CHAPTER XXXIV 492
Diana and Mary before next Thursday ; and my ambition is to give them a beau-ideal of a welcome when they come ."
St . John smiled slightly : still he was dissatisfied .
" It is all very well for the present ," said he ; " but seriously , I trust that when the first flush of vivacity is over , you will look a little higher than domestic endearments and household joys ."
" The best things the world has !" I interrupted .
" No , Jane , no : this world is not the scene of fruition ; do not attempt to make it so : nor of rest ; do not turn slothful ."
" I mean , on the contrary , to be busy ."
" Jane , I excuse you for the present : two months ' grace I allow you for the full enjoyment of your new position , and for pleasing yourself with this late-found charm of relationship ; but THEN , I hope you will begin to look beyond Moor House and Morton , and sisterly society , and the selfish calm and sensual comfort of civilised affluence . I hope your energies will then once more trouble you with their strength ."
I looked at him with surprise . " St . John ," I said , " I think you are almost wicked to talk so . I am disposed to be as content as a queen , and you try to stir me up to restlessness ! To what end ?"
" To the end of turning to profit the talents which God has committed to your keeping ; and of which He will surely one day demand a strict account . Jane , I shall watch you closely and anxiously -- I warn you of that . And try to restrain the disproportionate fervour with which you throw yourself into commonplace home pleasures . Don ' t cling so tenaciously to ties of the flesh ; save your constancy and ardour for an adequate cause ; forbear to waste them on trite transient objects . Do you hear , Jane ?"