228 What We Lose 



mile to see a set of china exquisitely decorated. 

 Some Persian rugs give me as much pleasure as 

 many pictures. A noble house is something 

 that I should like to own. But there has al- 

 ways been the question : Is it going to pay me 

 to have china at my table which costs one hun- 

 dred dollars, or a rug before the fire which 

 costs half as much again? It is all a question 

 of whether I will give up something else. Shall 

 I exchange a week of sunlight for the sake of 

 that dinner service, and another week for the 

 sake of that rug, and another month for the 

 sake of living in the house which pleases me? 

 and so on. After weighing the losses and 

 the gains pretty carefully, I say No. 



A far more serious objection which is made 

 to my plan of life is that it is not fair to my 

 children. I have had the advantage of good 

 schools, I have been sent abroad to study, I 

 have had years of life among people who know 

 something of books and art. It may be very 

 well for me to desert from the ranks, and settle 

 down in the woods, intellectually speaking, of 

 this end of Long Island. This is a serious 

 question. Had I never conceived the idea of 



