The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1865-05-31

tell the truth without counting the cost,
and indeed without 81 aiming him wlo
shall be nameless As it is. beng hap
PLY men Of the world who kroy the
worth of keeping their own counsel, they
meet at railway boards and in committee
rooms and at dinner and in ladies' draw
ing-rooms TRANQUILITY enough and A
keeps his puppy dog chained up in the
innermost courts, and even yelps out some
white lie Of conventional kindliness. and
Z buries his owl deep in the ivy bush cf
formal civillties, and mover once lets him
loose to 60 nousing after unpleasant can
dor And tho result is that A finds ls
something brighter than puppy, and ],
linds A something brighter than an owl.
Had they in the beginning told the truth
as it seemed to them, they would have
hated each other cordially 10 the last DAYS
OF their lives, and never found out the
virtues mutually possessed, And can
any person in his clear moral senses hes
itate as TO which is the greater evil white
lying, active or passive, or bitter black
uncharity and hate
vaguely remember a very beautiful
anecdote touching this question, but do
not know where | have met with il. con-
sequently cannot turn back to my author
ity so as to give it in due force and beau
ty. Perhaps some of my readers may be
more accurate and with stricter know
ledge Of references. A certain Scottish
nobleman, who had taken part in the ia
cobite troubles and was consequently ex-
lied and price set upon his head, stole
back to his own country again after long
years were past when he thought the
keen eyes of justice were bleared and
blinking. Suspected who he was. and
arrested, there was only one man whose
testimony could positively identify him
some old retainer or toster-father, OF
faithful henchman, or clansmap true and
leal-some one, at all events, who had
the best right to speak and whose word
would be conclusive. The two were con,
ironted in the courthouse, and The old
man, after having quietly scanned the
other from head to foot, swore positively,
untiinchingly, deliberately that this was
not the laird. Afterwards; when the
truth became known and he was taxed
with his lie, his answer was: 81 wud
rather trust my soul to God than nv
puir master in the hands O. these rufIians.'
Which has always seemed to me one OF
the sublimest bits of human love, and SIM
pie. if erring faith, possible to be met
with.
IT this act of perjury was crime, 20
then in inverse degree has been all shell
tering of fugitives and hiding of the pros
cribcd; all disguises (Which are only lies
in action instead of in words) and all ira
versities TO cheat the enemy; all pretcn-
ces OF serving men and maids; the Jane
Lanes the Lady Nithsdalcs the guards
and stokers Of that negro underground
railway with its contraband frcight-thcy
are all liars TO be condemned, not heroes
and heroines TO be admired; and their
clever stratagems and crafty doublings to
throw the bloodhounds off the scent, ma
king them believe the thing that is not
and so pass over the thing that is-they
are all lies, white black or grey, accord
ing TO the thermometer of their VIRTUE
Surely yes lis mere verbal accuracy the
sole form Of truth worth fighting for p
is there not higher truth of decd than
any simple untruth by word , cannot
but think, then, that once admit the su-
preme necessity of verbal truth or even of
servile truth, before and against all other
motives of human action, and you have
clrcumscribed the sphere of human virtue
and impoverished the soil of human great
/ ness. And that too in such a wise that
1t can be never be recoycred.-4H the
! lear HOUad.