The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1899-1900, 1899-07-05

people
If it is ain outrageous thing to despoil
a mans character, how much worse is ii
to damage woman's reputation? Yet
that evil grows from century to CEN
tury, and it is all done by whispers. A
suspicion is started. The next whis-
perer who gets hold of it states the sus-
picion as proven fact, and many good
woman, as honorable as your wife OF
your mother, has been whispered out of
all kindly associations, and whispered
into the grave. Some people say there
is no hell, but if there be no hell for such
a despoiler Of womanly character it is
high time that some philanthropist
build one! But there is such place es-
tablished, and what time they will
have when all the whisperers get down
there together rehearsing things!
Everlasting carnival of mud. Were it
not for the uncomfortable surroundings
you might suppose they would be glad
to get there. In that region where they
are all bad what opportunities for ex-
ploitation by these whisperers. On
earth, to despoil their neighbors some
times they had to lie about them, but
down there they can say the worst
things possible about their neighbors
and tell the truth. Jubilee of whisper
ers. Semiheaven of scandal mongers
stopping their gable about their dia-
bolical neighbors only long enough to
go up TO the iron gate and ask some new
conner 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 or believe a whisper. Every court of
the land has for law and all decent
communities have for law that you
must hold people innocent until they
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 fill it. The re-
ceiver of the stolen goods is just as
bad as the thief. An ancient writer de-
clares that slanderer and man who
receives the slander ought both to be
hanged-the one by the tongue and the
other by the ear-and l 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
well 60 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 and
for ali the neighbors. Do not retail SIAN
ders and whisperings. Do not make
yourself the inspector of warts, and the
supervisor of carbuncles, and the COM
missioner 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 gut
ter inspector?
Beside that, at your family table al
low no detraction. Teach your children
to speak well of others. Show them the
difference between bee and a wasp
the one gathering honey, the other
thrusting sting. read of family
where they kept what they called "A
Slander Book" and when any SANDER
Gus words were uttered in the house
about anybody or detraction uttered 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 a good
thing to have a 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
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.
II 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 encourage
ment that these whisperers soon run
out. They may do little damage for
awhile, but after awhile their detrac-
ton becomes eulogy and people un-
derstand them just as well as though
some one chalked all over their over
coat or their shawl these words: Here
goes a whisperer! Room for the leper.
Room!" You go 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 reputation? Get down on your
knees before God and settle the whole
matter there. That man whom God
takes care of is well sheltered.
While | speak this very moment there
are hundreds whispering their last ut
terances. Oh, when that solemn hour
comes to you and to me, as come soon
1t will, may IL be found that we did our
best to serve Christ, and 10 cheer our
comrades in the earthly struggle, and
that we consecrated not only our hand,
but our tongue, TO God. So that the
shadows that fall around our dying pill |
low shall not be the evening twilight of |
a gathering night, but the morning twi-
light of an everlasting day.
Heaven Furnishes the bad and proves
flaa l.a-4 n...I..