Sentence:  "I was dragged up at the workhouse school till I was twelve. Then I ran away and sold papers in the streets, and anything else that I could pick up a few coppers by—except steal. I never did that. I always made up my mind I'd be a <WSD>big</WSD> man some day, and—I'm glad I didn't steal." 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Important or significant.