Themeninthatfarcountrywereliars，everyone。Theirmerehowdy—dowasalie，because_they_didn\'tcarehowyoudid，excepttheywereundertakers。Totheordinaryinquireryouliedinreturn；foryoumadenoconscientiousdiagnosticofyourcase，butansweredatrandom，andusuallymisseditconsiderably。Youliedtotheundertaker，andsaidyourhealthwasfailing—awhollycommendablelie，sinceitcostyounothingandpleasedtheotherman。
Ifastrangercalledandinterruptedyou，yousaidwithyourheartytongue，\"I\'mgladtoseeyou，\"andsaidwithyourheartiersoul，\"Iwishyouwerewiththecannibalsanditwasdinner—time。\"Whenhewent，yousaidregretfully，\"_Must_yougo？\"andfolloweditwitha\"Callagain；\"butyoudidnoharm，foryoudidnotdeceiveanybodynorinflictanyhurt，whereasthetruthwouldhavemadeyoubothunhappy。
Ithinkthatallthiscourteouslyingisasweetandlovingart，andshouldbecultivated。Thehighestperfectionofpolitenessisonlyabeautifuledifice，built，fromthebasetothedome，ofgracefulandgildedformsofcharitableandunselfishlying。
WhatIbemoanisthegrowingprevalenceofthebrutaltruth。Letusdowhatwecantoeradicateit。Aninjurioustruthhasnomeritoveraninjuriouslie。
Neithershouldeverbeuttered。Themanwhospeaksaninjurioustruthlesthissoulbenotsavedifhedootherwise，shouldreflectthatthatsortofasoulisnotstrictlyworthsaving。Themanwhotellsalietohelpapoordeviloutoftrouble，isoneofwhomtheangelsdoubtlesssay，\"Lo，hereisanheroicsoulwhocastshisownwelfareinjeopardytosuccorhisneighbor\'s；
letusexaltthismagnanimousliar。\"
Aninjuriouslieisanuncommendablething；andso，also，andinthesamedegree，isaninjurioustruth—afactthatisrecognizedbythelawoflibel。
Amongothercommonlies，wehavethe_silent_lie—thedeceptionwhichoneconveysbysimplykeepingstillandconcealingthetruth。Manyobstinatetruth—mongersindulgeinthisdissipation，imaginingthatifthey_speak_nolie，theylienotatall。InthatfarcountrywhereIoncelived，therewasalovelyspirit，aladywhoseimpulseswerealwayshighandpure，andwhosecharacteransweredtothem。OnedayIwasthereatdinner，andremarked，inageneralway，thatweareallliars。Shewasamazed，andsaid，\"Not_all_？\"
Itwasbefore\"Pinafore\'s\"time。soIdidnotmaketheresponsewhichwouldnaturallyfollowinourday，butfranklysaid，\"Yes，_all_—weareallliars。
Therearenoexceptions。\"Shelookedalmostoffended，\"Why，doyouinclude_me_？\"\"Certainly，\"Isaid。\"Ithinkyouevenrankasanexpert。\"Shesaid\"Sh—\'sh!thechildren!\"Sothesubjectwaschangedindeferencetothechildren\'spresence，andwewentontalkingaboutotherthings。Butassoonastheyoungpeoplewereoutoftheway，theladycamewarmlybacktothematterandsaid，\"Ihavemadearuleofmylifetonevertellalie；andI
haveneverdepartedfromitinasingleinstance。\"Isaid，\"Idon\'tmeantheleastharmordisrespect，butreallyyouhavebeenlyinglikesmokeeversinceI\'vebeensittinghere。Ithascausedmeagooddealofpain，becauseI\'mnotusedtoit。\"Sherequiredofmeaninstance—justasingleinstance。
SoIsaid—
\"Well，hereistheunfilledduplicateoftheblank，whichtheOaklandhospitalpeoplesenttoyoubythehandofthesick—nursewhenshecameheretonurseyourlittlenephewthroughhisdangerousillness。Thisblankasksallmannersofquestionsastotheconductofthatsick—nurse：\'Didsheeversleeponherwatch？Didsheeverforgettogivethemedicine？\'andsoforthandsoon。Youarewarnedtobeverycarefulandexplicitinyouranswers，forthewelfareoftheservicerequiresthatthenursesbepromptlyfinedorotherwisepunishedforderelictions。Youtoldmeyouwereperfectlydelightedwiththisnurse—thatshehadathousandperfectionsandonlyonefault：youfoundyounevercoulddependonherwrappingJohnnyuphalfsufficientlywhilehewaitedinachillychairforhertorearrangethewarmbed。
Youfilleduptheduplicateofthispaper，andsentitbacktothehospitalbythehandofthenurse。Howdidyouanswerthisquestion—\'Wasthenurseatanytimeguiltyofanegligencewhichwaslikelytoresultinthepatient\'stakingcold？\'Come—everythingisdecidedbyabethereinCalifornia：tendollarstotencentsyouliedwhenyouansweredthatquestion。\"Shesaid，\"I