Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill WHEN we arrived we found ourselves in the midst of a hot discussion, a battle royal on the question of truth and social conventions. Mrs. Hindley was saying in her dogmatic way :— " It is absolutely wrong ; nothing can justify it." My wife urged in reply:— " Surely it is an instance of your own maxim—in a choice between two evils choose the less. Would you rather give your friend mortal offence by sending down word that you did not want to see her, or gain your purpose and yet avoid quarrels by sending a message known to be fictitious ? " " If you are so uncharitable as not to wish to see your visitor, you have enough iniquity to answer for without increasing it by an uncalled-for lie. And further, if the message is known to be fictitious, what is the good of Bending it at all? " " In a given case your visitor is in doubt." " Then you admit a deliberate lie." " But what would you do ? Take an instance which I know actually occurred. A lady having been left alone one afternoon, thought, as it was getting rather late and she was safely protected from further interruption, she would put her time to a good purpose, and so proceeded to wash her hair. Just in the middle of it all a visitor is announced. What was she to do ? She sent down word that she was not at home. You would have liked her to say, ' I am washing my hair and cannot see you'! " At this there was a general laugh, and Mrs. Reynolds, who had hitherto remained silent since our entrance, turned to us and said :— " I am so glad you have come ; I hardly feel competent to keep the peace. Here is a furious discussion raging, and has been for a long time, and both combatants are asconvinced of the Tightness of their position as when they began—nay, I rather think more so! For my own part I agree... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.