The Democrat. (Scotland Neck, Halifax Co., N.C.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-01
VOL. K.
Burdette's Message to Boys.
Home Journal.

| iearn-lf you haven't learned no" 10
do it already-is to tell the truth. The
pure, sweet refreshing, unvarnished
simple, everyday, manly truth, with a
little st." For one thing, it will save
YOU so much trouble. O, heaps Of
trouble And no end of bard work
| And terrible strain upon your meln-
ory. Sometlmes-and when / say
sometimes, mean a great many times
it is hard to tell the truth the first
time But when you have told it,
there is an end of it, You have won
the victory the fight il over. Next
time you tell the truth you can tell 1t
without thinking. Your memory may
be faulty, but you tell your story a
single lash from singing whip of that
stern old taskmaker, conscience. You
don't stop and remember how you told
1t Yesterday. You don't get half
through with the awful sense upon
you that you are not telling it as you
did the other time, and cannot remem-
Der Just how you did tell it then. You
won't have to look around to see who
Is there before you begin to tell it.
After Annanias told lie, his wife had
to tell another just like it. You see, if
you tell lies you are apt to get your
whole family into trouble.
And then it is so foolish for you to
lie. You cannot pass lie off for the
truth, any more than you can get
counterfeit money into circulation
The leaden dollar is always detected
before it goes very far. When you tell
a lie, it is known. Yes, you say, God
knows it. That's right but he is not
the only one. SO far as Gods knowl-
edge is concerned he doesn't care very
much He doesn't worry about what
God knows-if he did, lie wouldn't be
a liar but it does worry 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 it, 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
a boy who is given to telling big stories
If he could only hear them, it would
make him stick to the truth like flour
to a miller.
And, finally, if you tell the truth
always, don't see how you are going
to get very far out of the right way
And how people do trust a truthful
boy We never worry about him
when he is out of sight. We never
say :; 'I wonder where he is l wish /
knew what he is doing wonder who
he is with / wonder why he doesn't
come home Nothing of the sort.
We know that 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 go
ing. and how long he will be gone,
every time he leaves the home. We
don't have to call back and make him
"solemnly promise" the same thing
over AID over two or three times
When he says, Eyes, will ;" or mo,
WON'T" just once, that settles it. We
don't have to cross examine him when
he comes home, to find out where be
has been. He tells us once, and that
is enough.
We don't have to say, "Sure?" "Are
you sure now" when he tells anything.
But, my boy, you can't build up that
reputation by merely telling the truth
about half of the time, nor two thirds,
nor three fourths, nor nine tenths of
the time. If it brings punishment
upon YOU while the liar escapes; if it
brings you into present disgrace while
the smooth tongued liars are exalted
if it loses you good position if it
degrades YOU in the class if it stops
weeks pay-no matter what punish
ment it may bring upon you, tell the
truth.
All these things Will soon be righted.