"
"But, Mr. Thrall," I said, "don't you ever feel that you have a duty to
the immense fortune which you have left in America, and which must be
disposed of somehow when people are satisfied that you are not going to
return and dispose of it yourself?"
"No, none. I was long ago satisfied that I could really do no good with
it. Perhaps if I had had more faith in it I might have done some good
with it, but I believe that I never did anything but harm, even when I
seemed to be helping the most, for I was aiding in the perpetuation of a
state of things essentially wrong. Now, if I never go back--and I never
wish to go back--let the law dispose of it as seems best to the
authorities. I have no kith or kin, and my wife has none, so there is no
one to feel aggrieved by its application to public objects."
"And how do you imagine it will be disposed of?"
"Oh, I suppose for charitable and educational purposes. Of course a good
deal of it will go in graft; but that cannot be helped."
"But if you could now dispose of it according to your clearest ideas of
justice, and if you were forced to make the disposition yourself, what
would you do with it?"
"Well, that is something I have been thinking of, and as nearly as I can
make out, I ought to go into the records of my prosperity and ascertain
just how and when I made my money.
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