The Monitor., 1885-09-25
SOCBETY'S LEVIATHAN.

The night was darkness, when out on
the air burst from a mighty mountain,
great volumes of flame. rocks, stones. and
tidal waves of smoke. Then from the
yawning crater, slow dragging its unwieldy
hulk along, comes the mighty cause of the
tumult. Its skin of thousand dyes glistens
in the lurid glare; the many eyes, blear,
red and wrathful, CLEAN with horrid light
the iron jaws open as ponderous doors, and
when they close. the teeth click a death
knell.
Its body is no sooner free from the hot
bed below. than it draws around it an in
visible cloak. Now it may steal into any
place unaware. 1t could not go into the
social circle i'll its true garb. 1t would be
spurned from the midst. But now it can
glide its sinuous length across tie finest
carpet push its unshapely heads into the
most select circle, lie side by side with the
finest gentleman or the most delicate lady.
Its true nature is concealed. But as ''he
that toueheth pitch shall be defled there
with, SO he who lays hands ON this mon
ster will suffer deadly consequences.
His name is Scandal, and his emissaries
are seandal-mongers. They hunt out the
innocent and blow their tainted breath on
purity. They crush the broken-hearted,
and stamp on the down-trodden.
Here is a lovely, bright, amable maiden
whose heart and life are free from stain.
Harkl and you will hear a whisper through
the social circle in which she moves. Who
started it? Nobody! Who proves it ?
Nobody. She sees the averted glance, the
cold recognition-she feels the slight but
ascertain sometime. perhaps never. If the
mystery is not cleared up, she lives under
dark cloud miserable-alone. ..Done to
death by slanderous tongue How has il
all come about? Somebody has lied.
Plain Anglo-Saxon-to lie Some one was
enyious of her position or her favor.
Some one has been with the leyiathan.
They have had their tongue made poison
ous by that slander .'whose tongue out
venoms all the worms of the Nile
A young man is just starting ont in life,
his inexperienee. not any real black
heartedness leads him into some slight
offense How the scandal-mongers roll
this as a dainty morsel, and pass it to the
leyiathan for enjoyment.
If they can find no foundation. they will
lay their heads together and plan some in
famous tale, untruthful, unjust, perfectly
ridiculous. If they are not found ont them
selves, What care they? 1t may be proven
false to the satisfaction of some. while
others will look askanee and croak-.'w where
there is SO much smoke, there must be some
fire.
The question being put in its true light
to some of these newsgatherers and dis
tributors, how mortified they would be.
They would not hurt persons feelings foi
anything. No, but they will ruin an hon.
est reputation, if they can. They viii deal
out by the wholesale and retail, never
mlndlng now soon the community Is IN an
uproar This is their delight. The sooner
it goes the better-exaggeration adding
continually to the original.
"on eagles wings immortal scandals ny,
While virtuons actions are but born and die
If every gossiping, enyious, slanderous
tongue was paralyzed, every anonymous
letter-writer subdued, every putrid lie-con-
eocting brain under ground, how much
more happiness there would be, We would
have less misery in our hearts; fewer cold
glances from those who were our friends,
fewer broken firesides, less community
wrangling, little party vituperation or sec
tartan clamoring, if this hydra-headed mon
ster and his emissaries could be put to au
effeetual and lasting death..-Ndg Marks