Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-08-25

longer lived that hatred the more bit
ter 1t is. Yes" you answer. that 4:
irne Why have NV enemies nj
over town. 1t does seem that the
more try TO be good and the mors
my friends learn 20 respect me the
more these enemies hate me and try
to do me barn.
The venomous Cobra.
| My friend, l sympathize with you IN
that persecution. You say you do not
bear your prosecutors any IN will, for
you have triumphed over their attacks.
But as you were once prosecuted as a
young man, now as well established
merchant or lawyer or doctor or min
lister or wife or mother be careful that
you are not yourself using one Of those
poisonous and vindictive tongues. 1
once read OF yenomous cobra OF IN
dia having been decapitated. As the
people Were standing around looking
OF the headless snake a native reached
forth his bare foot and struck the head.
No sooner did his foot touch the opened
mouth OF the snake than, by mus
cular contraction, the poisonous fangs
pierced the bare foot. and Ia one hour
the man was dead. Has not the poison
Gus fang of hate OF that old enemy OF
yours, many years dead, entered into
your life? Why did you make that
mean remark about that young doctor
or lawyer or minister or merchant the
other dayf Why did you slur that
young mans character who Is trying
so hard to earn a livelihood for his
widowed mother or younger brother?
As others in the past have buried their
poisonous fanss of hateful jealousy in
your heart are you trying TO destroy
Others who seem to come between you
and your success? Men, beware how
you try to destroy your supposed RI
walls! Women, beware how you attack
that young womanl Her good name
is her life. Hate not Desplse not.
Others have wronged you with a vim
dlctive tongue Do not retaliate; do
not use the same weapons.
But as 1 begin to analyze the poison
of the evil tongue 1 find that IL is COM
posed Of many different sinful basic
elements. Water, for instance. is COM
posed OF gas called hydrogen, and
another gas called oxygen. Chemical
~, the definition Of water is H2O.
Sodium sulphate Is composed of three
| different basic elements. Its compo-
nent parts are sodium, sulphur and
oxygen. Chemically, It is written
Nap. SO4. Now. as analyze in Gods
great laboratory the poison OF the
"evil tongue" 1 find IL, first, composed
OF the element of hate, and, secondly.
of the element Of falsehood. All
through the Bible, the deceitful tongue
is condemned by God. The lying
tongue OF man should be condemned
by man. Yet today there are many
professional men and many merchants
building up their practices or bust
nesses upon a tissue OF lies.
Professional FsIsehOOd.
A professional falsehood came direct
~ under my observation, when, many
years ago, was preaching in an east
ern city. One of my church officers
was taken down with lung trouble and
had to 60 TO Arizona to live. While
there, his little daughter became very
sick with heart trouble. The mother
brought her back home. The father
telegraphed me to look after them. I
at once went to my family physician,
one OF the most eminent in the state.
and had him examine the child. He
looked the little girl carefully over.
and this was his diagnosis: ~"She has
valvular trouble of the heart in its
most fatal form. She may live n year,
but in all probability she will die in
about six months. Within a few weeks
dropsy will set In, then she will have
10 be tapped. The best thing you can
do Is to make her as comfortable as
possible. for she cannot get we'll" I
wrote to the father the result AT
once he came home and sent for an
/ other doctor. This other physician
came In and said, II can cure her II
you will give me full charge OF the
case" That physician knew he could
not cure her. Death had written its
fatal mark all over that child, but be-
cause that other physician said he
could cure the child the new doctor
became the attending physician. He
called twice day for six months. The
child grew worse and worse, Just al
my family physician said she would.
Then she died. as he had predicted.
But on account OF that false hone
which the other physician held out he
was able to get the patient and to Sc
cure the fee.
In business as well as in professional
life men are guilty OF "the lying
tongue" They lie about land they
want to sell; they lie about houses they
want TO rent; they lie about their stock: .
they lie about their furniture stores :
they lie about their horses: they lie
about everything they desire to get rid
OF. They keep on lying in business
way Just as though King Solomon had
never hurled his condemnation against
business lies when he wrote these fer
rible words: 1.-THE getting of treasures
Dy lying tongue is vanity tossed to
ana fro OF them that seek death. The
robbing OF the wicked shall DESTROY
them because they refuse to do iudg-
ment" o God, deliver us,t today from
being merchants who are perIurers or
lawyers who are doceiyers or physi-
clans who are falslfiers or men TRYING,
10 sell their goods by deceiving their
Fellow men. o God, deliver us from
the faisifiers doom. "Tor without are
dogs and sorcerers and whoremoncers
and murderers and idolaters and who
soever loveth and maketh a lie"
But the evil tongue or man is also a
vile tongue. Vile in the sense that IL Ia
filled with all uncieanness. Vile be-
cause the lewd, the corrupt the filthy.
the defiled, the debased, the Impure.
the coarse, is often the type of the
language In which it glories. Vile in
the sense that the stories and the COM
munications it speaks are often unfit
Tor respectable ears. Yet its corrupt
conversations are not only heard In the
notorious places OF evil resort. but they
are also heard in the street and In so
called respectable homes and among
SO called ladies as well as so called
gentlemen.
The Wrong Kind of story.
1 walk down the street. There 7 see
a lot OF sehoolboys gathered together
Suddenly great gufraw Of laughter
Is raised. what are you Iaugh-
Ing at, boys 2" "Oh at a sto,x, -