trait. q
As the Devil takes his name from his fondness
o< slander aud detracton, those who share |
No tastes, by way Of set-off, subsist on his
alotted food, for, like him, they "eat dust all
ne days OF their llfe.r They are always un-
,sppy II they can detect nothing with which
% and fault, and OF course, when they sue
ceed. they ought not, as good moral people,
rejoice; but 10 borrow an illustration, those
who know what woodpeckers live on viii not
give them credit Tor lamenting much over the
ioss 70 timber, when they come across a worm
hole
We are easily shocked by the sight OF bodily
dAiOrmity-tlioee Of US, that Is, who have not
Nae accomplishment of enjoying the Museum
Of Medical College-but if the mind which |
successfully fosters envy, malice, and all un.
charitabieness could BE- made visible, Il would |
probably give us a sensation. How plnched |
and shrun)ken must many one be that has |
bad nothing to relieve It's inanition, but the |
trash that is exchanged at tea parties! How
Easted and dlshgured must those b. thst make |
csfumny their only oceupatiOni
The late HENRY HKRRRRF driven 70 I
despair by the afiectionste meddllug Of busy
bodies, Is one Of a class; let them blow their
brains out II they choose. without in,ruding |
Oa our wonder or pity; for though their mar
tyrdOm will then afford topic till their itsil-
Ties are thoroughly csnvassed, there t. nothing |
N che fate of such TO despise aud scorn. But |
IoT those who we're malicious enough to i,l-
liig and ipiure Cor the gossip-mmgcrs, whose
prcTieRt curiosity anasses every scrap Of /
< andal, and the Jealous wretch thai abuses
hose he envies; and the illiberal bigo'-, who
nisrepresent those who Jiftr lfom them, and
mpeaeh their motives; and the Un-crUuulous
,aFtisans, in Church and state, that seek to
leleat their opponents by false accusations,
ct us mourn the more because our sorrow Is
without hope"
ADVERTIsING.