第3章
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  didn\'t;_Ileftitblank!_\"\"Justso—youhavetolda_silent_lie;youhaveleftittobeinferredthatyouhadnofaulttofindinthatmatter。\"Shesaid,\"Oh,wasthatalie?And_how_couldImentionheronesinglefault,andsheissogood?—Itwouldhavebeencruel。\"Isaid,\"Oneoughtalwaystolie,whenonecandogoodbyit;yourimpulsewasright,butyourjudgmentwascrude;

  thiscomesofunintelligentpractice。Nowobservetheresultsofthisinexpertdeflectionofyours。YouknowMr。Jones\'sWillieislyingverylowwithscarlet—fever;well,yourrecommendationwassoenthusiasticthatthatgirlistherenursinghim,andtheworn—outfamilyhaveallbeentrustinglysoundasleepforthelastfourteenhours,leavingtheirdarlingwithfullconfidenceinthosefatalhands,becauseyou,likeyoungGeorgeWashington,haveareputa—

  However,ifyouarenotgoingtohaveanythingtodo,Iwillcomearoundto—morrowandwe\'llattendthefuneraltogether,for,ofcourse,you\'llnaturallyfeelapeculiarinterestinWillie\'scase—aspersonalaone,infact,astheundertaker。\"

  Butthatwasnotalllost。BeforeIwashalf—waythroughshewasinacarriageandmakingthirtymilesanhourtowardtheJonesmansiontosavewhatwasleftofWillieandtellallsheknewaboutthedeadlynurse。Allofwhichwasunnecessary,asWilliewasn\'tsick;Ihadbeenlyingmyself。Butthatsameday,allthesame,shesentalinetothehospitalwhichfilleduptheneglectedblank,andstatedthe_facts,_too,inthesquarestpossiblemanner。

  Now,yousee,thislady\'sfaultwas_not_inlying,butinlyinginjudiciously。Sheshouldhavetoldthetruth,_there,_andmadeituptothenursewithafraudulentcomplimentfurtheralonginthepaper。Shecouldhavesaid,\"Inonerespectthissick—nurseisperfection—whensheisonthewatch,sheneversnores。\"Almostanylittlepleasantliewouldhavetakenthestingoutofthattroublesomebutnecessaryexpressionofthetruth。

  Lyingisuniversal—we_all_doit。Therefore,thewisethingisforusdiligentlytotrainourselvestoliethoughtfully,judiciously;toliewithagoodobject,andnotanevilone;tolieforothers\'advantage,andnotourown;toliehealingly,charitably,humanely,notcruelly,hurtfully,maliciously;toliegracefullyandgraciously,notawkwardlyandclumsily;

  toliefirmly,frankly,squarely,withheaderect,nothaltingly,tortuously,withpusillanimousmien,asbeingashamedofourhighcalling。Thenshallweberidoftherankandpestilenttruththatisrottingtheland;thenshallwebegreatandgoodandbeautiful,andworthydwellersinaworldwhereevenbenignNaturehabituallylies,exceptwhenshepromisesexecrableweather。

  Then—ButamIbutanewandfeeblestudentinthisgraciousart;Icannotinstruct_this_club。

  Jokingaside,Ithinkthereismuchneedofwiseexaminationintowhatsortsofliesarebestandwholesomesttobeindulged,seeingwe_must_alllieandwe_do_alllie,andwhatsortsitmaybebesttoavoid—andthisisathingwhichIfeelIcanconfidentlyputintothehandsofthisexperiencedClub—aripebody,whomaybetermed,inthisregard,andwithoutundueflattery,OldMasters。

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