Virginia gazette. [volume] (Williamsburg, Va.) 1893-192?, 1899-07-08

you and bring them 20 yOu-oll the I
things said against you. or against
your family. or against your style Of
business. They gather them al up. and
they bring them 10 you; they bring
them 10 you in the very worst shape:
they bring them TO You without any OF
the eNtenuating circumstances. and
after they have made your feelings all
raw. very raw. they take this brine, this
turpentine. this q, fortis. and rub Il
In with a coarse towel. and rub u in un-
I'll IL sinks 20 the bone. They make YOU
the pincushion IN which they thrust all
the sharp things they have ever heard
about you. Vow. don't bring me into
the scrape. Now. don't Tell ANYBODY
told you. Let n be between Won and
me. Don't involve me I'm IL AZ All"
They agVravate you 70 the point Of pro-
family. and then they wonder vau can
not sing psalm tunesi They turn YOU
on a sol; before a hot fire and wonder
wny YOU ore NOT ABSORBED IN gratiyuns
70 them because they turn YOU on q spit.
Pcddlers or night shadei Pcddlers q
Canada thistle, Peddlcrs Of nuN vo1r-
ical Sometimes they get YOU In a cor
ncr where YOU cannot very well escape
without being rude. and then they ter
you oil about this one. and all about
that one. and all about the other one.
and they talk. talk. talk. talk. talk talk.
After awhile they go away. leaving the
place looking like n bornyard after tho
foxes and the wcasels have been around:
here a wing. and there a claw. and yon-
der AT eye. and there crop. How they
DO make the feathers fvf
Rather than the defamtion OF good
names IL seems 20 mc IL would be almost
As honorable aud useful IL you just took
a box OF matches in your pocket and
razor in your hand and GO through the
streets and see how many houses you
can burn down and how many throats
you can cut. That Is not a much worse
business. The destruction of a mans
name IS worse than the destruction Of
his iifs. \ woman came In confessional
20 a priest and told him that she had
been slandering her neigh oors. The
priest promised her absolution on con-
dition Of her performing penance. lie
gave her a thistle top and said: "You
can take that thistle and scatter the
seeds all over the field" She went and
did SO azd came back. Now" said the
priest. gather up all those seeds" She
said: Il can't p "Ah.~ hc said. II know
you can't. Neither can YOU gather up
the evil words YOU spoke about your
neigh bors." All good men and all good
women have sometimes had detrnctors
after them John Wesley's wife whis-
percd about him. whispered al over
England, kept on whispering about
that good man-as good man as ever
hved-aDd kept on whispering until the
cOnnubial relation was dissolved.
Jesus Christ had these whispcrcrs
after Him. and they charged Him with
drinking too much and keeping bad
company. "A wine bibber and the
triend OF Pubhcans and sinners" You
take the best man that ever lived and
put n detective on bis track for ten
years. watching where he goes and
when he comes and with a determine
tion TO misconStrue everything and 10
think he goes here for bad purpose
and there foe bad purpose. with that
determination Of destroying him. at the
end OF the ten years he will be held de-
spicable in the sight of a great many
people
II II is an outrageous thing 20 despoil
mans character. how much worse is il
20 damage wOman's reputation2 Yet
that evil grows from century 10 cen
/ tury, and il Is all done by whispers. A
suspicion is started. The next whis-
/ perer who gets hold of il states the sus-
/ picion as Il proven fact, and many a good
woman, as honorable as your wife or
( your mother, has been whispered out of
/ all kindly associations. and whispered
into the grave. Some people say there
is no hell. but il there be no he'll for such
a despoiler OF womanly character il is
high time that some pbilanthropist
build one! But there is such place ss-
tablished, and what time they viii
have when all the whisperers get down
there together rehearsing thingsl
Everlasting carnival OF mud. We're IL
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-
J ploitation by these whisperers- On
earth. TO despoil their neighbors some
times they had to lie about them. bnt
down there they can say the worst
things possible about their neigbb
and tell the truth. Jubilee OF whisper
ers. Semiheaven Of scandal mOngcrs
stopping their gable about their dia-
! bolical neighbors only long enough 10
70 up 10 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
J iniquity which curses every community
on earth? First, by refusing TO listen
10 or hefieve a ,vhfsDer Every court OF