The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-07-29
TO GOSSIP rs A SIN.
DR.. Talmage Denounces the Practice
Of Whispering of Evil.
Glasses 1t Among the Worlds Great
est Viilninies-More Harmful Than
Open Slander-A Destroyer
of Good Names.
Copyright. 1899, by Louis Klopsch.)
WaShinpton

tndI nave CuTSeu the WOIlu ana urges
generous Interpretation of the charac-
tiers of others; text, Romans 1923,
Full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,
malignity whisperers."
Paul was here calling the long roll of
the worlds villainy, and he puts in the
midst of this roll those persons known
in all cities and communities and places
as whisperers. They are so called he
cause they generally speak undervoice
and in confidential way, their hand to
the side of their mouth acting as fun
mel to keep the precious information
from wandering into the wrong ear.
They speak softly not because they
have lack of lung force or because they
are overpowered with the spirit of gen
tleness, but because they want to es-
cape the consequences of defamation.
If no one hears but the person whis-
pered unto, and the offender be ar
raigned, he can deny the whole thing,
for whisperers are always tirst-class
liars!
Some people whisper because they are
hoarse from cold or because they wish
to convey some useful information
without disturbing others, but the crea-
lures photographed by the apostle in
my text give muffled utterance from
sinister and depraved motive, and some
times you can only hear the sibilant
sound as the letter IS" drops from the
tongue into the listening ear, the brief
hiss of the serpent as it projects its
venom.
Whisperers are masculine and femi-
nine, with a tendency to majority on
the side of those who are called "the
lords of creation" Whisperers are
heard at every window of bank cashier
and are heard in all countingrooms as
well as in sewing societies and at meet
ings of asylum directors and managers.
They are the worst foes of society, re-
sponsible for miseries innumerable;
they are the scavengers of the world,
driving their cart through every COM
munity, and to-day hold up for your
holy anathema and eXecration these
whisperers.
From the frequency with which Paul
speaks of them under different titles
somewhat from them. His personal
presence was very defective, and that
made him perhaps the target of their
ridicule, and besides that he was a
bachelor, persisting in his celibacy
down into the siXties-indeed, all the
way through-and, some having failed
in their connubial designs upon him,
the little missionary was put under the
raking fire of these whisperers. He
was no doubt rare morsel for their
standardization, and he cannot keep his
patience any longer, and he lays hold
of these miscreants of the tongue and
gives them very hard setting down in
my text among the scoundrelly and the
murderous. Envy, murder, debate, de-
ceit, malignity-whisperers."
The law of libel makes quick and
stout grip of open SANDER. If l should
in a plain way, calling you by name,
charge you with fraud or theft or MUIR
der or uncleanliness, tomorrow morn
ing l might have prrenlptory docu-
ments served on me, and would have
to pay in dollars and cents for the dam
age had done your character. But
these creatures spoken of in my text
are so small that they escape the fine
tooth comb of the law. They go on, and
they go on, escaping the judges and the
juries and the penitentiaries. The dis
trict attorney cannot find them, the
sheriff cannot find them, the grand jury
cannot find them. Shut them off from
one route of perfidy, and they start on
another. You cannot by the force of
moral sentiment persuade them to de-
sist. You might as well read the Ten
Commandments to flock of crows, ex-
pecting them to retreat under the force
of moral sentiment. They are to be
found everywhere, these whisperers.
think their paradise is country village
of about 1000 or 1000 people where
everybody knows everybody, but they
also are to be found in large quantities
in all our cities.
They have prying disposition. They
look into the basement windows at tho
tables of their neighbors and can tell
just what they have morning and night
to eat. They can see as far through a
keyhole as other people can see with a
door wide open. They can hear CONVEX
sation on the opposite side of the room.
Indeed. the world to them is whisper
ing gallery. They always put the worst
construction on everything.
Some morning wife descends into
the street, her eyes damp with tears,
and that is stimulus to the tattler and
is enough to set up business for three
or four weeks. II guess that husband
and wife don't live happily together. |
wonder if he hasn't been abusing her?
It's outrageous! He ought to be dis
ciplined. He ought to be brought up
before the church. I'll go right over to
my neighbours and III let them know
about this matter" She rushes in all
out of breath to neighbours house and
says: "Oh, Mrs. Allear. have you heard
the dreadful news? Why, our neigh
Dor, poor thing. came down off the
steps in n food of tears. That brute
of husband has been abusing her
Well. it's just as expected. saw
him the other afternoon very smiling