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 that a boy were to write home from school, saying that another boy had promised to come and stay with him, that other having given no such promise--what a very naughty boy would that first boy be in the eyes of his pastors and masters! That little conversation between Lord Lufton and his mother--in which nothing was said about his lordship's parliamentary duties--took place on the evening before he started for London.

On that occasion he certainly was not in his best humour, nor did he behave to his mother in his kindest manner.