Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-08-26

failure. What were you to do? You
could no more run a successful church
without good music than you could run
it without the right kind Of preaching.
One day, In state Of desperation, you
called your church officers together
and demanded a complete change In
your musical leaders. You got it, but
you got 1t at the cost of that elders
unrelenting hate. He never ceased to
persecute you. He did everything he
could to undermine your ministry. He
pursued you even after you left his
church. He wrote letters to distant
cities against you. AS the vendetta Is
carried on for generation after genera
tion In certain families in southern
Europe, so the children Of that old
elder are still pursuing you. Their
hatred has never let up, although their
father has now been dead for years.
The same poisonous tongue OF hate
may have been following you as law
yer or doctor or merchant or musician.
You entered the town and put out
your shingle or opened your store.
You said 10 yourself, NOW l will be
honest and square and work hard and
build up a good practice or trade ana
make my name honored In this little
community" Work hard you did.
Clients or patients or customers began
to come your way. Then your ene-
mics began to collect. "Ahaw they
said TO each other. I'VE must stop this
young upstart. He is taking away
our money. We must prepare for him
some Mons den." Then they began
TO attack your moral character. They
began to villfy your family. They de-
nounced you as guilty OF every crime
in the criminal calendar, and the pc
culiarity of their enmity is thls-it has
gone on for years and years. The
longer lived that hatred the more bit
ter 1t is. ."Yes," you answer, that Is
true. Why, have my enemies all
over town! 1t does seem that the
more l try to be good and the more
my friends learn to respect me the
more these enemies hate me and try
10 do me HARM"
The Venomous Cobra.
MY friend, sympathize with you In
that persecution. You say you do not
bear your prosecutors any Ill Will, for
YOU have triumphed over their attacks.
But as you were once prosecuted as a
Young man. now as we'll established
merchant or lawyer or doctor or min
lster or wife or mother be careful that
YOU are not yourself using one of those
poisonous and vindictive tongues.
once read of a venomous cobra of In
dla having been decapitated. AS the
people were standing around looking
at the headless snake q native reacned
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
pIetced the bare foot, and In one hour
the man was dead. Has not the poison
ous 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 day? 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 fangs 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
yaIsl Women, beware how you attack
that young womanl Her good name
Is her life. Hate not. Despise not.
Others have wronged you with VIM
dictive tongue. Do not retallate, do
not use the same weapons.
But as | begin to analyze the poison
of the evil tongue l find that it is COM
posed Of many different sinful basic
elements. Water, for instance, Is COM
posed OF a 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, 1t Is written
Nap. SO4. Now, as analyze in Gods
great laboratory the poison of the
"evil tongue" find it, first, composed
of the element Of hate, and, secondly
of the element Of falsehood. AL
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 busi
nesses upon tissue Of lies.
A Professional Falsehood.
A professional falsehood came direct
ly 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 20 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.
at once went to my family physician
one of the most eminent in the state
and had him examine the child. III
looked the little girl carefully over
and this was his diagnosis: "She na'
yalvular trouble Of the heart in IL
most fatal form. She may live year
but in all probability she will die II
about six months. Within a few week
dropsy will set In, then she will hay'
to be tapped. The best thing you cal
do Is to make her as comfortable a
possible, for she cannot get we'll"
wrote to the father the result. A
once he came home and sent for an
other doctor. This other physician
came in and said, II can cure her i
you will give me full charge of tn
case" That ohvsician knew he c0ult