The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-09-09
ISLANDER.
A Sermon Preached at Fort-street Church
on Sunday Evening. September Sd. by
Mr.. J. A CruZan.

n
that uttereth a SANDER, Is a fool"
.I9. In the multitude Of words there wantetl
not sin. but he that refraineth the lips, Is wise
The Devil was the first slanderer. He crawled
into the Garden of Eden, with a SANDER OIL
Gods character. With it he deceived a trusting
woman.
Fifteen hundred years later We find him at
the same work. when, talking with God about
job, he insinuatingly asks: Does Job fear
God for naught ?"
The Devil was the first slanderer; and I've
sometimes thought that every slanderer since
the days OF Eden were his lineal descendentsi
Whatever its origin, there is no question but
what
IT'S SANDER,
Whose edge is sharper than the sword whose
tongue
Outvenoms all the worms of Nile whose breath
Rides on the posting winds, and doth belle
All corners of the ~wOrld-kings, queens, and states,
Maids, matrons-nay, the secrets of the grave
This viprOus SANDER enters
SANDER is of different kinds.
L. We have the careless SANDER.
This might, perhaps, more properly be called
gossip.
Gossip is generally started withou: any evil
intent. Like Topsy, g 1t just grows" In fact,
there is no intent about 1t. Generally, 1t origin
ates thus A company got together. Instead
of talking about things. they talk about persons.
And now the total depravity of our poor human
nature crops out. Gossip, that worst Of poisons,
ever finds an easy entrance to ignoble minds.
- 49, I0 ~ NN@N
set, every little idiosynocrasy, and blunder, and
unpleasant trait of character, will be brought
prominently forward. differences, always derog-
atorv, drawn out. What Mrs. John Smiths
aunt suspected that she might have done in the
place where he formerly resided will be related,
and enlarged upon. Half-truths- which are
often more calumnious than whole falsehoods-
will be told. 1t is not even necessary that
words should be uttered. A curled lip, an
arched eyebrow, a shrugged shoulder, a signif-
cant look, nay, even an emphatic silence-tlese
all are pressed into the service of the set of
careless, unintentiOnal slanderers. They are
thickly interspersed with "Ohs!' "Do tells!'
"Possibles!" Can it be trues!" This kind of
gossip fOurishes most ut tea-parties and sewing
circles-it is said. But it is not confned to
these-Or to one sex. Young men, standing in
little groups, inanebly smoking cigarettes, are
guilty of it. The reputation of many a young
lady, who was . pure as the driven snow, has
been hopelessly ruined, Sy SOM male reptile,
Struggling his shoulders and smilingly remain
ing silent when he ought to have spoken out like
q man.
And all this may be done without any intent
to injure the poor victim of their carelessness.
But what is the result TIL next day one OF
that party mentions the theme of their conversa-
ton to some scandalmonger. The differences
and hints are also given. Then, as upon u
dozen telegraph wires, it flashes through the
community. 1t gathers volume as it goes.
60 The flying rumors gathered as they rolled;
Scarce any tale was sooner heard than told;
And all who told it added something new
And all who heard it made enlargement, too"
Soon the differences and hints are changed
into facts. The impalpable nothing which the
takers gave birth, has become a
giant, which seiZes the reputation of its poor
victim and brushes it.
Neither can you stop the consequence of your
carelessness. You may publicly prove that the
gossip has no foundation. You may sift every
atom, explain and annihilate it, and yet, years
after you had thought that all had been disposed
of forever, the mention of n name wakes up
associations in the mind of some one who
heard the calumny, but never heard the refuta-
ton.
And here L fear that we must all plead guilty.
we not all of us careless of our neighbours
reputations? Do we not all talk < of persons?
Why not talk of something else? "In the null
titude of our words there wanteth not sin" We
do not realize the sin of this careless talk.
Wrote Creech:
He that shall talk about his absent friends.
Or hears them scandalized, and not defends;
sports with their fame and speaks whate'er he can,
And only to be thought a witty man;
Tells tales and brings his friends in disesteem;
That mans a knave; be sure beware of him"
When any one was speaking i'll of another in the
presence of Frederic the Great, he would inter
him with, Well, has he not a bright slider
Come, tell me what have you noticed excellent
n him? 1t is easier to splash mud, but l would
ather help a man to keep his coat clean" How
many of us constantly seek to bring out the
FRIGHT side of our neighbours characters? But
ooking at the responsibility of gossip from
mother standpoint, it rests upon us all. We are
III more or less guilty. There would not be so
many open mouths if there were not so many
.ars. Gossip would starve and die if nobody
ook it in and gave it lodging. But Low hospi-
able we all are! We open wide our doors to the
lie thing and give it shelter. 1t was one of the
Fright sayings of an old philosopher that both
he teller and nearer of scandal ought to be
Hanged, the one by the tongue, the other by the
airs. The receiver of stolen goods is equally
,uilty with the thief. The accOmplice of the
is almost as detestable as the murderer
himself. The nearer of a Islander is as guilty as
he retailer. He is a receiver of contraband
Gods, an accoaplicr IL the murder of his neigh
oI' 5 reputation. Let him not try to throw all
he guilt upon the scandal-monger. With him
the guilt also.
IL nearly every community you will find a class
f poor unfortunates who crave scandal, and
hey always have a large stock on hand. They
re a peculiar people. Dickens, with a few
en- strokes, thus describes one g She was SLY
+ manner, sharp of tooth, soft of foot, watch
III of cyclone of those cat-like persons ready |
D pounce upon and tear your reputation into
hreds.' Analyze the character of one of these y
FEATURES. and you will find that he is a COM 6
of weakness and wickedness. He is {
cared less than holder criminals, and despised t
lore. II he were not so weak he would not act q
D wickedly. If he were not so wicked he would /
OF act SO weakly. His business in life is to /
tend to other peoples business. He is never 9
uiet unless he is diving into the concerns of all
bout him. He cannot relish his own dinner unless b
e knows what his n~eighbor had for di ner he v
snnot sleep quietly unless he knows just when i
is neighbor rises and goes to bed he must a
all about his %neighbor he must know g
no visits him, and when and how often, and A.,
no is visited by him what company he keeps;
hat revenues he has, and what he spends how
luch he owes, and how much is owed to him.
e is the terror of the town. He goes prying
bout making mental notes of every small mis- :
ap, every little awkward thing, every little J
ailty. He can scent 2 scandal as far off as a
ulture can a carcass, and will fly to it as
reedily, Their mission in life seems to be to
ar off the b~andages from the wounds of society,
nd gloat over their putridity. Loaded full
start upon their tour. From house to house
ley go, their tongues dropping scandal.
There are whose joy is, night and day,
To talk a character away;
Eager from house to house they haste
To blast the generous and the chaste, .
And hunting regulations down,
Proclaim their triumphs through the town"
Al A. ..-.. l. 81 Ill l.