第2章

Butisn\'titamistakenottoallowustomakeourownmistakes，tolearnforourselves，toliveourownlives？Mustwebealwaysworkingfor\'thebalance，\'inonethingoranother？

Iwanttobemyself——togetoutsideofthiseverlasting，profitable\'plan\'——toletmyselfgo，andlosemyselfforawhileatleast——todothethingsthatIwanttodo，justbecauseIwanttodothem。"

"Myboy，"saidhismother，anxiously，"youarenotgoingtodoanythingwrongorfoolish？Youknowthefalsehoodofthatoldproverbaboutwildoats。"

Hethrewbackhisheadandlaughed。"Yes，mother，"heanswered，"Iknowitwellenough。ButinCalifornia，youknow，thewildoatsareoneofthemostvaluablecrops。Theygrowalloverthehillsidesandkeepthecattleandthehorsesalive。Butthatwasn\'twhatI

meant——tosowwildoats。Saytopickwildflowers，ifyoulike，oreventochasewildgeese——todosomethingthatseemsgoodtomejustforitsownsake，notforthesakeofwagesofonekindoranother。Ifeellikeahiredman，intheserviceofthismagnificentmansion——sayintrainingforfather\'splaceasmajordomo。I\'dliketogetoutsomeway，tofeelfree——perhapstodosomethingforothers。"

Theyoungman\'svoicehesitatedalittle。"Yes，itsoundlikecant，Iknow，butsometimesIfeelasifI\'dliketodosomegoodintheworld，iffatheronlywouldn\'tinsistuponGod\'sputtingitintotheledger。"

Hismothermoveduneasily，andaslightlookofbewildermentcameintoherface。

"Isn\'tthatalmostirreverent？"sheasked。"Surelytherighteousmusthavetheirreward。Andyourfatherisgood。Seehowmuchhegivestoalltheestablishedcharities，howmanythingshehasfounded。

He\'salwaysthinkingofothers，andplanningforthem。Andsurely，forus，hedoeseverything。HowwellhehasplannedthistriptoEuropeformeandthegirls——thecourt-presentationatBerlin，theseasonontheRiviera，thevisitsinEnglandwiththePlumptonsandtheHalverstones。HesaysLordHalverstonehasthefinestoldhouseinSussex，pureElizabethan，andalltheoldcustomsarekeptup，too——familyprayerseverymorningforallthedomestics。

By-the-way，youknowhissonBertie，Ibelieve。"

Haroldsmiledalittletohimselfasheanswered:"Yes，IfishedatCatalinaIslandlastJunewiththeHonorableEthelbert；

he\'sratheradecentchap，inspiteofhisingrowingmind。

Butyou？——mother，youaresimplymagnificent！Youarefather\'smasterpiece。"Theyoungmanleanedovertokissher，andwentuptotheRidingClubforhisafternooncanterinthePark。

Soitcametopass，earlyinDecember，thatMrs。WeightmanandhertwodaughterssailedforEurope，ontheirseriouspleasuretrip，evenasithadbeenwritteninthebookofProvidence；andJohnWeightman，whohadmadetheentry，waslefttopasstherestofthewinterwithhissonandheirinthebrownstonemansion。

Theywerecomfortableenough。Themachineryofthemassiveestablishmentranassmoothlyasagreatelectricdynamo。Theywerebusyenough，too。

JohnWeightman\'splansandenterpriseswerecomplicated，thoughhisprincipleofactionwasalwayssimple——togetgoodvalueforeveryexpenditureandeffort。Thebanking-houseofwhichhewasthechief，thebrain，thewill，theabsolutelycontrollinghand，wassoadmirablyorganizedthatthedetailsofitsdirectiontookbutlittletime。

Butthescoresofotherintereststhatradiatedfromitandweredependentuponit——orperhapsitwouldbemoreaccuratetosay，thatcontributedtoitssolidityandsuccess——themanyinvestments，industrial，political，benevolent，reformatory，ecclesiastical，thathadmadethenameofWeightmanwellknownandpotentincity，church，andstate，demandedmuchattentionandcarefulsteering，inorderthateachmightproducethedesiredresult。Therewereboardmeetingsofcorporationsandhospitals，conferencesinWallStreetandatAlbany，consultationsandcommitteemeetingsinthebrownstonemansion。

ForashareinallthisbusinessanditsadjunctsJohnWeightmanhadhissonintraininginoneofthefamouslawfirmsofthecity；

forheheldthatbankingitselfisasimpleaffair，theonlyrealdifficultiesoffinanceareonitslegalside。Meantimehewishedtheyoungmantomeetandknowthemenwithwhomhewouldhavetodealwhenhebecameapartnerinthehouse。SoacoupleofdinnersweregiveninthemansionduringDecember，afterwhichthefathercalledtheson\'sattentiontothefactthatoverahundredmilliondollarshadsataroundtheboard。

ButonChristmasEvefatherandsonwerediningtogetherwithoutguests，andtheirtalkacrossthebroadtable，glitteringwithsilverandcutglass，andsoftlylitbyshadedcandles，wasintimate，thoughalittleslowattimes。Theeldermanwasinratherararemood，moreexpansiveandconfidentialthanusual；and，whenthecoffeewasbroughtinandtheywereleftalone，hetalkedmorefreelyofhispersonalplansandhopesthanhehadeverdonebefore。

"Ifeelverygratefulto-night，"saidhe，atlast；"itmustbesomethingintheairofChristmasthatgivesmethisfeelingofthankfulnessforthemanydivinemerciesthathavebeenbestoweduponme。AlltheprinciplesbywhichIhavetriedtoguidemylifehavebeenjustified。

Ihavenevermadethevalueofthissaltedalmondbyanythingthatthecourtswouldnotuphold，atleastinthelongrun，andyet——orwouldn\'titbetruertosayandtherefore？——myaffairshavebeenwonderfullyprospered。There\'sagreatdealinthattext\'Honestyisthebest\'——butno，that\'snotfromtheBible，afterall，isit？

Waitamoment；thereissomethingofthatkind，Iknow。"

"MayIlightacigar，father，"saidHarold，turningawaytohideasmile，"whileyouarerememberingthetext？"

"Yes，certainly，"answeredtheelderman，rathershortly；"youknowIdon\'tdislikethesmell。Butitisawasteful，uselesshabit，andthereforeIhaveneverpractisedit。Nothinguselessisworthwhile，that\'smymotto——nothingthatdoesnotbringthereward。

Oh，nowIrecallthetext，\'VerilyIsayuntoyoutheyhavetheirreward。\'

IshallaskDoctorSnodgrasstopreachasermononthatversesomeday。"

"Usingyouasanillustration？"

"Well，notexactlythat；butIcouldgivehimsomegoodmaterialsfrommyownexperiencetoprovethetruthofScripture。Icanhonestlysaythatthereisnotoneofmycharitiesthathasnotbroughtmeinagoodreturn，eitherintheincreaseofinfluence，thebuildingupofcredit，ortheassociationwithsubstantialpeople。Ofcourseyouhavetobecarefulhowyougive，inordertosecurethebestresults——noindiscriminategiving——nopenniesinbeggars\'hats！IthasbeenoneofmyprinciplesalwaystousethesamekindofjudgmentincharitiesthatIuseinmyotheraffairs，andtheyhavenotdisappointedme。"

"EventhecheckthatyouputintheplatewhenyoutaketheoffertoryuptheaisleonSundaymorning？"

"Certainly；thoughtheretheinfluenceislessdirect；andImustconfessthatIhavemydoubtsinregardtothecollectionforForeignMissions。