WHAT WE LOSE AND WHAT WE GAIN. 2lf 



The music-stand is typical of the whole 

 theory upon which I have preached so per- 

 sistently and to some extent practised. In 

 every affair of life, we have been insisting upon 

 mahogany, with stucco trimmings, and wasting 

 money which might have gone far towards buy- 

 ing books and sunlight. It is a hopeful sign 

 when we find the saving remnant, as Matthew 

 Arnold has it, taking to stained pine instead 

 of mahogany with stucco trimmings. I have 

 a sincere love for pretty things. I will walk a 

 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 

 always been the question : Is it going to pay 

 me to have china at my table which costs one 

 hundred 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. 



