The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1885-11-05
THE TALit-BE ARER.
THE COUNTRY PARSONS OBSGRVA-
TIONS ON FALSE STATEMENTS.
:. RuIo Laid Down Which Ought Never
To BE Departed from-Doings Of
the Mischief Maker-Frorn a
Sense OF Duty
l''A. x. II. B. in Longman's Magazine

I''i. x. II. b. in Longman's Magazine.l
In many communities lesser and greater,
tnera may still be found the tale bearer
who, As i'll Solomon's days, separates chief
friends; frequently a woman, not unfre-
quently a man. And the pestilence that
vail in darkness is not so mischievous or
so hateful. Well one remembers, child,
the covered voice, not without q nasal in
ton ion, the unmstakable busybody air,
the -5nfOrgotten formula, "Now you must
not -iention it for your life; but she said
tho you were a vulgar. ugly thing"
amy, indeed, are the things SO said which
reclr to the unwilling memory. But there
are matters which it is degrading to recall,
to gibbet them. l wish heartily l
a.ulI forget great deal which comes back
me as 1 write this line. John Stuart Mill
aid that one marked difference between the
oiucated and uneducated class is that the
atter will readily tell a falsohood; the for
ler will not 1t is sad that ones experience
ppaars sometimes to testify that the de-
,s.Ordble tendency has its place in some IN
= VIZ ual5 of either class.
AN INFLEXIBLE RULE.
lie. rule be here laid down which ought
never under any circumstances be departed
!rOm
Never listen to one who proposes to tell
ycu something friend has said to your
pre- jut.ice, you pledging yourself never to
peak to your friend on the matter. Here
so. have come across the basest and most
hardly of backbiters and mischief max
err lkew the vulgarest Your course
here is plain Say to the cowardly tale
bearer: IL warn you that if you say one
word shall go straight and tell my friend
that you told mo this story and ask If 1T Is
true" Dr. Chalmers mother always met
ny bit of spiteful tatte with words to this
eject. 1t was pleasing to see how the mis-
H.
sg1ry. And the mischief maker did not
come back to Mrs. Chalmers a second time,
..n'oss a greater fool than common.
>. little organization has gone on smoothly
fs- years, its members trusting one another
and working harmoniously together. But
~ an evil hour the mischief maker is adj
rlittsd to that small society. Soon there is
suspicion and drawing off; possibly the
whole thing blows up. Each has been Sc
cretly poisoned. No doubs each ought to
have cut the mischief maker short, but not
al had wisdom and firmness to do so.
FROM SENSE OF DUTY"
You remember, 1 doubt not, how the mis-
;.Iiefmaker once offered, from a sense of
duty to relate to you circumstances which
tended to make you doubt your best friend.
He wished t. caution you You cut him
short. finally. But what, if that whisper
lad got hold Of youa OF course, you would
things would have been cleared up But
some folk dread a scene and avoiI it. And
such Leave painful impression. The repe-
tition of them ends in alienation
OnO has known human beings much per-
picked to know why, after being made a
great deal too much of in certain places,
they were suddenly dropped. y modest man
would say. Because L made a bad impress
sion; disappointed people. Years after, it
came out that it all came of the sllillful mis-
representations and inuendoes of clever
and ia the main) good man. But he could
not bear to see your promotion The frantic
tenacity with which some men keep hold of
some trumpery privilege is even exceeded
10y their frantic terror lest any neighbor
kDuid got hold of it, too
Whom faisshoods are systematically told
by u man not designed to keep a neighbor
bac!, or GOWN his purpose generally is to
make himself of consequence. He is intlu
ont-ai: holding strings in his hand; play wing
off one against another. Privately tell y
that abused him; privately tell B that
\ abused him. Ii they be vulgar souls they
will listen to you And no doubt you are
sne..l,ing tale bearer; yet you have certain
inf 5onc, which possibly you could get in no