Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1869-05-20
ICosHurIcATEB.

CosAurIclTBB.
D1lBoLos. We do not propose to say
anything ner, but merely to bear witness
against what CARLYLE calls lone of the
most CRYING maadie, Of these days, md
to be testified against. and al,cays to the
uttermost withs.ood ;" for every observ
ing man will confess the lively. rampant
existence of this haiti Of ertl speahinq.-
| Not the foul slanderer's breath alone, but
the sly inuendo-the disparaging state
ment. with ins'nuatton therein-the cru
ell, hurtful Misrepresentation. every man
and woman might, with confidence, be
appealed to as knowing somewhat Of these.
1t is not the plague of frogs, but the
next one in which the small dust "os
man and Jeast' is turned to lice, and az
there IS no distinction made between Is
rael,tes and Egyptians IN sharing thus
s. Christians, alike mjh the "ngod}y are
to this day infected ruth this rermin-like
speech, which breeds Unfortunately. So,
if in the morning you should hawk up
something "back as hawk" you need
not be surprised at night, to hear that
you have hawked up 'rhree Mack crops,"
Thon we are writing about fact, not
tangible perhaps neither is the cholera
or yellow fever. yet terrible pests, never
theless. Nor is this vice without a per-
SOM fcation it finds its embodiment in
the Greek dta bolos, and the modern Cos
sip, in the midst of his companions, busy
in depicting and bl-ckening the character
of others, bears about the same resem-
blaze to his great prototype, as familiar
imp does to the Priscs Of Darkness.-
Not faculty of man or member of his
body, but is the willing servant of sin
but how widespread and all-pervading
| are the devastations of the tongue ? Says
ST. James, sit is an unruly evil, full of
! deadly poison, set on fire of hell" Not
unfrcquently do VIC find men, who have
seemingly perfected themselves in the art
of evil speaking-Shimirs, who will rail
at Gods own Amounted, as he did at Da-
vid A confusion Of tongues was the
curse sent on those impious old climbers
at the tower of Babel Would it be less
| of scourge In the nineteenth century
Yet, in our religion, politics and litera-
ture, how much babbling. We boast of
our freedom Of speech, alas. that we can
not DO as much for its purity. Is not
the press of this country notorious, above
all others, FOR it's scurrility and low abuse9
And are nc. these virtues % carried into
private life Are not the Quakers be-
coming the most nntiquated Of people
among US.
As there are seasons of the crop, III
which the drought and biting frost are
douJiy dreaded, so the fresh feelings and
impulses of early youth, shocked by some
low-born SANDER or vile report-the soul
as it were stuntcd in its after growth
poisonous suspicion, like some noxlous,
ineradicable weed OF grass, takes posses
sion of its soil thus interfering with that
generous confidence, which makes friend
ship sweet-or worse still-preparing it
for the seeds of restless, bitter misanthro-
Ply.
Il is not the engraved sentence that
pcrishcs, but the marble or brass upon
which they are stamped, wastes away
fer teords are in,PcrishoWr, and once
spoken they jeEong to eternity. as to the
judgment and tkeir cfects, Then say we,
in the language of The writer first mcn-
toned, 'Thou, who wearrst that cunning
Heaven-made organ, a tongue, think well
of this Speak not passionately en-
treat thee, till thy thought have silently
matured itse,f-till thou hast other than
mad and Matchmaking sounds to emit. =
Ever to that truth, which but the sem
blance of falsehood ~ears
"A man should bar his lips. which
though harmless, he shall not escape re-
proaeh."