A preacher had on his desk a special book labelled “Complaints of Members Against One Another.” When one of his people called to tell him the faults of another, he would say, “Well, here’s my complaint book. I’ll write down what you say, and you can sign it. Then when I have to take up the matter officially, I shall know what I may expect you to testify to.” The sight of the open book and the ready pen had its effect. “Oh, no, I couldn’t sign anything like that!” and no entry was made. The preacher said he kept the book for fourty years, opened it probably a thousand times, and never wrote a line in it.

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