"I would rather have nothing to do with it."
"Gently, friend. How much coin have you in your pocket at the present moment?"
"Two small silver pieces and a few pennies. To be exact, one shilling and tenpence."
"Your rent is due to-morrow."
"I shall earn it."
"Do not be too sure. If this advertisement means money for you, it becomes your duty to claim it."
"How so?"
"Remember the penance you imposed upon yourself. You would spend for your own necessities only what was requisite for the plainest food; any money you had remaining should be devoted to the children of misery. You have nobly carried out your resolution. Do you consider you have atoned for the sins and errors of the past?"
"I could not atone for them if I lived twice my allotted span."
"Then the right is not yours to throw away this money. It belongs, not to you, but to the poor, whose sufferings it would alleviate. Neglect of the opportunity which now presents itself would become a crime. And why do you desire to let the matter rest? To save yourself a possible personal annoyance, you shrink from publicity; you tremble at the idea that some old friend or acquaintance may learn that you still live. I did not think you capable of such weakness."