"Among my people it was the law,"--David began, but his utterance of
the words "my people" was no longer lofty; rather tender and
subdued;--"it was the law, 'When thou dost complete to tithe all the
tithe of thine increase in the third year, the year of the tithe, then
thou hast given it to the Levite, to the sojourner, to the fatherless,
and to the widow, and they have eaten within thy gates and been
satisfied;' and in the feast of booths, the feast of ingathering, the
sojourner, the fatherless and the widow were to share in the rejoicing."

"The tithe is the tenth," remarked Mrs. Laval.

"We always give to all the charitable societies," said Mrs.
Bartholomew; "always."

"Read, Matilda," said David. "I see you are ready." And Matilda read.

"'Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you,
do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.'"

"But, my dear boy!" exclaimed Mrs. Bartholomew.

"What, mamma?"

"You don't mean, you cannot mean, that you want to act that out to the
letter?"

"What does it mean, mamma?"

"I always thought it meant that we should be considerate of other
people's feelings," said Mrs. Laval; "kind and thoughtful."

"But the words are very plain," said David.

"And you think really that we ought to give to everybody else the
things we want for ourselves?"

"Not that exactly, aunt Zara; only to give them what we would like to
have given if we were in their place; I mean, what we would _have a
right_ to like to have given, if we were in their place."

"According to that, you would carry to that sick child everything that
Norton and Matilda had when they were sick."

"Such as?"--inquired David.

"Fruit, and oysters, and flowers, and tea at three dollars a pound."

"Tea at three dollars a pound would be lost upon him, for he would not
know the difference between that--and I suppose--lower priced tea. What
_can_ you get good tea for, aunt Zara?"

"Tea good for him,--for a dollar, and twelve shillings."

"Tea good for anybody," said Mrs. Lloyd. "I have had it good enough for
anybody, for a dollar fifty?"

"The other things," said David, returning to his aunt, "why shouldn't
he have them, as well as we, aunt Zara?"

Mrs. Laval was dumb, I suppose with astonishment as well as the
inconvenience of finding an answer; and before anybody else began
again, Matilda's soft voice gave forth another verse.

"'Blessed is he that considereh the poor; the Lord