Connecticut western news., 1882-11-29
A SERMON ON SCANDAL.

THE WHIsPERERs OF SOCIETY.
 Tale Bearers and Scandal HIongers scath-
 ingly Denounced by Dr. Talmage.
 Dr. Talmage took for the theme of his sermon on Sunday the subject of islander, choosing for his text one word from the twenty-ninth verse of the First Epistle to the Romans -"Whisperers.
 In calling the roll of the worlds vil- lainy, said Dr. Talmage, Paul puts in the midst those persons known in all com munities as whisperers. Whisperers are always frst-class liars. They are mascu- line and feminine, with a tendency to majority on the side of those who are called the lords of creation. These creatures are so small that they escape the fne-toothed comb of the law They are to be found everywhere, but their paradise is 8 country village of about one or two thousand people, where everybody knows everybody. The world to them is whispering gallery. One man or wo- man set on fire with this hellish spirit will keep whole neighborhood aboil. When two or three of these whisperers get together they stir caldron of trou- ble which makes me think of the three witches of Macbeth dancing around 8 boiling caldron in dark cave. Here the preacher recited the witches chorus, continuing :-Oh, what 8 caldron Would you like to have taste of it? I have more respect for poor waif of the street that floats down under the gaslght for she deceives no one-than for the hags of respectable society who cover their tiger claws with fine shawl and bolt the hell of their heart with 8 dia- mond breastpin.
 The work of masculine whisperer is chiefly seen in business endorsements. Crash goes everything An, if people would only mind their own business we would have the millennium next week Alas for these talebearers, these whisper CTS, these everlasting " snoops p I hate 'em with an ever-increasing vehemence l more intensity with which to hate them. I think among the worst of the whis- perers are those who gather up all the harsh things that have been said about you. After they have made your feel ings all raw they take this turpentine and rub it in with a coarse towel. Rather than defamation of good names 1t would be more honorable business to take a box of matches and razor and see how many houses you can burn and how many throats you can cut. The destruc- ton of a mans name is worse than the destruction of his life. But how much worse is it to damage woman's reputa- tion Some people say there is no hell but if there be no hell for such despoil- CT of womanly character it is high time that some philanthropist build one. What 8 time the whisperers will have when they all get together down there rehearsing things. Semi-heaven of scan- dal-mongers Stopping tlsir gabble about their diabolical neighbors only long enough to go up to the iron gate and ask some new conner from earth what is the last gossip in Brooklyn. Gaughter.)
 Now, how are we to ward against this iniquity which curses every community on earth? First, by refusal to listen o1 believe whisper. There is only one person worse than the whisperer, and that is the man or woman who listens without protest. An ancient writer de clares that the slanderer and the man \ who believes the islander ought both to be hanged, the one by the tongue and the other by the ear-and agree with him. Don't retail gossip Don't cackle
 But although whisperers may do little damage their islander becomes eulogy Go on and do your duty and God will take care of your reputation. Make right use of your tongue, It is loose al one end and can swing either way but 1t is fastened at the other end to the floor of the mouth and that makes VOL responsible for whichever way it ways The time will soon come when we will al whisper. The voice will be enfeebled il the last sickness. When that solemn hour comes to you and to me, as com, soon it will, may it be found that W, did our best to serve Christ and to chee our comrades in the earthly struggle, ant that we consecrated not only our han' but our tongue to God, so that the shade that fall around our dying pillow sha] not be the evening twilight of a gather ing night, but the morning twilight c an everlasting day!