Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-07-05
WHISPERED VENOM.
THE VOICE OF THE GOSSIP LIKE The
SERPENT'S HISS.
DIR. TsimsEe Says the Purveyor Of
Idle Tales Is the Poisoner of Socie-
ty-A Strong ArrsiEnment of Liar.
and TaffIers

! ty-A Strong ArrsiEnment of Liars
and TaftIers.
| rCopyTight, Louis KIopsch, Isea.l
WASHINGTON. July 2.-1n this dis
course DR.. Talmage vigorously arraigns
one of the great evils that have cursed
the world and urges generous interpre-
tation Of the character of others; text,
Romans |, %, Full of envy, murder.
debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers."
Paul was here calling the long roll Of
the worlds viIlainy, and he puts in the
midst of this roll those persons known
In all cities and communities and
places as whisperers. They are so call
ed because they generally speak under
voice and in a confidential way, their
hand to the side of their mouth acting
as funnel to keep the precious infor-
nation 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 gentleness, but because they want to
escape the consequences of defama-
ton. If no one hears but the person
whispered lnto, and the offender be ar
raigned, he can deny the whole thing,
for whisperers are always first class
liars.
Some people whisper because they
are hoarse from a cold or because they
wish to convey some useful informa-
ton without disturbing others, but the
creatures photographed by the apostle
in my text give muffied utterance from
sinister and depraved motive, and
sometimes you can only hear the sibi-
liant sound as the letter ''S" drops from
the tongue into the listening ear, the
brief hiss of the serpent as it projects
its venom.
Wl,isperers 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 cash
ier and are heard in all counting
rooms as well as in sewing societies
and at meetings Of asylum directors
and managers. They are the worst
IOeS Ol eOClttN. ItcpObslLnC IOi
innumerable; they are the scavengers
of the world, driving their cart through
every community, and today hold up
for your holy anathema and execration
these whisperers.
Paul a Victim.
From the frequency with which Paul
speaks Of them under different titles
conclude that he must have suffered
somewhat from them. His personal
presence was very defective. and that
made him, perhaps, the target of their
ridicule And, besides that, he was
bachelor, persisting in his celibacy
down into the sixties, indeed all the
way through. and, some having failed
In their counubial designs upon him,
the little missionary was put under the
raking fire of these whisperers. He was
no doubt a rare morsel for their scan
dalization, and he cannot keep his
patience any longer. and he lays hold of
these miscreants of the tongue and
gives them a very hard setting down
in my text among the scoundrelly and
the murderous. Envy. murder, de-
bate, deceit. malignity: whisperers.'
The law of libel makes quick and
stout grip of open SANDER. If l should
in plain way. calling you by name,
charge you with fraud or theft or muir
der or uncleanness, tomorrow morn
ing | might have peremptory docu-
ments served on me, and | would have
to pay in dollars and cents for the
damage | 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 district attorney cannot find them,
the sheriff cannot find them, the
grand jury cannot find them. Shut
them off from one route of perfdy and
they start on another. You cannot by
the force of moral sentiment persuade
them to desist You might as well
read the Ten Commandments to a flock
of crows, expecting them to retreat un-
der the force of moral sentiment. They
are to be found everywhere. these
whisperers. I think their paradise is a
country village of about 1000 or 1000
people, where everybody knows every
body. But they also are to be found in
large quantities in all our cities.
They have a prying disposition. They
look into the basement windows at the
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 con-
versation on the opposite side of the
room. Indeed. the world to them Is a
whispering gallery. They always put
the worst construction on everything.
"a Ftendish Spirit.
Some morning wife descends into
the street. her eyes damp with tears.
and that is a stimulus to the tattler
and is enough TO set up Il business for
three or four weeks. Il guess that hus-
band and wife don't live happily to-
gether. | wonder If he hasn't been
abusing her: Its outrageous. He
ought TO be disciplined. He ought to |
bo brought up before the church. I'll |
go right over TO my neighbors and I'll
let them know about this matter" She |
ruShes in all out of breath to 4 neigh |
boris house and says: "Oh. Mrs. Allear, |
have you heard the dreadful news? |
Why. our neighbor, poor thing, came |
down off the steps in Il flood of tears. |
That brute of husband has been |
abusing her Well, it's just as | ex-
pected. | saw him the other afternoon
very smiling and very gracious to some |
one who smiled back. and thought |