Liars I Have Known.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2110, 11 June 1898, Page 3

Liars I Have Known.

[David Christie Murray, in the ‘ News o: the Week,’] '

I seem to have had a rather large acquaint tance with Liars, aud I find that they divide themselves rv naturally into foci classes. There is the cruel and scanda’ous ljar, who makes ,mischief in your home, or amongst your friends, and who is one of the greatest curses of social life. There is the man who lies for proat, and he also is a danger—to the trustful and nowary. Thqa there is the man who lies because of own exaggerated sense of self-import ß ance, and the constant craving to asi onish or interest other people. He is .almost harmless, and is geneva 1 ly a -man of excessive amiability; Then there is the puieJy humorous liar, who is aa unadulterated boon and bles3iug. ... Somebody said cf- Shelley that he covld not crvss the stnet without tellirg a he about it, but the cr tic was probably a pros.tic creature who could not discern vbe difference between a he and an iraagi native.

exaggeration. Mark Twain /says some* where: —\£tebrge Washiogion could not tell a lie.;' "Now I canr—and/bbat is where I have ‘the bulge/ ou>'/GeoVge.’ The first man I have in mind bad 7 the bulge’ ©n the wfiele wide world fah as Ibave known it. He sei:ieddue by-tbo p.rtn in n email liverwacd- street off tlie Stran'd on pne occasion, ancLwith every dra.iiaticVga of eagerness and* enthusiasm he pointed down, the street. ' Did I to: that man—that little ios’ga fiiant-looi ing naan in black there with the black hand big, nud the rusty silk hot too big,for him ? Isa w ' that ma»l 4 Yon wouldn’t thiuk it to look at him, butthats the mostremavkable man in Euyope at.this hour. I have just this ms-tKekparted,from him, and he has on'v left'lire/Cabinet in c©neuh>tiou ba l an hour‘ago. There is a drought in Devonshire and Cornwall, and he is going down there to make rain. He has a most aslon* ishing power in that .direction. I have often asked h m how ho exercises it, but he can. hardly explain it himself, It’s -something in himself, some elect ic force which science has net yet accounted for, which emanates ftom him pe soua.My ’. I said that all this was profoundly ibie<esting, and that, s'nce he iroesv t hia.e. b-a-ordinaiy person ao weU, I should be if he would iat.oduce me. No, no; he said, that was imonssible. The roan was. in a bur y to catch a train, and he had already detained him. too long: I.rep e* sented to him boat a man who stood stock still to stare into a pawnbroker’s window did hot look as if he were in a ve y g.-eat hurry, and I iDß : sted on an introduction. "Whan I , had get my liar within iwen ; y yards of the man he acknowledged smilingly that he didn’t know him fvein Adam. He was not io the least shocked or ahkoief ced at this exposure, or m any. way aft’, on ted when I told him wbaj; I thougat ..bont him. .... ‘

But then the veal genuine p leased liar on these innocent and iaiagluarive lines is never hurt oy detection. That-haa happened so often that lie is mined to it. a<id nerved to eQcoiii?te>‘ it at any Gio.eeofc. ; To be bowled out is-a pait of the ea rly , business of the day, and the is rlways :’i ready.to take his hat aadstaudfo" another • innings. This pa tieidar gentleman., was back at me within a mouth. I had wi.itten for a magazine cal' ed Eaat and West—now defunct aAyoe.ii called * Eng'tnid to America.’ He void me rhet be bad >ece«vou a letter f.om Prince Bismarck about it, .- and made a grope hi his pocket, and hunted through a iie-p of documents, he otb ■v awfully sorry teat he had left Bi&.na ctCs . letter at home. He remembered now exactly where he had bestowed it, and he would bring it into towanekt dry. I met u.him next day, and he raa to .me with enthusiasm- ‘ I've got that letter M- ,the Kaiser's/ be said with a beam log triamph. , .'The Kaisers?’ I asked. 4 Yes. 'J'bo tetter about your poem. The letter fom the Kaiser. I.told you about ‘fcyeste day.’ ‘You fo.got the Kaiser yesfce.tlpy. You oniy spoke of Bismarck/ ‘-Really? Is that ao ? Well, I've got ‘em both to-day.’ There was a new search, and there were new laments. He could not guess how he had come to he so stupid. He bad left both letters at home, and what a pity it was that I was going to the Continent that evening. He finally overdrew his account when he assured me that he had just left ‘ Salisbury/ and had learned from that distinguished maa‘s own lips that I was in. the running for the Laureates atp ! The odd and notable thing was that outside this aimless shameless foolery the man was astute and honest. I believe that he was exact In money matters, and that the world could not have tempted him to an inexactitude in business which would have brought a dishonourable shilling to his pocket- - ■