Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1893-07-08
EVIL SPEAKING.

EVIL SPEAKING
or All Humanity's Faults It Ii the Worst.
I believe that If all the faults of the
average well-meaning woman could be
summed up, every petty sin, every loss
of temper, every little neglect of work,
every shortcoming, they would count
as almost nothing compared to the one
vice Of evil speaking into which many
good woman is unoonsciously drawn
This does not include those serpents of
the earth, the regular tale bearers, who
don't hesitate to pour the burning lava
of scandal over the fairest names who,
with sly innucndoes, perverted facts
and crafty falsehoods bring discord
into the most peaceful community. This
class, thank heaven, is rare, and their
reign of iniQuity is brief. Their sins
follow them homo and they are soon
forsalsen, despised, loathed by oil true
people
The class to whom ! refer is com.
posed Of really good-hearted Christian
women. yes, Christian women, who in
idleness in want OF safer subjects for
conversation, or because their thoughts
have been cramped in too narrow a
channel, allow themselves to fall into
the habit of speaking lightly OF others;
of their acquaintance and even OF
those upon whom they bestow the
sacred title Of friend. OF course, among
the women of culture, with the world
to levy upon for topics with wealth
of information from which to CLEAN,
this personal gossip is less common
than with the illiterate still we all
know that even the most cultivated wo-
men will sometimes so fur forget them
selves as to sprinkle their conversation
with the pepper OF criticism
Nearly all these unkind comments
are the result of thoughtlessness, and
not malice Yet, how cruel it all is
how lowering to the dignity OF wo-
man.
And how many noble impulses spring
ing from the garden of the heart are
crushed out by these weeds of idle talk
God alone can tell The opium and
whisky habits-vile though they be-
are not contagious; the gossip habit Is.
For the former there is now remedy,
but for the latter no Kelley has yet
risen; the nearest approach to the gold
cure" of gossip being the gold of silence,
of discretion, of charity.
A complete revolution was once
effected in a village by the formation Of
an ''anti-gossip club" each member
taking vows not only to keep guard
over her own words, but to lift the
warning finger il another member for
got the rules. This club worked won
ders. Instead Of dealing In harsh, per
sonal remarks, the good women soon
fell into way Of speaking kindly, or
not at all, of their neighbors, of taking
pleasure in discussing topics harmless
as well rs instructive
believe strongly in the cultivation
OF hobbies-there's no better safety
valve-be it books, birds, music, paint
ing, flowers, fancy work, home decora-
ton, reading, writing, sewing, cooking,
cannon or castle-building, anything,
anything in the world to furnish whole
some mental food, to supply an inno-
cent subject Of conversation
And now some of you will naturally
ask If ever forget this golden rule, if
unkind words ever pass my lips Would
that could answer no! With burning
cheeks is my confession made. And
how keen my sense of shame when the
hasty word has been spoken, Of humil.
iation when remembering TOO late the
divine words that have come down to
us through the ages, as blessed inner
itance: Though speak with the ton
CUES of men and angels, and have not
Charity am become as sounding brass
or tinkling Gym bal. Pleasant Rider.
hood, in Detroit Free Press