his old age elsewhere than in the workhouse. Then befell the death of his
uncle, which was to have important consequences for him. Mr. Spicer told
the story of this exciting moment late one evening, when, kept indoors by
rain, the companions sat together upstairs, one on each side of the rusty
and empty fireplace.

'All my life, Mr. Goldthorpe, I've thought what a delightful thing it must
be to have a house of one's own. I mean, really of one's own; not only a
rented house, but one in which you could live and die, feeling that no one
had a right to turn you out. Often and often I've dreamt of it, and tried
to imagine what the feeling would be like. Not a large, fine house--oh
dear, no! I didn't care how small it might be; indeed, the smaller the
better for a man of my sort. Well, then, you can imagine how it came upon
me when I heard--But let me tell you first that I hadn't seen my uncle for
fifteen years or more. I had always thought him a well-to-do man, and I
knew he wasn't married, but the truth is, it never came into my head that
he might leave me something. Picture me, Mr. Goldthorpe--you have
imagination, sir--standing behind the counter and thinking about nothing
but business, when in comes a young gentleman--I see him now--and asks for
Mr. Spicer. "Spicer is my name, sir," I said. "And you are the nephew,"
were his next words, "of the late Mr. Isaac Spicer, of Clapham, London?"
That shook me, sir, I assure you it did, but I hope I behaved decently. The
young gentleman went on to tell me that my uncle had left no will, and that
I was believed to be his next-of-kin, and that if so, I inherited all his
property, the principal part of which was three houses in London. Now try
and think, Mr. Goldthorpe, what sort of state I was in after hearing that.
You're an intellectual man, and you can enter into another's mind. Three
houses! Well, sir, you know what houses those were. I came up to London at
once (it was last autumn), and I saw my uncle's lawyer, and he told me all
about the property, and I saw it for myself. Ah, Mr. Goldthorpe! If ever a