The Birthday Party | Page 3

is wicked for me to live in this great house, keep
five or six horses, and nine or ten servants, when I could live in a little
house, like Mrs. White?" laughed Mr. Lee.
"All the money you spend would take care of a dozen families of poor
folks," said Flora.
"That is very true. Suppose I should turn away all the men and women
that work for me,--those, I mean, who work about the house and
garden,--and give the money I spend in luxuries to the poor."

"But what would John and Peter, Hannah and Bridget do then? They
would lose their places, and not be able to earn any thing. Why, no,
father; Peter has a family; he has got three children, and he must take
care of them."
"Ah, you begin to see it--do you?" said Mr. Lee, with a smile. "All that
I spend upon luxury goes into the pockets of the farmer, mechanic, and
laborer."
"I see that, father," replied Flora, looking as bright as sunshine again;
"but all the money spent on my party will be wasted--won't it?"
"Not a cent of it; my child. If I were a miser, and kept my money in an
iron safe, and lived like a poor man, I should waste it then."
"But twenty dollars for the Riverdale Band is a great deal to give for a
few hours' service. It don't do any good, I think."
"Yes, it does; music improves our minds and hearts. It makes us happy.
I have engaged six men to play. They are musicians only at such times
as they can get a job. They are shoemakers, also, and poor men; and the
money which I shall pay them will help support their families and
educate them."
"What a fool I was, father!" exclaimed Flora.
"O, no; not so bad as that; for a great many older and wiser persons
than yourself have thought just what you think."
"But the supper, father,--the ice cream, the cake, and the
lemonade,--won't all the money spent for these things be wasted?"
"No more than the money spent for the music. The confectioner and
those whom he employs depend upon their work for the means of
supporting themselves and their families."
"So they do, father. And when you have a party, you are really doing
good to the poor."

"That depends upon circumstances," replied Mr. Lee. "I don't think it
would be an act of charity for a person who could not afford it to give a
party. I only mean to say that when we spend money for that which
does not injure us or any body else, what we spend goes into the
pockets of those who need it.
"A party--a proper party, I mean, such a one as you will have--is a good
thing in itself. Innocent amusement is just as necessary as food and
drink.
"God has given me wealth, Flora, and he expects me to do all the good
I can with it. I hold it as his steward. Now, when I pay one of these
musicians three or four dollars for an afternoon's work, I do him a favor
as well as you and those whom you invite to your party.
"And I hope the party will make you love one another more than ever
before. I hope the music will warm your hearts, and that the supper will
make you happy, and render you thankful to the Giver of all things for
his constant bounty."
"How funny that I should make such a blunder!" exclaimed Flora. "I
am sure I shall enjoy my party a great deal more now that I understand
these things."
"I hope you won't understand too much, Flora. Suppose you had only a
dollar, and that it had been given you to purchase a story book. Then,
suppose Mrs. White and her children were suffering from want of fuel
and clothing. What would you do with your dollar?"
"I would----"
"Wait a minute, Flora," interposed her father. "When you buy the book,
you pay the printer, the paper maker, the bookseller, the type founder,
the miner who dug the lead and the iron from the earth, the machinist
who made the press, and a great many other persons whose labor enters
into the making of a book--you pay all these men for their labor; you
give them money to help take care of their wives and children, their
fathers and mothers. You help all these men when you buy a book.

Now, what would you do with your dollar?"
"I would give it to poor Mrs. White," promptly replied Flora.
"I think you would do right, for your money would do more good in her
hands. The self-denial on your part would do you good. I only