It seemed to him a
hopeless case to call upon that firm for any favour, but the
pressing claims of his family forced him to make the application.
He appeared before the man whom he had ridiculed as "Billy Button"
accordingly. He told his tale and produced his certificate. "You
wrote a pamphlet against us once?" said Mr. Grant. The supplicant
expected to see his document thrown into the fire; instead of which
Grant signed the name of the firm, and thus completed the necessary
certificate. "We make it a rule," said he, handing it back, "never
to refuse signing the certificate of an honest tradesman, and we
have never heard that you were anything else." The tears started
into the man's eyes. "Ah," continued Mr. Grant, "you see my saying
was true, that you would live to repent writing that pamphlet. I
did not mean it as a threat--I only meant that some day you would
know us better, and repent having tried to injure us." "I do, I
do, indeed, repent it." "Well, well, you know us now. But how do
you get on--what are you going to do?" The poor man stated that he
had friends who would assist him when his certificate was obtained.
"But how are you off in the mean time?" The answer was, that,
having given up every farthing to his creditors, he had been
compelled to stint his family in even the common necessaries of
life, that he might be enabled to pay for his certificate.
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