"That was twenty years ago when the Act was passed," Mr. Threader returned, sorrowful over Daniel’s naïveté. "It has become the practice for householders to pool a bit of money and pay some fellow—usually some caitiff from Southwark—to do the chore in their stead. As you encountered him this evening, so shall you every evening, unless you have the good fortune to pass by while he is in Pub."