"It is right for us to confess to each other," she added, solemnly; "but there is a duty still higher than that. The sin against me or your cousin is nothing compared with the sin against your heavenly Father. He has given us a terrible instance of his displeasure against liars, in the punishment of Ananias and Sapphira. You know they owned property which they sold, and pretended to give all the proceeds to the disciples. As Peter told them, they need not have sold the property. If they chose, they had a perfect right to keep it; and after they had sold it, they would have been justified in retaining the money for their own use; their sin was in pretending that they gave all they obtained from the sale for charitable purposes, while in fact they only gave part and kept back the rest. When the apostle asked whether they had sold the land for so much, they said, 'Yes, for so much,' lying not only to him, but to God. Their instant death is an awful warning to those who depart from the truth, or speak lies, as the Bible terms it."
Ellen shuddered. "I have always told lies," she said, softly; "Alice does, and Joseph and Aunt Clarissa too."
"That is a grave charge, my dear."
"Well, she does. She often tells Joseph, 'I'll certainly let your father know if you behave so, tumbling up all his clean clothes, or meddling with my baskets!' But she never does tell him; and we all know she never means too. Isn't that lying? Then she tells the chamber-girl if she doesn't sweep cleaner, she'll dismiss her right off; but the girl only laughs. She's heard it so many times, she don't believe a word of it. So that is lying.
"And one day," she went on, eagerly, "a lady called, and asked aunt to visit her; and Aunt Clarissa told her that every day, for a week, she had been meaning to call. After the lady had gone, Alice said,—
"'I don't see why you like that lady so.'
"'I don't like her at all,' aunt replied. 'She runs round all the time and neglects her family.'
"'Well,' cried Alice, 'you told her you meant to go and see her all last week.'
"'Oh, dear!' said Aunt Clarissa. 'I only told her that, not to offend her.'
"Alice laughed, as she said, 'I suppose that's what you call a fashionable lie.'"