SETTLING QUESTIONS.
"THERE is Bible for that doctrine too."
"Where?" Flossy asked, turning quickly to Marion.
"In this verse: 'If meat maketh my brother to offend, I will eat no meat
while the world stands.' Don't you see you never can know which brother
may be made to offend?"
"And it is even about so useful a thing as food," said Flossy, looking
her amazement; she had never heard that verse before in her life. "About
just that thing; and nothing so really unnecessary to a complete life as
card-playing may be."
"Col. Baker sneers at the inconsistency of people who have nothing to do
with cards, and who play croquet," Eurie said this with cheeks a little
heightened in color; she had come in contact with Col. Baker on this
very question.
Ruth looked up quickly from the paper on which she was scribbling.
"I think myself," she said, "that if it should seem necessary to me to
give up cards entirely, consistency would oblige me to include croquet,
and all other games of that sort."
"I shouldn't feel obliged to do any such thing," Marion said, promptly;
"at least, not until I had become convinced that people played croquet
late into the night, in rooms smelling of tobacco and liquor, and were
tempted to drink freely of the latter, and pawn their coats, if
necessary, to get money enough to carry out the game. You see, there is
a difference."
"Yet people can gamble in playing croquet," Eurie said, thoughtfully.
"Oh, yes, and people can gamble with pins, or in tossing up pennies. The
point is, they are not in the habit of doing it; and pins suggest no
such thing to people in general; neither do croquet balls; while the
fact remains that the ordinary use of cards, is to gamble with them; and
comparatively few of those who use them habitually confine themselves to
quiet home games. People are in danger of making their brothers offend
by their use; we all know that."
"If that is true, then just that one verse from the Bible ought to
settle the whole question." There was no mistaking the quiet meaning in
Flossy's voice; it was as good as saying that the whole question _was_
settled for her. Marion regarded her with evident satisfaction; her
manner was all the more fascinating, because she was so entirely
unconscious that this way of looking at questions, rather than this firm
manner of settling questions, was not common, even among Christians.
"Can you show me the verse in your Bible?" she presently asked.
"I can do that same with the greatest pleasure," Marion said, bringing
forward a new and shining concordance. "I really meant to have a new
dress this fall; I say that, Ruthie, for your special comfort; but the
truth is, there was an army of Bible verses that I learned in my youth
trooping up to me, and I had such a desire to see the connection, and
find out what they were all about, that I was actually obliged to
sacrifice the dress and get a concordance. I have lots of comfort with
it. Here is the verse, Flossy."
Flossy drew the Bible toward her with a little sigh.
"I wish I knew an army of verses," she said. "Seems to me I don't know
any at all." Then she went to reading.
"I know verses enough," Eurie said, "but they seem to be in a great
muddle in my brain. I can't remember that any of them were ever
explained to me; and it isn't very often that I find a place where any
of them will fit in."
"They do fit in, though, and with astonishing closeness, you will find,
as you grow used to them. I have been amazed at that feature of the
Bible. Some of the verses that occur in the selections for parsing are
just wonderful; they seem aimed directly at me. What have you found,
Flossy?"
"Wonderful things," said Flossy, flushing and smiling.
"You are reading backward, aren't you? I know those verses; just you
let me read them, substituting the object about which we are talking,
and see how they will fit. You see, girls, this astonishing man, Paul by
name--do you happen to know his history?--more wonderful things happened
to him than to any other mortal I verily believe. Well, he was talking
about idols, and advising his Christian friends not to eat the food that
had been offered to idols; not that it would hurt them, but
because--well, you'll see the 'because' as I read. I'll just put in our
word, for an illustration, instead of meat. 'But cards commend us not to
God: for neither if we play are we the better; neither if we play not,
are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours
become a stumbling-block to them that are weak; for if any man see thee
which hast knowledge, sit at cards, shall not the conscience of him
which is weak be emboldened to sit at cards also? And through thy
knowledge shall the weak brother perish for whom Christ died? But when
ye sin so against the brethren and wound their weak conscience, ye sin
against Christ. Wherefore if cards make my brother to offend, I will
play no more cards while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to
offend.' Doesn't that fit?"
"Let me look at that," said Eurie, suddenly, drawing the Bible to her.
"After all," she said, after a moment, "what right have you to
substitute the word cards? It is talking about another matter."
"Now, Eurie Mitchell, you are too bright to make such a remark as that!
If the Bible is for our help as well as for Paul's, we have surely the
right to substitute the noun that fits our present needs. We have no
idols nowadays; at least they are not made out of wood and stone; and
the logic of the question is as clear as sunlight. We have only to
understand that the matter of playing cards is a snare and a danger to
some people, and we see our duty clearly enough, because, how are we
ever to be sure that the very person who will be tempted is not within
the reach of our influence. What do you think, Flossy? Is the question
any clearer to you?"
"Why, yes," Flossy said, slowly, "that eighth verse settles it: 'For
meat commendeth us not to God, for neither if we eat are we the better,
neither if we eat not are we the worse.' It certainly can do no one any
harm if I let cards alone, and it is equally certain that it may do harm
if I play them. I should think my duty was clear."
"I wonder what Col. Baker will say to that duty?" queried Eurie,
thinking aloud rather than speaking to any one. "He is very much given
over to the amusement, if I am not mistaken."
Flossy raised her eyes and fixed them thoughtfully on Eurie's face,
while a flush spread all over her own pretty one. Was it possible that
she had helped to foster this taste in Col. Baker. How _many_ evenings
she had spent with him in this way. _Was_ he very much addicted to the
use of cards, she wondered; that is, outside of their own parlor? Eurie
seemed to know something about it.
"What makes you think so?" she asked, at last.
