LYING AS AN ART.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2212, 11 September 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

LYING AS AN ART.

+. Rev. A. J. Frost, of Sacramento, delivered the first of the series of popular lectures at the Young Men's Christian Association Hall, San Francisco. The .subject was Lying as a Fine Art. There are, said the speaker, three methods of prevarication — untruth, falsehood and lying. An untruth may be told where no sin is really intended ; it may or may not be culpable. It may be an error of judgment and not of heart. But an untruth told with an intention to misrepresent, at once becomes a lie, There is also a difference between a falsehood and a lie. For instince, a lady says to her guest at dinner, " There is nothing on the table fit t^ eat." That is a false statement — a falsehood — but it is not told with a malicious intent ; it is told only to draw forth a compliment. The lady, however, made the statement, | knowing it to be false. A lady will fre- | quently say that s'ie has nothing fit to wear, when it is a deliberate perversion of the truth, merely for the purpose of getting a new dress. These are falsehoods. A lie is a different matter altogether, and is a false representation designed to mislead or dcccive — a culpable breach of veracity. Cicero, Plato Hnd Plutarch held that it was honourable to lie in law, and many of our public men have adopted the same belief. The devil is the father of lies, and he has many children in California. Lying dissolves the very bonds of society. There are more liars than there are drunkards. You can tell a drunkard by the smell of his breath and his reeling step; but a man may be a liar and wear the face of a saint. There are half a dozen kinds jf lies that I will enumerate. The promise lie is a very popular lie. Those who are slow to make a promise are generally quick to perform, and those that are quick to promise are slow to perform. A woman that will promise to cut and fit a dress when she knows she can't, is not only a liar, but a thief. Then there are the benevolent lies, which are occasioned by a selfish desire to give pleasure instead of pain. There is a great deal of pious lying for religious ends, for the purpose of deceiving the ignorant and superstitious. Lies of convenience are also very popular, and there are lies of selfinterest. White lies I have never heard, but have heard of them. There really is no such thing as a white lie ; those that are so-called are generally as black as their father, the devil. — Alta California.

The miuing region of Menow Like, California, known to be rich in ores, the working of which wasjimpracticable on account of their rebellious nature, has suddenly come to the front again on account of the difficulties being overcome. A syndicate of English capitalists is erecting mills, costing 15,000d01. Our Only General.— Mr Labouchere's paper " Truth " (writes the correspondent of the "Sydney Morning Herald ") contains one of the most daring, audacious and most unfair, attacks ever directed against a popnlar and successful general. The article is in the shape of a letter, signed "An ex-Military Attach 6," who seems to know a good deal about American manceuvres. He speaks of General Lord Wolseley as an impostor and a mountebank, and charges him with falsifying reports and despatches. The article is the talk of the clubs, and it is thought that Lord Wolseley must take some action about it. He has friends and admirers as well as detractors. Both sides are very much in earnest. The general public regard him as the military hero of our time. He is the object of much jealousy in the army. His name has been merl too much in connection with the arming of Ulster. 75ut Mr Labouchere does not often make mistakes in the objects he selects to run down ; he is fearless, bold, has plenty of money to spend on law suits, which he nearly always wins ; and the public will be veiy curious to see what comes of this attack upon " our only General."