Of course nobody would listen to him for a long time; he would come and tell his story one day and be refused promptly; another day he would be fed on false promises; again he would be treated harshly; then he would be told to sign some documents; then he would sign the paper and hand it in, and they would refuse to receive it, and tell him to file a formal petition. In a word he had been driven about from office to office for five months and had spent every farthing he had; his wife’s last rags had just been pawned; and meanwhile a child had been born to them and⁠—and ‘today I have a final refusal to my petition, and I have hardly a crumb of bread left⁠—I have nothing left; my wife has had a baby lately⁠—and I⁠—I⁠—’