d of it, the Croftons must not think ill of me. They must not only
believe me guiltless of ingratitude, but some one whose gratitude was
worth having. It will elevate them in their own esteem if they suppose
that the pebble they picked up in the highway turned out to be a ruby.
It will open their hearts to fresh impulses of generosity; they will
not say to each other, "Let us be more careful another time; let us be
guarded against showing attention to mere strangers; remember how we
were taken in by that fellow Potts; what a specious rascal he was,--how
plausible, how insinuating!" but rather, "We can afford to be confiding,
our experiences have taught us trustfulness. Poor Potts is a lesson that
may inspire a hopeful belief in others." How little benefit can any one
in his own individual capacity confer upon the world, but what a large
measure of good may be distributed by the way he influences others.
Thus, for instance, by one well-sustained delusion of mine, I inspire
a fund of virtues which, in my merely truthful character, I could never
pretend to originate. "Yes," thought I, "the Croftons shall continue to
esteem me; Potts shall be a beacon to guide, not a sunken rock to wreck
them."

Thus resolving, I sat down to inform them that on my return from a
stroll, I was met by a man bearing a telegram, informing me of the dying
condition of my father's only brother, my sole relative on earth;
that, yielding only to the impulse of my affection, and not thinking of
preparation, I started on board of a steamer for Waterford, and
thence for Milford, on my way to Brighton. I vaguely hinted at great
expectations, and so on, and then, approaching the difficult problem of
Father Dyke's letter, I said, "I enclose you the priest's letter, which
amused me much. With all his shrewdness, the worthy churchman never
suspected how completely my friend Keldrum and myself had humbugged him,
nor did he discover that our little dinner and the episode that followed
it were the subjects of a wager between ourselves. His marvellous
cunning was thus for once at fault, as I shall explain to you more fully
when we meet, and prove to you that, upon this occasion at least, he was
not deceiver, but dupe!" I begged to have a line from him to the "Crown
Hotel, Brighton," and concluded.

With this act, I felt I had done with the past, and now addressed myself
to the future. I purchased a few cheap necessaries for the road, as few
and as cheap as was