"'See there!' she said, pointing her thin finger toward the illuminated heavens. 'Before the sun rises again, I shall be where there is no darkness, where the Sun of righteousness shines forever and ever.'"
"I didn't know you remembered that, Alice," faltered Miss Saunders, in a softened tone; "but I have heard your father tell of it again and again. Your mother was a good Christian, Alice; but I don't see what that has to do with the subject we were talking about."
"It has everything to do with it; for after mother died, you came; and then our education commenced. I wonder whether I should have been good, if my mother had lived." The last words were uttered softly, as if to herself.
The old lady's face flushed; but she remained silent.
"I'm going to tell you the truth for once, aunty, and I think you'll agree with me that lying is vastly more agreeable. You remember how I praised you to Mr. Langworthy last Sabbath, telling him what a blessing you had been to us motherless children? That was all a fib,—a white or black lie, just as you please to call it, manufactured for a variety of purposes; such as to make you appear to the best advantage, and thus reflect credit on your niece; and to insinuate that I had been under the very best of influences. I thought that course justifiable, and even praiseworthy. Nov I'm going to tell you the plain, unvarnished truth. You are a liar, Aunt Clarissa,—one of the extreme kind, who flinch at nothing to carry out your plans. I can remember I first began to doubt your word when you gave me a dose of rhubarb, telling me it was nice like sugar. That was when you first came to us; and since that hour, I have never known you tell the truth when a lie would suit your purpose better."
"How dare you talk so, Alice?" gasped Miss Saunders, her chin quivering.
"Wait a minute, aunty; I haven't done yet; but I will do you the justice to say that I suppose fibbing has become so confirmed a habit with you that you yourself are scarcely aware of it; and then you have naturally a kind heart which prompts you to make everything as agreeable as possible. This is the reason why, when a visitor comes in, you say flattering things, such as, 'What an exquisite color your silk dress is!' and 'How charmingly suited to your delicate complexion!' or 'How well your children behave, Mrs. So-and-so! I wish Mrs. This-and-that would follow your example;' when, the moment their backs are turned, you laugh at their easy credulity, and want of good taste in the selection of colors."
"Stop! stop, child! I wont hear you talk so! I say it's shameful, after all I've done for you, slaving myself so many years, when I might have lived quietly by myself without any care!"
Alice shrugged her rounded shoulders, saying, archly,—
"Truth isn't pleasant; is it? I wonder what you'll do when Ellen comes home. Why I've only begun to enumerate the ways in which you have taught us to tell white and black lies. Why, there was poor little Jo, who knew as well as I did, when you threatened him with punishment, or promised to tell father some of his tricks, that you never intended to keep your word. Wasn't that a good lesson for a bright, imitative boy to learn? And didn't he learn it to perfection? Perhaps he would have been alive now, if he had been taught to be truthful."