p to the necessity of action.
Indeed, in such a matter as this, Mrs. Grantly was a more able woman
than Lady Lufton--more able to see her way and to follow it out.
The Lufton-Grantly alliance was in her mind the best, seeing that
she did not regard money as everything. But failing that, the
Hartletop-Grantly alliance was not bad. Regarding it as a second
string to her bow, she thought that it was not at all bad. Lady
Lufton's reply was very affectionate. She declared how happy she was
to know that Griselda was enjoying herself; she insinuated that Lord
Dumbello was known to the world as a fool, and his mother as--being
not a bit better than she ought to be; and then she added that
circumstances would bring herself up to town four days sooner than
she had expected, and that she hoped her dear Griselda would come
to her at once. Lord Lufton, she said, though he would not sleep in
Bruton Street--Lady Lufton lived in Bruton Street--had promised to
pass there as much of his time as his parliamentary duties would
permit.

O Lady Lufton! Lady Lufton! did it not occur to you when you wrote
those last words, intending that they should have so strong an
effect on the mind of your correspondent, that you were telling
a--tarradiddle? Was it not the case that you had said to your son, in
your own dear, kind, motherly way: "Ludovic, we shall see something
of you in Bruton Street this year, shall we not? Griselda Grantly
will be with me, and we must not let her be dull--must we?" And then
had he not answered, "Oh, of course, mother," and sauntered out of
the room, not altogether graciously? Had he, or you, said a word
about his parliamentary duties? Not a word! O Lady Lufton! have you
not now written a tarradiddle to your friend? In these days we are
becoming very strict about truth with our children; terribly strict
occasionally, when we consider the natural weakness of the moral
courage at the ages of ten, twelve, and fourteen. But I do not know
that we are at all increasing the measure of strictness with which
we, grown-up people, regulate our own truth and falsehood. Heaven
forbid that I should be thought to advocate falsehood in children;
but an untruth is more pardonable in them than in their parents.
Lady Lufton's tarradiddle was of a nature that is usually considered
excusable--at least with grown people; but, nevertheless, she would
have been nearer to perfection could she have confined herself to
the truth. Let us suppose