The morning news., 1892-03-17
SOCIAL LIES NOT WICKED.
illustrations Of the Necessity Which
Warrants Their Employment
from the TFdshin0ton Sta


From the Washington star.
''People talk about the wickedness Of lies,
but would like TO know how they could be
got along without in polite society," said a
woman Of fashion. Imagine for a moment
an afternoon call, for example, where both
hostess and visitor had conscientiously made
up their minds to speak with entire frank
ness and truthfulness.
Figure TO yourself the mistress of the
house IN the act Of entering the drawing
room. Instead Of rushing impulsively for
ward and grasping the visitors hand with a
pleasant smile and words expressive of
pleasure at seeing her, she simply says:
"'You ugly old thing, why on earth have
you come to bother me with a call this
afternoonr
"'Simply for the sake of getting through
with an unpleasant duty replies the caller.
1 hoped very earnestly that should not
find you at home
- If had had any notion that You we're
coming should have told the maid to say
that | was not receiving returns the
hostess. What a horribly unbecoming
gown you have onn
Such remark coming from a woman
so notoriously badly dressed yourself seems
rather absurd rejoins the visitor.
AT about thal point in the conversati on
the restraints of politeness are altogether
dispensed with, and clappeSc Sclawing and
hair pulling follow.
Certainly IL would not be possible TO
conduct affairs on such basis. The condt-
tions Of civilized life are in high degree
artificial, and we are all Of us compelled by
circumstances over which we have no con-
troll to act parts very much as if we we're
on the stage instead of beng our real selves
Few of US realize the fact, l think, but
every person does actually assume a certain
role in the world. The only people who
are altogether their natural selves are saw
ages.
Il have known q good many persons who
made 1t point to be particularly frank,
deeming 1t virtue and going so far as to
boast OF 1t. They would not hesitate to say
disagreeable things, implying that so long
as they were true there could be no harm in
utterlng them. Such people do not realize
that they are acting in imitation OF savages.
After all, the most important difference be-
tween the savage and the civilized individ-
ual lies in the fact that the latter exercises
restraint upon the natural impulses IL is
always the most natural impulse to tell the
truth. A falsehood signifies constraint by
fear or other motives.
Certainly nothing can be more cruel and
calculated to injure than q brutal truth
often IS. Accordingly. there can be no good
objection to the employment OF harmless
deceptions when they contribute to peoples
happiness. Hence, in polite society people
are continually saying things which are un-
true. II 10 were otherwise there could be
no pleasure in meeting ones fellow beings
A very amusing thing occurred to lady Of
my acquaintance the other day, which will
serve to illustrate the point.
'She went TO call at the house Of some
people whom abe knew but slightly The
maid, coming to the door, informed her that
the mistress OF the mansion and her daughter
were not at home. So she left her cards and
was starting to descend the front steps when
mans arm was thrust out from the parlor
window and the hand attached to the nrm
detained her. At the same time a gruff
voice SAID, My pretty young woman, who
are youp
My friend at onoe comprehended that ii
was the old general, the father Of the family,
who had thus made her pause. She knew
his reputation for gruR and well-meant
rudeness, but replied. mentioning her name.
ana saying that she was sorry to have found
his wife and daughter not at home.
Who says they are not at homer de-
manded the general. poking his grizzled
head out OF the window.
1.-The maid so informed me at the door
said my friend.
Its id lier exclaimed the general,
They are both Of them upstairs at this mo-
ment Come into the house and / will have
them down stairs in a jiffy. The lazy
women are lounging on the bed and reading
novels
80, pray you, do nothing of the kind y
protested my friend, quite aghast. L will
come again some other day.
"'No, insist upon your coming in nowp
declared the general; and, in fact he
obliged her to come into the house, instruct
ing the maid to tell those ladies to come
straight down to the drawing room.'
so, after about twenty minutes, the wife
and daughter made their unwilling appear
ance, as you may imagine, to the extreme
embarrassment of all parties concerned.
with the exception of the old general, who
referred with glee to the success he had in
this particular instance in correcting what
he called feminine tendency to falsehoodi
in the ladies Of his family"