"O Mr. Wharncliffe!" Matilda burst forth, "why do they live there?"
"Because they cannot live anywhere else."
"They are so poor as that?"
"So poor as that. And a great many other people are so poor as that."
"How much would it cost?"
"For them to move? Well, it would cost the rent of a better room; and they haven't got it. The mother cannot earn much; and Sarah is the chief stay of the family."
"Have they nothing to live upon, but the pennies she gets for sweeping the crossing?"
"Not much else. The mother makes slops, I believe; but that brings in only a few more coppers a week."
"How much would a better room cost, Mr. Wharncliffe?"
"A dollar a week, maybe; more or less, as the case might be."