One afternoon, when I returned to the Ark, after having been out all day, I was surprised to hear from a lodger that two gentlemen had been there that afternoon to see me. After which another lodger came forward with the same information, and still another, until I was filled with curiosity to know who those gentlemen could be. "What did they look like?" I asked one. "Like solicitors," he answered. "What kind of looking men were they?" I asked of another. "Very much like lawyers," he answered at once. "Don't forget to remember yer old pals," chimed in another, "when yer come into the property." First I examined my mother's side of the family, and then my father's, but could find no relative, near or distant, at home or abroad, whose death would be likely to befriend me. At last I went to the office, but found this place closed, the Lieutenant being out walking, and the Captain not yet having arrived. Never in my life did I have such an excitable half hour as this. When I saw the Captain coming forward, smiling, with an envelope in his hand, I went to meet him, and, taking the letter in my own hand, began to examine its outside. "Of course," said the Captain, "you know who it is from?" "Not the least idea," I said, "how should I?", and proceeded to open it. It was a short note, with a request that I should call on the Charity Organisation, between the hours of ten and eleven a. m. on the day following. The Captain went back to his office, and I sat down, thinking of what this would amount to. Again I decided to consult the Canadian, the lodger who had first mentioned to me the Surgical Aid Society. "As to that," said this man, "it's a wonder to me that you have not run foul of these people before now. My friend, who sells papers in the city, was continually meddled and interfered with by these people, but they gave him no assistance, although they seemed curious to know all about him." This information surprised me not a little, but I came to the conclusion that the Canadian's friend was addicted to drink and other bad habits, and was an undeserving case. The next morning I arose, lighthearted in anticipation of hearing something to my good, and was leaving the house when I saw the Captain standing at the front door. Feeling some misgiving, I turned to this gentleman and asked him point blank--what was his opinion of the Charity Organisation. "Well," he replied slowly, "to give you my candid opinion--although I may be mistaken--the object of the Charity Organisation is not so much to give alms, as to prevent alms being wasted." How I remembered these words in the light of my after experience with these people!