The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-07-12

put detective on his track lor ten
wears. watching where he goes and when
he comes with a determination to dis
cover everything and to think he goes
here for a bad purpose and there
for a bad purpose, with that determine.
ton of destroying him, at the end Of
the ten years he will be held despicable
in the sight Of great many people.
Some people say there is no hell, but
if there be no hell for such despoiler
of womanly character it is high time
that some philanthropist built one.
But there is such place established,
and what time theg will have when all
the whisperers get down there together
rehearsing things! Everlasting carni-
val of mud Were it not for the un-
comfortable surroundings you might
suppose they would be glad to get there
In that region where they are all bad
what opportunities for exploitation by
these whisperers. On earth, to despoll
their ncighbors sometimes they had to
lie about them, but down there theY
can say the worst things possible about
their neighbors and tell the truth. Ju-
bilee of wl,isperers, Semiheaven of
scandal mongers stopping their gable
about their diabolical neighbors only
long enough to go up to the iron gate
and ask some newcomer from the earth,
What is the last gossip in the city on
earth where we used to live?'
Now. how are we to war against this
iniquity which curses every community
on earth? First, by refusing to listen
to o, believe whisper. Every court
of the land has for law and all decent
communities have for law that you
must hold people innocent until tney
are proved guilty. There is only one
person worse than the whisperer, and
that is the man or woman who listens
without protest. The trouble is, you
hold the sack while they FIJI it. The
receiver of the stolen goods is just as
bad as the thief. An ancient writer
declares that slanderer and a man who
receives the SANDER ought both to be
hanged-the one BY the tongue and the
other by the ear-aad | agree with
him
When you hear something bad about
your neighbors, do not go all over and
ask about it, whether it is true and
scatter it and spread it, You might as
we'll go to smallpox hospital and take
a patient and carry him all through the
community asking people if they really
thought it case of smallpox. That
would be very bad for the patient = {
for all the neighbors. Do not re; i,
slanders and whisperings. Do Tot
make yourself the inspector Of wars,
and the supervisor Of carbuncles: ;nd
the commissioner for street cutters, and
the holder of stakes for dog fight.
Can it be that you, an immortal man;
that you, an immortal woman, can find
no better business than to become
gutter inspector?
Beside that, at your family table 81
low no detraction. Teach your chill
dren to speak well Of others. Show
them the difference between bee and a
Wasp-tbe one gathering honey, the
other thrusting sting. read Of a
family where they kept what they call
ed "a Slander Book, and when any
slanderous words were uttered in the
house about anybody or detraction ut
tered it was all put down in this book.
The book was kept carefully. For the
first few weeks there were great many
entries, but after awhile there were no
entries at all. Detraction stopped in
that household. 1t would be good
thing to have SANDER book in all
households.
Are any of you given to this habit Of
whispering about others? Let me per
suade you to desist. Mount Taurus was
a. great place for eagles, and cranes
would fly along that way, and they
would cackle so loud that the eagles
would know of their coming, and they
would pounce upon them and destroy
them. 1t is said that the old cranes
found this out and before they started
on their fight they would always have
stone in their mouth so they could
not cackle, and then they would fly in
perfect safety. Oh, my friends, be as
wise as the old cranes and avoid the
folly of the young cranes! Do not
cackle.
If there are people here who are whis.
pered about, If there are people here
who are slandered, if there are people
here who are abused in any circle OF
life, let me say for your encouragement
that these whisperers soon run out.
They may do little damage for awhile
but after awhile their detraction be-
comes eulogy and people understand
them just as we'll as though some one
chalked all over their overcoat or their
shawl these words: Here goes a whis-
perer. Room for the leper. Room
You 60 ahead and do your duty, and
God will take care Of your reputation.
How dare you distrust him? You have
committed to him your souls. Can
you not trust him with your reputa-
ton? Get down on your knees before
God and settle the whole matter there.
That man whom God takes care OF is
well sheltered.
Let me charge you, MY friends, to
make right and holy use of the tongue.
1t is loose at one end and can swing
either way, but it is fastened at the
other end to the floor of your mouth,
and that makes you responsible for the
way it wags. Nautilus, the philoso-
pher, told his servant that on the NOR
row he was going to have some friends
to dine, and told him to get the best
thing he could find in the market. The
philosopher and his guests sat down the
next day at the table. They hsd moth.
ing but tongue-four or five courses OF
tongue-tongue cooked in this way and
tongue cooked in that way, and the
philosopher lost his patience and said to