Explore "The Guardian Angel" by W.W. Jacobs on Textopian. Read with annotations and highlights.
The night-watchman shook his head. I never met any of these phil -- philantherpists, as you call 'em, he said, decidedly. If I 'ad they wouldn't 'ave got away from me in a hurry, I can tell you. I don't say I don't believe in 'em; I only say I never met any of 'em. If people do you a kindness it's generally because they want to get something out of you; same as a man once -- a perfick stranger -- wot stood me eight 'arf-pints becos I reminded 'im of his dead brother, and then borrered five bob off of me.
O' course, there must be some kind-'arted people in the world -- all men who get married must 'ave a soft spot somewhere, if it's only in the 'ead -- but they don't often give things away. Kind-'artedness is often only another name for artfulness, same as Sam Small's kindness to Ginger Dick and Peter Russet.