The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1891-09-03

can not remember just how you did tell
it then. You won't have to look around
to see who is there before you begin
telling it. And you won't have to in
vent lot Of new lies to reinforce the
old one After Ananias told lie, his
wife had TO tell another just like it.
You see. il you tell ties you are apt to
get your whole family into trouble.
Lies always travel along in gang with
their co-equals.
And then, it is so foolish for you TO
lie. You can not pass lie of for the
truth, any more than you can get coun-
te4feit money into circulation. The
leaden dollar is always detected before
it goes very far. A bogus quarter is
always found out in little while.
When you tell lie it is known. Yes,
you say God knows it." That's right;
but lie is not the only one. So far as
Gods knowledge OF it is concerned the
liar doesn't care very much. He
doesn't worry himself about what.iod
knows-if he did, he wouldn't be
liar: but it does worry the man, or boy,
who tells lies to think that everybody
else knows it. The other boys know
it; your teacher knows it; people who
hear you tell "whoppers." know it:
your mother knows il, but she won't
say SO. And all the people who know
it, and don't say anything about it to
you, talk about it to each other, and
dear! dear! the things they say about
boy who is given to telling big stories.
If he could only hear them it would
make him stick to the truth like -four
to a miller.
And. finally. il you tell the truth al
ways. don't see how you are going to
get very far out of the right way. It
isn't well to have too many rules Of
conduct and laws of living, because if
you have long code Of many laws, it
is SO much easier to forget one-half of
them than it is to remember the other
half. But any boy can remember one;
you can remember to tell the truth.
And how people do trust truthful boy.
We never worry about him when he is
out of our sight. We never say: II
wonder where he is: wish l knew
what he is doing; wonder who he is
with; wonder why he doesn't come
home" Nothing of the sort. We know
he is all right, and that when he comes
home we will know all about it and get
it straight. We don't have to ask him
where he is going and how long he will
be gone every time he goes out of the
house. We don't have to call him back
and make him ''solemnly promise" the
same thing over and over two or three
times. When he says "les, l WILL" or
mo, l won't" just once that settles it.
He may go where he will and we
won't fret about him. We don't have to
cross-examine him when he comes
home to find out where he has been.
lie tells US once, and that is enough.
We don't have to say ''Sure?" ''Are you
sure, now?" when he tells anything.
Sure? We would as soon think of ask
ing the sun il he was sure he rose in
the east this morning.
But. my boy, you can't build up that
reputation by merely telling the truth
about half the time, nor two-thirds, nor
three-fourths. nor nine-tenths of the
time: but all the time. If it brings
punishment upon you while the liar
escapes; if it brings you into present
disgrace while the smooth-tongaed liars
are exalted: If it loses you good posi-
ton; if it degrades you in the class: if
it stops a weeks pay: no matter what
punishment it may bring upon you,
tell the truth.
All these things will soon be righted.
The worst whipping that can be
laid on boys back won't keep him
out of the water in swimming time
longer than week; but a lie will burn
in the memory fifty years. Tell the
truth for the sake of the truth. and all
the best people in the world will love
and respect you, and all the liars re-
pect and hate you.-Robert j. Bur-
dette. in Ladies' Home journal.