ChapterVII
THELUREOFTHEMATERIAL——BEAUTYSPEAKSFORITSELF
Thetruemeaningofmoneyyetremainstobepopularlyexplained，andcomprehended。Wheneachindividualrealisesforhimselfthat，thisthingprimarilystandsforandshouldonlybeacceptedasa，moraldue——thatitshouldbepaidoutashonestlystoredenergy，andnotasausurpedprivilege——manyofoursocial，religious，andpoliticaltroubleswillhavepermanentlypassed。Asfor，Carrie，herunderstandingofthemoralsignificanceofmoneywas，thepopularunderstanding，nothingmore。Theolddefinition：
“Money：somethingeverybodyelsehasandImustget，“wouldhave，expressedherunderstandingofitthoroughly。Someofitshenow，heldinherhand——twosoft，greenten-dollarbills——andshefelt，thatshewasimmenselybetteroffforthehavingofthem。Itwas，somethingthatwaspowerinitself。Oneofherorderofmind，wouldhavebeencontenttobecastawayuponadesertislandwith，abundleofmoney，andonlythelongstrainofstarvationwould，havetaughtherthatinsomecasesitcouldhavenovalue。Even，thenshewouldhavehadnoconceptionoftherelativevalueof，thething;heronethoughtwould，undoubtedly，haveconcernedthe，pityofhavingsomuchpowerandtheinabilitytouseit。
ThepoorgirlthrilledasshewalkedawayfromDrouet。Shefelt，ashamedinpartbecauseshehadbeenweakenoughtotakeit，but，herneedwassodire，shewasstillglad。Nowshewouldhavea，nicenewjacket！，Nowshewouldbuyanicepairofprettybutton，shoes。Shewouldgetstockings，too，andaskirt，and，and——