"Then do it."
"Dr. Sandford, the Bible says, 'Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.'"
"Well," said he, refusing to draw any conclusions for me.
"I have more than I want, and they have not enough. I don't think I ought to keep more than I want."
"But then arises the question," said he, "how much do you want? Where is the line, beyond which you, or I, for instance, have too much?"
"I was not speaking of anybody but myself," I said.
"But a rule of action which is the right one for you, would be right for everybody."
"Yes, but everybody must apply it for himself," I said. "I was only applying it for myself."
"And applying it for yourself, Daisy, is it to cut off for the future—or ought it—all elegance and beauty? Must you restrict yourself to mere 'comfort and respectability'? Are furs and feathers, for instance, wicked things?"
He did not speak it mockingly; Dr. Sandford never could do an ungentlemanly thing; he spoke kindly and with a little rallying smile on his face. But I knew what he thought.