FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125  
126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>   >|  
oo. The point is that my nurse won't let me have any, and I don't suppose Titherington's wife will let him. That ass McMeekin insists on poisoning me with barley water, and Titherington's doctor, whoever he is, is most likely doing the same." "I see," said Lalage. "This just bears out what I've been saying all along about the utter want of common honesty in political life. Here are you and Tithers actually quarrelling about which of you is to be allowed to lie continuously. You are deliberately deceiving your doctor and nurse. Tithers wants to deceive his wife, which is, if anything, a shade worse. Hilda, find that bag." "Lalage," I said, "you're not going to give it to Titherington, are you? It wouldn't be good for him, it wouldn't really." "Make your mind quite easy about that," said Lalage. "I'm not going to give it to either of you. Hilda, look under the bed. That's just the idiotic sort of place Tithers would hide a thing." I heard Hilda grovelling about on the floor. A minute later she was dragging the bag out. "What are you going to do with it, Lalage?" "Take it away and keep it myself till you're both well." "We never shall be," I said. "We shall die. Please, Lalage, please don't." "It's the only honest course," said Lalage. I made an effort to assert myself, though I knew it was useless. "There is such a thing," I said, "as carrying honesty too far. All extremes are wrong. There are lots of occasions on which it isn't at all right to tell the literal truth." "None," said Lalage. "Suppose a robber was robbing you, and you had a five-pound note inside your sock and suppose he said to you, 'Have you any more money?'" "That has nothing to do with the way you and Tithers have conspired together to deceive the very people who are trying to do you good." "Lalage," I said, "I've subscribed liberally to the funds of the society. I'll subscribe again. I did my best for you at the time of the bishop row. I don't think you ought to turn on me now because I'm adopting the only means in my power of resisting a frightful tyranny. You might just as well call it dishonest of a prisoner to try to escape because he doesn't tell the gaoler beforehand how he's going to do it." "Hilda," said Lalage, "collar that bag and come on." "Lalage," I said sternly, "if you take that bag I'll write straight to the Archdeacon." Hilda was already outside the door. Lalage turned. "It will be much more unpl
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   101   102   103   104   105   106   107   108   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125  
126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133   134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Lalage
 

Tithers

 

Titherington

 

honesty

 

wouldn

 
deceive
 
suppose
 

doctor

 
people
 

conspired


carrying

 

literal

 
robber
 

robbing

 
occasions
 

Suppose

 
inside
 
extremes
 

collar

 

gaoler


dishonest

 

prisoner

 

escape

 

sternly

 

turned

 

straight

 

Archdeacon

 

subscribe

 

society

 

subscribed


liberally

 
bishop
 

resisting

 

frightful

 

tyranny

 
adopting
 

grovelling

 
quarrelling
 

political

 
common

allowed
 

continuously

 
deliberately
 
deceiving
 

McMeekin

 

insists

 
poisoning
 

barley

 
Please
 

honest