This time Mrs. Cortlandt did not try to keep back her laughter; it rang out girlishly. “You funny little Beth, there are two ways to love the world. One is to take all it can give you and pay no debt to it, but to live so selfishly and heartlessly, so wickedly, in all sorts of ways, that you help to make it a worse world than you found it. And the other is to take its gifts gratefully and try to repay them, and live so kindly, so lovingly, so purely that you leave the world when you die, a trifle better than when you came into it. And people with a little money can do either of these things as well as richer people. Don’t you see, dear, that worldliness and other-worldliness are in each heart, not in a safe deposit vault?” said dear Aunt Alida. “Of course I see, Aunt Alida! I shouldn’t wonder if people were worldlier when they hadn’t much world and wanted it, than when they’ve lots of it,” said Beth. “Harken to the philosopher Elizabeth!” laughed Aunt Alida. “‘Far-off hills are green,’ chicken; I suspect that is often true. Now let us discuss giving instead of having. Tell me your Christmas list and what you mean to give each one on it. It is high time we were about our Christmasing.” “I don’t have to make a list, Aunt Alida. I can easily count up all I want to give Christmas presents to; I did this morning, at breakfast. Only there are Natalie, Alys and Dirk; I couldn’t put them in when they were there. And I never could think of a quarter of what they have, so I’m sure I’ll never be able to think of one thing they haven’t! I might just as well try to think of something for the Queen as for them! I was wondering if you could tell me, Aunt Alida?” suggested Beth. “Alys asked me to get her a certain bangle. I’ll leave it for you to get, if you like it, Beth. And Dirk wants a fountain pen ‘that will fount,’ as he says. Natalie--what was it Natalie spoke of the other day? A little hanging model of a Grecian lamp. She wants it to burn all night, instead of electricity or gas. Your eldest cousin is reaching the æsthetic age, Bethie! How would those suggestions please you? It is such a comfort to know what a person wants! I was going to fulfil these desires of the children’s, but I’ll hand them over to you, if you like. We are on our way to the shopping district; you shall see the lamp and the bangle,” said Mrs. Cortlandt, throwing herself into Beth’s plans just as heartily as she lent herself to more important things. Beth felt this and allowed herself to hug her aunt, albeit they were driving slowly down the western side of the park and emotions are not ordinarily displayed in the cars and carriages there. “Aunt Alida, you are perfectly angelically darling!” Beth declared. “You never seem to think anything doesn’t matter, and you never have one bit a there-go-along-and-play, child, and-don’t-bother-me way! You don’t even think it.”