\"Abaronetsignsuchapetition！\"exclaimedTrefusis。\"Ididnotthinkofaskingyou。Ionlyshowittoyouasaninterestinghistoricaldocument,containingtheautographsofafewartistsandpoets。ThereisDonovanBrown\'sforexample。Itwashewhosuggestedthepetition,whichisnotlikelytodomuchgood,asthethingcannotbedoneinanysuchfashionHowever,IhavepromisedBrowntogetasmanysignaturesasIcan;soyoumayaswellsignit,Erskine。Itsaysnothinginblankverseabouttheholinessofslayingatyrant,butitisastepintherightdirection。Youwillnotstickatsuchatrifle——unlessthereviewshavefrightenedyou。Come,yournameandaddress。\"
Erskineshookhishead。
\"Doyouthenonlycommityourselftorevolutionarysentimentswhenthereisachanceofwinningfameasapoetbythem？\"
\"Iwillnotsign,simplybecauseIdonotchooseto,\"saidErskinewarmly。
\"Mydearfellow,\"saidTrefusis,almostaffectionately,\"ifamanhasaconsciencehecanhavenochoiceinmattersofconviction。