BE TRUE. 55

than a fortnight it was torn to shreds.
Could I tell a lie, Mrs. Page ?”

“No, my love,” replied her friend.
“Be true; never, to gain a momenta-
ry smile, be other than what you are,
my own true Laura.”

“Ttold mamma,” said Laura, “that
L had never spoken anything but the
truth, and that I was afraid to tell a
lie. She said that nobody wished
me to tell a lie; but the truth was
not to be spoken at all times, and if
I was too stupid and obstinate to
learn a little tact, she should be
obliged to turn me out of doors. I
wish, dear Mrs. Page,” continued the
little girl, “that you would tell me
what tact means. My mother and
sisters often use that word, and if I
could learn it, why perhaps I could
please them.”