Milford chronicle., 1893-07-14

! II has escaped our lips. Remuneration o
{ sincere penitence viii not efface, nor eorrec
the evil that has already followed it. Sian
der like death, loves a shining mark and L
never 50 busy or buyant, as where it car
blight the hopes aud blast the reputation o
the pure 10 heart. He who attempts to de
preciate those above him, does not elevate
himself by so doing. On the contrary, the
probabilities are, that in trying to ruin the
spotless character Of the innocent, he will
sink himself lower than ever. Spurgeon,
the greatest divine of the nineteenth cen
tury, never uttered a more pregnant
truism that this: "Peeping Toms have the
gift of detecting the imperfections Of good
men and women; butsI do not covet their
talents, for IN the process these pryiug
sleuth-hounds grow more sooty than eyer"
Rev. MT Geare, the good Rector who re-
Gently left Milford for another 6eld of labor,
preached, not long since, one of the finest
sermons we ever heard from that golden
text in James; Let every man be swift to
I hear and slow to speak While the man Of
God was pleading for a spirit Of kindness,
| eyeu for our enemies, we thought Of many
sad inscriptions that have been so deeply
engraved on the heart of some innocent per
son by the tongue Of slander Time may
possibly heal the wound, but the scar re-
mains A sly hint, a mystifying look,
significant glance, either is sufficient to
start the malignant. pestiforous busy-body
/ in his radiating round Of scandal. The old
copv that evil communications corrupt
good manners, " is as true to-day as It was
when Paul uttered it. Evil news, says Mil
ton, rides past, good news waits. " When a
well bred young lady Of iuntelligenee and
education is married to a course, uuedu.
Gated man, she will, gradually lose that del.
icate idea of consistency and harmony IN her
department. which has always been a char
acteristic Of her life, and will unavoidably
relapse into the same condition of existance
that surrounds her. From necessity she is
compelled to relinquish her choice Of society,
aud must associate mostly with those, who,
like the husband Of her selection are quite
dissimilar and far inferier to her. Hence,
she will. it may be impercepibly, but none
the less surely, decline to a level with her
associates Il is almost impossible for her to
maintain that personal dignity of character,
that perfect department and mental culture
she once possessed. She may not suspect it |
for a long time, for a change that will come
over the spirit of her life. may be so gradual
and involuntary that she will perceive it |
not, until she awakes to find it fixed fact |
So we NAV drift from the safe moorings Of
caudor aud purity of heart, until scandal be- |
comes a sweet morsel, and we roll it under /
the tongue aud retail to all who may listen. /
jealousy. the green eyed monster, is ever |
ready to begin to circulate and to eliuch
What sight can be more de-
spicable than TO see a garrulous, gossiping
woman, who has outlived her usefulness, If
She ever had any, and is always ready to de-
fame and Desmirch the character Of others,
.iptoeiug with stealthY step before neigh
boris door or window, eager to catch with
listening ear the faintest sound on which
10 feast her craven soul9 She delights to
hear, to see, to pry into the private affairs of
others, so that her malicious tattling tongue
nay drink its fill of scandal Such spec
acle is enough to make angels weep and
demons curse. The man who boasts Of his
oiety, aud who "never told lie" is apt to
De hypocrite. The bright winged butter
iy, or moth-miller has but little substance
md perishes from only slight touch. They
nav glisten in the morning sun, and
lutter gaily in the passing breeze, but a
weeping wind OF swirling rain destroys not
,nlv their beautiful colors, but snuhs out
heir butterfly life in a moment There is
lothiug that will Give down a lie" quicker
han moral courage. The will of the Gods
nav grind slow, and it may be sometime be-
ore the scales of even handed justice will
,aauce, but truth is mighty and will pre- s
all. Not loHg since we heard a modern, in
allible Pharisee reviling the Brethren"
ect of christians who do not believe in
ostly churches, and whose worship is con- 2
ucted in halls or private houses. Their
ond with mine, but that is no reason why {
hey should be called hypocrites, or cousid-
red outside the pale of christian charity,
We have always admired their apparently =
onsistent and godly lives and have no right !
D accuse them of insiucerity. This is near i
? the close of the nineteenth century. Sa-
I'm witchcraft and the cruel persecution of
aptists aud Quakers are things Of the past.
Teither the finger Of scorn, nor the Il am :,
lore holy than thou" spirit, indicates the !,
I'VE Of the loving, merciful Master. A dis
nguished divine said recently, that the
Church was the back door to
omanism," " but that harsh and uncharitable a
eraark does not prove the assertion to be
ue. Professor Briggs has been declared a
eretic by his church; not because he is a
I'd man, for he is acknowledged by all to
e a model of purity, but because he has the
,urage of his convictions. What other
,untains of divine authority are there be- II
des the Bible, the Church and Reason, a
I'd why should they not act in harmony? .
Iany good members in all Protestant
iurches do not believe that the Bible
aches "Supralapsarianism." The mantle I
T charity is broad and Godlike. It will n
,ver one all oyer like cloak. r. +. NJ. G.