St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-08-05
D.. Talmage Denounces the Practice
Of Whispering Of Evil
Glasses 1t Among the Worlds Great-
est villalnies-MoFe Harnful Than
Open Slander-A Destroyer
Of Coed Naaes.
Copyright. 1883. BY Louis Klopsch.)


midst of this roll those persons known
in Ill cities and communities and places
rs whisperers. They are SO called Ne
cause they generally speak undervoic'
and in a confidential way, their hand t
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 e.
cape the consequences of defamation
Ii no ono hears but the person whis
pered unto, and the offender be ar
raigned, he can deny the whole thing
for whispcrers are always first-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 - it projects its
venom.
Whisperers are masculine and femi-
nine, with tendency to majority on
the side of those who are called "the
lords of creation" Whisperers are
heard Ut every window of bank cashier
and are heard in al countingrooms as
well rs in sewing societies and ut meet
ings of asylum directors and managers.
They are the worst foes of society. re-
sponsibIe 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 /
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 q
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 a rare morsel for their
scandalization, 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 Islander. If should
in plain way, calling you by name,
charge you with fraud or theft or MUIR
der or uncleanliness, tomorrow morn
ing / might have pcrenptory docu-
ments served on me, and would have
to pay in dollars and cents for the dam-
age 1 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 OF from
one route Of perfdy, and they start on
mother. You cannot by the force OF
moral sentiment persuade them to de-
sist. You might as well read the Ten
to flock of crows, ex-
<I1ovr - 49, khnk -
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
ook into the basement windows at the
tables Of their neighbors and can tell
Just what they have morning and night
10 eat. They can see AZ far through a
keyhole as other people can see with a
loor 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 !
on everything.
Some morning q wife descends into |
he street, her eyes damp with tears,
md that is a stimulus to the tattler and |
5 enough to set up business for three
y four weeks. Il guess that husband
md wife don't live happily together. i |
wonder ii he hasn't been abusing her? |
IS outrageous! He ought to be dis
.iPhned. He ought to be brought up
'efore the church. ri 60 right over to
ny nsighbor's and I'll let them know
bout this matter" She rushes in all
ut OF breath to 4 neighbours house and
avs: "Oh. Mrs. Allear, have you heard
he dreadful news? Why, our neigh
'or, poor thing, came down on the
teps in flood Of tears. That brute
t = husband has keen abusing her.
Veil. it's just as expected. / saw
i'm the other afternoon very smiling
nd very gracious to some one who
miles back, and / thought then L would
ust go up to him and tell him he had
etter 60 home and look after his wife
nd family, who probably at that very
lme were upstairs crying their eyes
ut. Oh, Mrs. Allear, do have your hus-
and go over and put m end to this
rouble! It's SIMPLY outrageous that
ur ncighborhood should be disturbed
4 this way! It's awful"
The fact il that one man or woman
t on fire Of this hellish spirit will
eep = whole neighborhood a-boil. 1t
oes not require any very great brain.
he chief requisition is that the wom-
a have = small family or no family Il
u. because il she have : large family
hen she would have to stay at home
nd look after them. II il very impor-
int that she be single or have no chill
rem 1t MI, and then abe can attend to ,
I the secrets Of the neighborhood all
le time. A woman with Z large fam
makes very poor whisperer.
Il 4 astonishing how these whisper
, gather up everything. They know |
that happens. There are tel |
'hone and telegraph wires reaching |
ON their ears to al the houses In the ,
.ighborhood.. They have NO taste for
4 r..