The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-05
Bah ON TALK.
The Human Tongue a Divine Organ,
But the Devil Plays Upon 1t.

Band Of National Chatterers - A
Marrow Minded Parson 49, A Young
Mans Sister SIandered in e Swell
CIub-Bitter Experience Of a Modest
Country Girl-An Evil Minded Wom-
ans Tongue - Good and Bad Uses
of That "Unruly Little Member"
! New York, Nov At was a queer,
quaint old saying. And yet somehow, all
| day long [ seemed to see it. 1t came
about in this way: picked up the book
in the morning to look at it for a second
while my coffee cooled, and read: "The
tongue is divine organ, but the devil
often plays upon it" Then it printed
itself right before me. I took up the
morning paper, and I read a speech made
in the Senate; speech that went all
around every place, took in most of the
words found in the dictionary, one or two
outside Of it, and it all meant-nothing.
And the nation, and when one
says the nation one means the people
who gain their bread and butter by
the sweat of their brow, was paying this
| speaker of many words to make good
laws for it, and to bring back the pros
| perity that is the right of the youngest,
| finest, most prolific country in the world.
| Then l read how the senator's talked all
| night; how somebody who made a speech
| had had innumerable books of statistics
for reference, no end of secretaries to
| help him in his work, and that he repre-
| sented, OH so many thousands Of people
who to-day are suffering and almost
starving, and who believed that this one
| man would give his word to make things
| better, to bring prosperity to the com
| munity, and to give to the honest man
what he desires-work.
BUT THEY TALK, AND TALK AND TALK,
And nothing comes of it. They bring
up old personal feelings; they exploit
| their knowledge of words; and they do
absolutely no good. And the people en-
| dure it. Why don't some man get up and
| tell the truth All-night sessions wouldn't
| be needed for it. 1t could be told in half
an hour. 1t is probably very funny to the
| Senate to loaf and lounge, and make in
/ Nne speeches that show either their wis
| dom ior ignorance; but the men of his
| tory; the men worth anything, have been
| the men of few words and many actions.
| You and I, my friend, each in our own
| way, have to work, and you and l sup
| port this band of chattererS who are as
absolutely useless as men, so-called can
very well be. They don't represent your
| opinions or mine; they don't represent
| anything but their own inordinate vanity
| and their own extreme ignorance. In
| stead Of making the committee rooms Of
| the Senate more luxurious, wouldn't it be
a good idea to have painted in great
| golden letters on the wall of the Senate
| chamber itself: "The tongue is a divine
organ, but the devil often plays upon it'
% Ii was at church the other day; great
| preacher was to speak. His voice was
clear, his English good, and his knowl-
| edge of how to speak with appropriate
| gesture and effective movement of the
hands compared well with the great
actors. And his sermon told of hell of
| the never-ending hell in which he claimed
| to believe. And nervous women cried,
| and hysterical girls were frightened, and
| men thought if it was religion they
wanted none of it. He told how, even
for stealing loaf of bread, a man would
suffer endless torments; he told how, for
| the wretched women who had made
mistake, there would be burning of con
science and body that would never cease:
happiness, laughter and merriment, which
| he called flippancy, he diSapprOved of.
He damned everything so generally that
he almost objected to the sunshine. He
portrayed the intense suffering that
| would come mentally and physically; he
talked for forty-five minutes, and never
once did he mention mercy or happiness
UNCHARITABLE PEOPLE.
And a woman who sat next to me cried
| as she thought of child who had died
| when she was 10 years old, and never hay
ing been converted, was, according to this
theory, absolutely burning. And she
said-and only mothers can say such
things-"She was always such a delicate
| little thing; she was always so easily
frightened; and to think I am not even
with her to help her bear the pain.n
And young man, as he walked out,
looked up at the sunshine and said
well, as l am to have nothing but hell in
the future, might as well have some fun
here, and the beginning of it will be that
I'll stop listening to sermons"
And II l wondered why, instead of all
the dainty arabesques that were painted
back of the pulpit, there was not printed
in scarlet letters: "Ihe tongue is a
divine organ, but the devil often plays
upon it."
A young man belonged to a swell club.
He said it was a very jolly club. He
liked 10 go there at night after the thea
tire and talk to the fellows. He said he
heard all the news; but one night while
he was very busy smoking and listening,
he heard the name of a woman men
toned. That was by no means uncom-
mon. He had frequently listened to very
spicy stories about no end of women, but
this one happened to be his sister. No
| bOuy knew II, Tor she hdd lived most OF
her time in Paris, and he hadn't reached
the point when he discussed the women
of his family at a club. Well, when he
came to think it all over, nobody had alb
solutely stated fact about her, but those
gossips to whom he had so often listened
with delight have a way of saying things
that may be construed to suit the taste
of the nearer. This was what he heard
"a pretty woman, amt shel' Yes, but
who appreciates the beauty?"
well, you know, she hasn't been over
here long enough for US to find out. l
saw her in a most fetching frock the
other morning, about 10 o'clock, coming
out of church"
0"Oh, did you! So many clever women
do that kind of thing nobody can say
ANYTHING about meeting fellow-wor-
shiper'
pretty good, Jimmy, fellow-wor-
shipper But to return to her; do you
think she will make a hit here}"
''Well, OF course, that depends entirely
on-on, well, on her good taste"
Somebody told me that her husband
believed she was in love with him"
by George, she must be clever wom-
an. I'll make it a point to be introduced
TO her tomorrow night"
The listener to all this was burning
with rage But what could ne say} He
| 1, l.,