Sir William never dealt with the little people. While they sold basics like food and clothing, through the Royal Shipping Line, he sold silks, gold, spices, oriental rugs, and Persian carpets, fetching more money per item than his tenants earned in a year. Little people were just that, 'little people, with 'little thinking' and 'little doing', of 'little worth'. They were worth, to be exact, 'little' of his time.