“How you talk!”
“How I talk!” continued William, “to be sure; besides, I hate waste, and it is just as much waste to shut things up which might be of use, as it would be to burn them; more, I
think, for if they make firewood, that is proving of some use. Now don’t be such a miser, Charles, do turn them out.”
“I shall do no such thing!” exclaimed Charles, in an angry tone, “and as for your extravagance, it is quite shocking; I wonder what you think is to become of you when you are a man.”
“I tell you what I expect,” replied William, throwing some apples from his pocket out of window to a poor child who was passing; “what I expect is, to have to work very hard for my living, and, as I am the eldest, I look upon it that I ought to do something for mamma, and the girls into the bargain. But for all that I hope I shall never turn a miserly screw. Why, when God gives us health, food, clothing, and lodging, don’t you think that hoarding and hoarding, instead of dispensing the blessings, and performing such acts of kindness as may be in our power to bestow, is like doubting God’s goodness and mercy for the future?”
“One would think you were preaching,” said Charles, with a sneer.
“Well, never mind if I am; it was only yesterday I was reading one of dear papa’s sermons, in which he quotes one of the most beautiful
chapters in the New Testament, the 12th of St. Luke, in which our Saviour speaks of the ravens, which ‘God feedeth,’ though ‘they neither sow nor reap;’ and of the ‘lilies, how they grow.’ And He emphatically says, ‘Seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after; and your Father knoweth ye have need of all these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.’”
“Besides,” continued William, after a slight pause, “it seems to me that nature is constantly repeating the lesson which Scripture teaches us. See how, year after year, the blades of wheat spring up, and the fruits of the earth ripen, as if to warn us that we should distribute the good things God provides us with, and wholly trust that he will continue to send us all things that are needful.”
“Pray did you find that in the sermon, also?” asked Charles.