The Lamar register., 1908-09-02
.Lyiing-Truth|!s'|'.
The Reporter Got Some New
lighto on On Old Art

ANSW dOA NO ObCA0Oius yO4h6
man. said Mrs. sapphira shaking her
finger at the reporter. Nobody has
ever Haired ask me that question be-
fore.I
What pretty hands" murmured the
reporter soto voce, az he took his cup
Of tea from one of them.
But. as I was saying. though mo-
body has dared ask the question
don't mind telling you that put
Ananias up to fibbing because l want
ed the money for spring hat. Now,
don't go and put that in the paper.
will you? I'm not talking for publica-
ton. but simply to be obliging."
What do you think about the ethics
Of nbbing?" asked the reporter. You
sec ALPHABETICALLY. I've been told
that you are the worlds greatest au-
thority on this subject. and / make
It . rule Of life to go straight to head.
quarters for information"
Mrs. Sapphire shook manicursd
finger at him. 1t was a trick with her.
You fiatterer." she bubbled. There's
no getting ahead of you reporters.
What do you mean by ethics? It's
such a stern word. You mean, do
think it's wrong to tell fb or do
circumstances ever Justify 1t? Why.
Of course. think it's wrong to tell a
perfectly useless NIB. one that doesn't
do anything for anybody. Now. the
one was SO severely reprimanded for
had a raison d'etre-you understand
French, of coursea-if ever a fib had.
but should never have told 1t,
assure you. II I hadn't been awfully
hard up for q spring hat. OF course.
you can't always stop to think wheth-
or there is a raison d'etre for q fib
before it slips out Of your mouth. but
II you have a moment to consider.
why. think you ought to consider"
A ring at the bell startled her.
Say 1 am not At home, jane" she
beckoned to the maid who went to
the door.
$50 sorry to miss her." was the re-
ply that was waited in as the obedient
servant delivered the message.
"a case in point" smiled Mrs. Sap
phira- She has the whitest teeth.
Il hold that It Is NO NIB for a woman
to decline to be at home II she doesn't
choose to be at home. Besides, It II
20 much kinder than to say she begs
to be excused. There always seems
to be excused. To me It implies. 7
saw you from the window" -
"But this 'so-sorry-to-miss-you bust
ness. what do you think Of thatr' de-
manded the reporter, determined 10
get to the bottom Of things.
"Oh. social regrets don't amount to
. brass farthing. They are expected.
1T seems to me, then" began the
reporter. thoughtfully, that in society
there's code Of lying that's perfectly
wen understood"
Precisely" asserted the authority
on the subject. Its a sort Of appen-
dix to the code of good manners.
Everybody expects 1t and everybody
knows that q fib under the circum-
stances doesn't mean anything at ALL"
Lets eliminate the social fib. then"
the reporter began again. land come
to lies"
"Oh. but not 30 suddenly" muir.
INJURED Mrs. Sapphira. warming up .
little to the subject. There are
gradations. The social NIB. the tara
diddle Gan embroidered tale). the idle
story. the whopper (this belongs to
childhood). the lie indirect. the lie d.
rect, and the malicious lie. You
see, an authority must be tech
meal else she Ii no authority. and
even now am only giving you the
various heads. OF course. under each
there are many side branches Of nb-
bling which need not go into. OF
them all the tarradiddle is the most
interesting. To this class belong
latchkey wit-told as ones original
story: other peoples stories adopted
BY the teller as his own. tales that one
improves on each time one tells them.
etc. Only those of some imaginative
powers can tell . successful tarradid-
die. The Idle story, on the other hand.
Just slips out before you know It You
didn't mean to tell 1t. You wonder
why on earth you ever told II, and
then you dismiss 1t from your mind
- being not worth worrying over.
Tho whopper 10 the kind that small
boy tells to escape punishment It =
usually detected or he Is told ON By
Q truthful brother or sister who are
not averse to seeing him get his Just
dues.
Then there's the lie direct Wen.
to be personal. (this 10 not for pub
location. you know that is the kind
I told, and It didn't harm anybody but
myself. 30 what was the use-but No
needn't 90 into that now. The ma
licious lie II the only one that's abso-
lutely inexcusable. You tell It with
intent to hurt, to injure. and you leave
It to work its own deadly poison.
There. I believe that's all"
The reporter drew a long breath.
II say" he said slowly. "they ought
to offer you q chair in woman's col
legs. I hadn't any idea there was %
much to. the good about lying"
IDS. MERCY! do ] look like . school
-m6rmf" pouted Mrs. sspphirA- Hss
eooth are like pearls.
F~By jove. no." cried the reporter.
For the moment I was thinking q.
ysu - an intelligence and. NOT .
woman" .
Ms. sapphir seemed Scarcely mol
ssr go ia ,tN~ svfuyIv vHr e. 80