Meredith got a variety of answers to this suggestion. His sister opened her mouth for an outcry of dismay. Maggie clapped her hands with a burst of joy. Esther stared; and a smile, very sweet and wise, showed itself on Mr. Murray's lips. "Quixotic!--ridiculous!" said Flora. "Isn't it, Mr. Murray? Ditto has not money enough for everything, either. A church!--and then, I suppose, a minister!" "Is it a bad notion, Mr. Murray?" inquired Meredith. "I should think not very." "Is it extravagant?" "Miss Flora thinks so." "Well, Mr. Murray, think what it would cost!" cried the young lady. "Not so much as a large evening party--that is, it ought not. I suppose Meredith is not thinking of stone carvings and painted windows, but of a neat, pleasant, pretty, plain house, where people can worship God and hear the words of life." "That is it exactly," said Meredith. "Then I should say that one very fine evening entertainment would build two." "But the minister! he must be paid," said Flora. "Yes, and I am not for starving a minister, either," said Mr. Murray. "But what is Meredith to do with his income, Miss Flora?" "That's just what I want to know," remarked Meredith in an undertone; while Flora answered with some irritation-- "He can let it accumulate till he has made up his mind." "'Riches kept for the owners of them, to their hurt,'" said Mr. Murray. "Better not, Miss Flora. Remember, Meredith is only a steward. 'The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,' saith the Lord of hosts." "Do you mean, Mr. Murray, that we cannot do what we like with our money?" "You can do what you like with it, certainly." "But I mean, isn't it _right_ for us to do what we like with it?" "I should like to do that," murmured Meredith. "Miss Flora, the question is, rightly stated,--May a steward use his lord's money for his own or his lord's pleasure?" Flora coloured and pouted. "But that makes religion----Why, I never thought religion was strict like _that_. Then it isn't right to buy jewels or dresses?" "Dresses--certainly." "But I mean, rich dresses--dresses for company. And pictures--and horses--and books--and"---- "Stop, Miss Flora. The servant himself belongs to his lord; therefore he must make of himself the very best he can. For this, books will certainly be needed, and to some degree all the other things you have named, except jewels and what you call _rich_ dresses. The only question in each case is--'How can I do the Lord's work best? how can I spend this money to honour and please Him most?' That will not always be by the cheapest dress that can be bought, nor by checking the cultivation of taste and the acquiring of knowledge, nor even by the foregoing of arts and accomplishments. Only the question comes back at every step, and must at every step be answered--'What does the Lord want me to do _here_? Does He wish me to spend this money--or time--on myself, or on somebody else?'"