on earth together. Well he knew that, though Truth would in the end be accepted by the people, she must
suffer greatly. His life experience had taught him that she must go often unhonored and unloved, while Error,
her sister, would receive smiles, gifts, and welcome from the majority. It was a sacrifice to part with his
much-loved daughter Truth, and a great grief to be obliged to send Error with her. He placed them, with words
of cheer and counsel, in the care of Hyperion, the father of the Sun, Moon, and Dawn, who accompanied them
in his golden chariot to the clouds, where he left the two in charge of Zephyr, who wafted them from their
fleecy couch to the earth.
One bleak, chilly day, the two were walking over a dreary road dotted here and there with dwellings. The
most casual observer might have seen their striking dissimilarity, both in dress and manners. Truth was clad in
garments of the plainest material and finish, while Error was decked in costly robes and jewels. The step of
the former was firm and slow, while that of the latter was rapid and nervous. The bleak winds penetrated their
forms as they turned a sharp angle in the road, when there was revealed to them, on an eminence, a costly and
elegant building.
"I shall certainly go in there for the night, and escape these biting blasts," said Error to her sister.
"Although, the house is large and grand," answered Truth, "it does not look as though its inmates were
hospitable. I prefer trying my luck in yonder cottage on the slope of that hill."
"And perhaps have your walk for naught," answered Error, who bade a hasty good-by to her sister and entered
the enclosure, which must have been beautiful in summer with its smooth lawns, fine trees and beds and
flowers. She gave the bell a sharp ring, and was summoned into an elegant drawing-room full of gaily dressed
people. Error was neither timid nor bashful, and she accepted the offered courtesies of the family as one
would a right. She seated herself and explained to them the object of her call, dwelling largely on the grandeur
of her elegant home amid the stars, and tenderly and feelingly upon her relationship with the gods and
goddesses, and the numerous feasts which she had attended, so that at her conclusion her hostess felt that
herself and family were receiving rather than bestowing a favor.
The evening was spent amid games and pastimes till the hour for retiring, when they conducted her to a warm
and elegantly furnished room, so comfortable that it made her long, for a moment, for her sister to share it
with her; for, despite the difference in their natures, Error loved her sister. The soft couch, however, soon
lulled her to sleep. She, slumbered deeply, and dreamed that Truth was walking all night, cold and hungry,
when suddenly a lovely form came out of the clouds. It was none other than Astrea, whom she had seen often
in her starry home, talking with Truth. She saw her fold a soft, delicate garment about the cold form of her
sister, at the same time saying, in reproving tones, to herself, "This is not the only time you have left your
sister alone in the cold and cared for yourself. The sin of selfishness is great, and the gods will succor the
innocent and punish the offender."
She closed, and was rising, with Truth in her arms, to the skies, when Error gave such a loud shriek that
Astrea dropped her, and a strong current of air took the goddess out of sight. It was well for the earth, which
might have been forever in darkness, that Truth was dropped, though hard for her.
Error awoke from her dream, which seemed more real than her elegant surroundings, and resolved to go in
search of Truth when the morning came; but a blinding storm of snow and sleet, and the remonstrance of the
family, added to her own innate love of ease, left Truth uncared for by one whose duty it was to seek her.
The days glided into weeks, and yet Error remained, much to the wonder of the poorer neighbors around, that
Mrs. Highbred should encourage and keep such a companion for her daughters. They could see at a glance
that Error was superficial, that she possessed no depth of thought or feeling; and their wonder grew to deep
surprise when they saw all the gentry for miles around giving parties in honor of her. Everywhere she was
flattered and adored, until she became, if possible, more vain and full of her own conceit.
Allegories of Life 21