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Show THJi GOSSIP. ti o-i nunc, in man and womin, dear ray lord, Is lb immediate jewel of their souls. Who tie s m.f pme steals trash; Uul he ta&l llicties from me my good i-am 3 Kubjmoi'f that which not enriches him, And inikis m poor indeed. Iaqo. Those who have given attention to the sut.jpct, believe that all things in existence were created for a purpose. lXiub'.leisS this is true and it is a beautiful conception of the hurmony of nature's works; as to many it seems lint serpents and many insect do no good and could readily be dispensed dis-pensed with, so to us it seems the rule b&3 as exception. That exception ex-ception id the go3sip. Bjru with all the attributes of nobler men and women be prostitutes his talents to the b.i;e use of undermining the characters char-acters of Buperijri, for; indeed, to such a person, all others arBBuperior. Hut some of you may nut know who is meant by the gossip. The purpose ol this writing is only to mike you familiar with some of your acquaintance whom yen scarcely notice. luegossipis generally mppostd to be a woman, and it is fair io say the moat perfect of the clasa commonly belong to that sex, but there are among men more that vre arc willing to acknowledge, and many who will favorably compete with their lair rivals. The general characetristios are not diflerent in the sexes. The gn'-ip has pood powers of speech, which baing cultivated in light Bub jects acquires a rapidity far exceeding the conversation where sense forms a part. "Still waters run dee" heavy loads move slowly, and the speech of wi'Jom liny be Ourv, but it iK'complishei something. Converpely as a rulp, rapid talking, chatly i people do not give the world arytbing worth remembering. Their ppeech:. Ilics swiftly as if nshamed to be setn, ; aui utterly detesting scrutiny.' The U'Tssip does not read much, and!' fgcneral'y presumes knowledge of allj. things. He visits a great deal, picks up j i-i is of fiction, and remembers them -well, his creative faculty ia large, and: fr.'in half-a itazen disconnected fcg ' menta he will weavo unlimited quantities of material that looks well, ' and seems durable, but will -not bear i inspection. The warp is one-ply and ' the woof shoddy. Still you accept his statements about it and bo he disposes of a great deal. All subjects com , within tbe value of his speech, but his J greatest forte is in destroying cbarac-i cbarac-i ter. Tbe gossip is the vulture of society where there is only heathful food h ia not at hojie. He preys about rom pUce to place, living well on verbal carrion, to furnish which auy number uf rep itatious may be ruined. Seek where be will, there i always Home food, hut unlike the birds scavenger, he only throws it to the wind to putrefy put-refy still more and poison by its noxious vapord. The gossip ie found in all societies, in all towns and village. No other evil, save thai of, intemperance, is so widespread, and, none ia more direful in its effects. If you or a friend shall be so imprudent as to make a mistake, no matter with bow good a motive, there will always be some to magnify the error and mako that mistake a sin. Seek for friendship outside tbe place of birth, and you will find your miadeedj precede you, but your virtues are left far bahind. Io the world's eyes a few faults may ruin a peison, but manj virtues will be alow in redeem ing him, and this condition we trace to the ioflueuce ol the gossips, found bo numerously in all places. Their descriptions of persons are silhouettes of character taken from tbe worst side. How many are addicated to finding find-ing fault with otherel Our neighbor does sometninc wrong as mortals often will, and we seem to think it our duty to tell the world, adding as much as may ha neceary to give good coloring. This is the origin of goesip, and of its many evils you need not look far to find some one to whom these remarks will apply, and when you find him, urge a change of conduct. The intemperate man generally does himself injury more than anyone elae. The gossip steals men's characters, thus robbing them of tbe dearest treasure of life. If we oannot reform our neighbors, let us begin at borne and show them tho evil as it is, and the condition when the evil's cured. "Gjp&ip aod slander are tbe deadliest and crueleet weapons man has for his brother's heart." |