ssion the out-growth of previous
instructions upon the sin of lying and the beauty of truthfulness. He
represents Mr. Washington as saying to his son:

"Truth, George, is the loveliest quality of youth. I would ride fifty
miles, my son, to see the little boy whose heart is so honest, and his
lips so pure, that we may depend on every word he says."

"But, oh, how different, George, is the case with the boy who is so given
to lying that nobody can believe a word he says. He is looked at with
aversion wherever he goes, and parents dread to see him come among their
children. O George, rather than see you come to this pass, dear as you
are to me, I would follow you to your grave."

Here George protested against being charged with lying. "Do I ever tell
lies?" he asked.

"No, George, I thank God you do not; and I rejoice in the hope that you
never will. At least, you shall never, from me, have cause to be guilty
of so shameful a thing. You know I have always told you, and now tell
you again, that, whenever by accident you do anything wrong, which must
often be the case, as you are but a little boy, without _experience_ or
_knowledge_, never tell a falsehood to conceal it; but come bravely up,
and tell me of it; and your confession will merit love instead of
punishment."

As we proceed with this narrative, after having enjoyed this glimpse of
George's earliest years, the charming lines of Burleigh will find a
fitting application.

"By honest work and inward truth
The victories of our life are won,
And what is wisely done in youth
For all the years is wisely done;
The little deeds of every day
Shape that within which lives for aye.

"No thought so buried in the dark
It shall not bear its bloom in light;
No act too small to leave its mark
Upon the young hearts tablet white;
Our grand achievements, secret springs,
Are tempered among trivial things.

"No soul at last is truly great
That was not greatly true at first;
In childhood's play are seeds of fate
Whose flower in manhood's work shall burst.
In the clinched fist of baby Thor
Might seem his hammer clutched for war.

* * * * *

"The firmest tower to heaven up-piled
Hides deepest its foundation-stone;
Do well the duty of the child,
And manhood's task is well begun;
In thunders of the forum yet
Res