"I don't care for a hundred years ago," said the Duchess; "I don't know what it means. I care for Now." And she echoed Sally's words, "I wish I was rich."
This set Seth pondering, and in his endeavour to extract honey out of unpromising material and to improve the occasion, it is to be feared that he soared above the understanding of his children. In this way:
"Did I ever tell you, Sally"--he always appealed to Sally at such times, although he addressed both her and the Duchess--"of a man I once knew called Billy Spike?"
"No, Daddy."
"He was a friend of mine a good many years ago. Older than me by thirty years was Billy Spike--and he was always Billy, never William, to the day of his death. Nearly everybody who knew him thought he was crazy."
"Why?"
"Because of one thing he was never tired of saying, 'What I don't get is profit.' That's what sweetened the world for Billy Spike. 'What I don't get is profit,' was always on his lips."
"Was he a rich man, Daddy?"
"I doubt if Billy Spike ever had twenty shillings in his pocket at one time. I doubt if ever he had a new suit of clothes to his back. I doubt if he ever had quite as much to eat as he could have taken in. He was as poor as a church-mouse."
"Why is a church-mouse poor?" asked practical Sally.