Forgotten Stories.

condemned . It is unworthy of the man of honour , and contemptible to every follower of virtue , generosity , and honesty . We should preserve our tongues from it , as from the touch of pollution ; and banish it from our hearts , as the enemy of candour and happiness—as the bane of

friendship and peace . Calumny , when merely excercised and encouraged for purposes of wickedness , denotes the heart from which it proceeds to be of the blackest nature , and competent to the performance of any actions degrading to a man and to a Christian . The foe who attacks our characters and our

reputations in secret—who excites the opinions of mankind against us by false tales and dark insinuations—can , in no respect , be deemed less pernicious than the assassin , who , under cover of night , aims his dagger at our breast ,- — -than the serpentwhich corrupts our blood with its

, venom , while it lurks beneath our feet . That foe , when we unguardedly trust ourselves to its power , and confide ourselves to the seeming candour and sincerity so readily assumed by him , is occupied , at the very interval when we are most

defenceless , in framing or executing some project for our ruin and misery . We can avoid the fangs of the rattlesnake ; for , by the noise which accompanies his motions , we are informed of his approach;—we can shelter ourselves from the fury of

the tempest , for the distant thunder and tho gathering clouds forewarn us of its attack . But calumny assails us in secret ; and , while her features wear the semblance of piety and friendship , the venom of malice and iniquity gushes from her heart .

Yet , although the calumniator must be held in the light of one utterly lost to all sentiments of virtue and conscience , we should not refuse our advice and pity to some , who , notwithstanding they are equally culpable with those infected with the above-mentioned vice , are perpetually

liable , without any wicked intent , to involve their friends , and all who are acquainted with them , in misery . It is of those I speak , who heedlessly and incautiously relate whatever remarks they may have heard , and aggravate them b y fabrications of their own , merely intending those remarks as an embellishment of

conversation , and as a source of amusement for themselves and their hearers . The folly of such conduct must be observed by all who are inclined to bestow one serious thought upon it . When we behold the conflagrations which arise from a single spark—when we hear of the wrecks which

proceed from one trivial instance of neglect—and the deaths which have been caused by a wound , trifling and insignificant in its origin , —how plainly must the danger and the sorrows , which spring from such heedlessness and folly as

thispre-, sent themselves to our minds ! Can we be ignorant , while we are amusing our companions at the expense of one who is absent , by relating his words and actions in a manner which we should think dishonourable in his presence , that many of

his enemies may hear us , and succeed , by our own animadversions , in the accomplishment of their own purposes' ? Are we positive that many to whom we are addressing ourselves may not , in their turn , inform him of our cowardly and

ungenerous attack , at a time when he is unable to defend himself , or answer our remarks % May we not excite quarrels between him and his friends , Or lessen the good opinions of many of his acquaintance ? May we not offend those who are most dear to him , and are confident that our assertions are unfounded and unkind ?

Such consequences as these must all , in the hour of consideration , occur to us . But , as I have said before , a person may be the cause of much enmity and unhappiness , while he little imagines or intends it . He is encouraged by the laughter and applause which his attempts

to please others receive , and is so deluded by them , that he finally suffers the most unguarded expressions to escape from his lips . But , unless he is kindly warned by some friend of his error , he will inevitably bring down miseiy upon himself and those

connected with him ; and , should he escape an unhappy end , which most probably awaits him , will be despised and shunned , as the propagator of mischief , and the pest of society . Edward Overton was the son of a

gentleman in the South of England , who possessed a handsome property , and was connected with several respectable and opnlentfamili es in that quarter . He was the youngest of