"Because I know so. He has a great deal to do with Nell's infatuation.
He was the very first one with whom Nell ever played for anything but
fun. Flossy Shipley, you surely know that he derives a good deal of his
income in that way?"
"I certainly did _not_ know it," Flossy said, with an increasing glow on
her cheeks. The glow was caused by wondering how far her own brother,
Charlie, had been led by this man.
"Girls," said Marion, concluding that a change of subject would be wise,
"wouldn't a Bible reading evening be nice?"
"What kind of an evening can that be?"
Marion laughed.
"Why, a reading together out of the Bible about a certain subject, or
subjects, that interested us, and about which we wanted to inform
ourselves? Like this, for instance. I presume there are dozens of texts
that bear on this very question. It would be nice to go over them
together and talk them up."
Flossy's eyes brightened.
"I would like that exceedingly," she said. "I need the help of you all.
I know so very little about the Bible. We have musical evenings, and
literary evenings; why not Bible evenings? Let's do it."
"Apropos of the subject in hand, before we take up a new one, what do
you think of this by way of illustration?" Ruth asked, as she threw down
on the table a daintily written epistle. There was an eager grasping
after it by this merry trio, and Eurie securing it, read aloud. It was
an invitation for the next evening to a select gathering of choice
spirits for the purpose of enjoying a social evening at cards.
"What do you propose to do with it?" Marion asked, as Eurie balanced the
note on her hand with an amused face; the illustration fitted so
remarkably into the talk.
"Decline it," Ruth said, briefly. And then added, as an after-thought,
"I never gave the subject any attention in my life. I am, perhaps, not
entirely convinced now, only I see as Flossy does, that I shall
certainly do no harm by declining; whereas it seems I may possibly do
some by accepting; therefore, of course, the way is clear."
She said it with the utmost composure, and it was evident that the idea
of such a course being disagreeable to her, or of her considering it a
cross to decline, had not occurred to her. She cared nothing at all
about these matters, and had only been involved in them as a sort of
necessity belonging to society. She was more than willing to be "counted
out."
As for Flossy, she drew a little sigh of envy. She would have given much
to have been constituted like Ruth Erskine. She knew that the same like
invitation would probably come to her, and she knew that she would
decline it; but, aside from loss of the pleasure and excitement of the
pretty toilet and the pleasant evening among her friends, she foresaw
long and wearisome discussions with Col. Baker, with Charlie, with her
father; sarcastic remarks from Kitty and her lover, and a long train of
annoyances. She dreaded them all; it was so easy to slip along with the
current; it was so hard to stem it and insist on going the other way.
As for Marion Wilbur, she envied them both; a chance for them to dash
out into a new channel and make some headway, not the everlasting
humdrum sameness that filled her life.
Flossy was fascinated with the Bible words, that were so new and fresh
to her.
"Those verses cover a great deal of ground," she said, slowly reading
them over again. "I can think of a good many things which we call right
enough, that, measured by that test, would have to be changed or given
up. But, Marion, you spoke of dancing and theatre-going. I can't quite
see what the verses have to do with either of those amusements; I mean
not as we, and the people in our set, have to do with such things. Do
you think every form of dancing is wicked?"
"What wholesale questions you ask, my morsel! And you ask them precisely
as though I had been made umpire and you must abide by my decisions,
whatever they are. Now, do you know I never believed in dancing? I had
some queer, perhaps old-fashioned, notions about it all my life. Even
before there was any such thing as a conscientious scruple about it, I
should not have danced if I had had a hundred chances to mingle in just
the set that you do; so, perhaps, I am not the one of whom to ask that
question."
"I should think you were just the one. If you have examined it, and know
why you think so, you can surely tell me, and give me a chance to see
whether I ought to think as you do or not."
"_I_ need posting, decidedly, on that question," Eurie said, throwing
off her earnestness and looking amused. "If there is any one thing above
another that I do thoroughly enjoy, it is dancing; and I give you all
fair warning, I don't mean to be coaxed out of it very easily. I shall
fight hard for that bit of fun. Marion don't know anything about it, for
she never danced; but the rest of you know just what a delicious
exercise it is; and I don't believe, when it is indulged in reasonably,
and at proper places, there is any harm at all in it. If I am to give it
up, you will have to show me strong reasons why I should."
"All this fits right in with my idea," Marion said. "Nothing could be
more suitable for our first Bible reading. Let us take an evening for
it, and prepare ourselves as well as we can beforehand, and examine into
the Bible view of it. Eurie, you will be expected to be armed with all
the Scriptural arguments in its favor. I'll try for the other side. Now,
Ruth and Flossy, which side will you choose?"
"Neither," Ruth said, promptly. "I am interested in the subject, and
shall be glad to be informed as to what the Bible says about it, if any
of you are smart enough to find anything that will bear on the subject;
but I believe the Bible left that, as well as some other things, to our
common sense, and that each of us have to decide the matter for
ourselves."
"All right," said Marion, "we'll accept you on the non-committal side.
Only, remember you are to try to prove from the Bible that it has left
_us_ to decide this matter for ourselves."
"I shall take every side that I find," Flossy said. "What I want to know
is, the truth about things."
"Without regard as to whether the truth is so fortunate as to agree with
your opinion or not?" said Marion. "You will, probably, be quite as
likely to find the truth as any of us. Well, I like the plan; there is
work in it, and it will amount to something. When shall it be?"
"Next Friday," said Flossy.
"No," said Ruth; "Friday is the night of Mrs. Garland's lawn party."
"A dancing party," said Eurie. "Good! Let us come together on Thursday
evening. If there is a dancing party just ahead, it will make us all the
more zealous to prove our sides; I shall be, at least, for I want to go
to Mrs. Garland's."
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