The Cairo bulletin., 1908-06-09
Lying-Truths
Tho Reporter Got Some New
Lights on an Old Art

Now don't be OVERLOAD. youn!
!. man." said Mrs. Sapphira shaking he,
finger at the reporter Nobody has
ever dared ask me that question be
fore"
What pretty hands" murmured the
reporter soto yoce, as he took Ii s cup
OF tea from one of them.
"Bgt as ! was saying, though no.
body has dared ask the question !
don't mind telling you that put
Ananias up TO fbbing because want
ed the money for a spring hat. Now.
don't so and put that in the paper.
VIII you? I'm not talking for puhlica-
tion, but simply to be obligng."
What do you think about the ethics
OF hbbing?" asked the reporter. You
see automatically, I've been told
that you are the worlds greatest au.
thority on this subject. and | make
ii rule of life to go straight to head
| quarters for information"
Mrs Sapphira shook manicured
finger at him. 1t was trick with her
You iiatterer." she dubbed There's
no getting ahead of you reporters
What do you mean by ethics? It's
/ such stern word You mean, do
/ think it's wrong - tell a fb or do
/ circumstances ever justify It? Why,
or course, think it's wrong to tell
| perfectly useless fib, one that doesn't
do anything for anybody Now. the
one | was so severely reprimanded for
/ had raisOn detre-you understand
/ French of course--if ever q tlb had
but | should never have told It,
assure you, II | hadn't been awfully
hard up for a spring hat OF course.
you can't always stop TO think wheth.
er there is Iaison d'etre for a tb
before it slips out Of your mouth. but
If You have a moment TO consider.
why, think you ought to consider"
A ring at the bell startled her.
Say | am not at home, Jane she
beckoned to the maid who went to
the door.
so 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 fib for a woman |
TO decline to be at home IL she doesn't |
choose to be at home Besides. il Is
so much kinder than TO say she begs
to be excused. There always seems
to be something personal in begging
to be excused. To me ii implies, I
saw you from the window"
But this so-sorry,tomissyo busl
ness, what do you think of that de-
manded the reporter. determined TO
get to the bottom of things
"Oh, social regrets don't amount to
a brass farthing They are expected.
1T seems 70 me, then" began the
reporter, thoughtfully, that in society
there's a code of iying that's perfectly
well understood"
Precisely" asserted the authority
on the subject. It's a sort Of appen-
dix to the code Of good manners
expects it and everybody
knows that a fib under the cireum.
stances doesn't mean anything at all"
Let's eliminate the social fb. then"
the reporter began again. and come
10 lies
oh. but not so suddenly" muir.
INJURED Mrs. Sapphira, warming up a ,
little to the subject There are ,
The social fib. the tara
fiddle ian embroidered talel. the idle
tory, the whopper tthis belongs to
the lie indirect, the lie d.
ect, and the malicious lie You
zee, an authority must be tech
lical else she is no authority, and
wen now | am only giving you the
'arious heads. OF course under each y
here are many side branches of fib.
ling which | need not 20 into OF i
hem all the tarradidde is the most
To this class belong r
tory; other peoples stories adopted Z
y the teller as his own, tales that one &
improves On each time one tells them, s
tc. Only those Of some imaginative
overs can tell a successful tarradid- 81
lie, The idle story, on the other hand n
Ist slips out before you know It, You
idnt mean to tell it. You wonder
ny bH til III you ever lblu II, anu | II
zen you dismiss it from your mind
5 being not worth worrying over. a,
he whopper is the kind that small ri
1y tells to escape punishment. 1t is
;ually detected, or he is told on by n
truthful brother or sister who are m
IT averse to seeing him get his Just "a
les.
Then there's the lie direct Well, ey
be personal. this is not for pub
,ation, you know that is the kind m
told, and it didn't harm anybody but tn
yself, so what was the use-but We
,ednt &c into that now. The ma tn
,ious lie IS the only one that's abso- 81,
tely ineXcusable. Yoa tell 1t with es
tent TO hurt. to inhre, and you leave OK
10 work its own deadly poison dc
lere. believe that's all" fo,
The reporter drew a long breath. pu
say he said slowly, they ought | III
offer you a chair In woman's col
ye. hadn't any idea there was so lor
lch to the good about lying"
Mercy, do look like school wr
lrm?" pouted Mrs. Sapphira Her re-;
eth are like pearls. pu
by jove. no" cried the reporter. Of
or the moment | was thinking of mi