The Hawaiian gazette., 1885-12-08
Tho Tale Bearer.

In many communities, lesser and greater,
there may still be found the tale bearer, who,
az in Solomon's days, separates chief friends;
frequently a woman, not infrequently man.
And the pestilence that walks in darkness is
not SO mischievous or so hateful. Well one
| remembers as a child, the lowered voice, not
without a nasal information, the unmistakable
busybody air, the unforgotten formula, Now
you must not mention it for your life; but she
said that you were a vulgar ugly thing"
Many indeed. are the things so said which re
cur TO the unwilling memory. But there arc
matters which it is degrading to recall, even
to gibbet them. l wish heartily could forget
great deal that comes back TO me as | write
this line. John Stuart Mill said that one
marked difference between the educated and
uneducated class is that the latter will readily
tell a falsehOOd; the former will not. II is sad
that ones experience appears sometimes to
| testify that the deplOrabe tendency has its
place in some individuals of either class.
Let a rule be here laid down which ought
never under, any circumstances, be departed
from.
Never listen to one who proposes 10 tell pou
something friend has said to your prejudice.
you pledging yourself never TO speak to your
friend on the matter. Here you have met the
basest and most cowardly OF all backbiters and
mischief makers, likewise the vulgarest. Your
course here is plain. Say 10 the cowardly
talebearer: 81 warn you that if You say one
word l shall 20 straight and tell my friend that
you told me this story and ask if it is true"
DR.. Chalmers mother always met any bit Of
spiteful tattle with words to this effect. 1t
was pleasing TO see how the mschief-maker
hastened to back out of the story. And the
mischief maker did not come back to Mrs.
Chalmers a second time, unless greater fool
| than common.
A little organization has gone on smoothly
for years its members trusting one another
and working tremendously together, but in an
evil honr the mischief maker is admitted to
that small society; soon there is suspicion and
drawing off; possibly the whole thing blows
up; each has been secretly poisoned. No doubt
each sought to have cut the mischief maker
short, but not all had wisdom and frmness to
do so.
You remember, | doubt not, how the mis-
chief-maker once offered, from a sense of
duty" TO relate 10 you circumstances which
tended 10 make you doubt your best friend
| He wished to caution you" You cut him
short, finally But what if that whisper had
got hold of you? OF course, you would nave
asked your friend about it, and things would
have been cleared up. But some folk dread IA
scene and avoid it, and such leave painful
impression. The repetition Of them ends in
alienation
One has known human beings much per
picked to know why, after being made great
deal too much off in certain places, they were
suddenly dropped. A modest man would say:
Because l made bad impressions; disap-
pointed people, Years after, it came out that
it all came of the skillful misrepresentation
and innusndoes of clever and Tin the maiu)
good man. But he could not bear to see your
promotion. The frantic tenacity with which
some men keep hold of some trumpery privi-
lege is even exceeded by their frantic terror
lest any neighbor should get hold OK it too.
When falsehoods are systematically told by
man (not designed to keep a neighbor back
or DOWN his purpose generally is t, make
himself of consequence. Heis influential, hold
ing strings in his hand, playing off one against
another Privately tell A that b abused him
If they be vulgar souls they will listen 10 you
And no doubt you are a sneaking tale bearer;
yet you have certain inhunce which possibly
you could get in no other way.
When falsehoods are Systematically told by
a woman, if old, she is spiteful. She wants tC
give pain and make mischief. If middle-aged
things are not go bad. Her main desire is Il
be talking about herself She is always tht
heroine of her own fibs; and she would talk OIL
herself forever. She would rather tell evil o
herself than tell nothing. -LoRgDtda's Mega
| zine.