concrete, lovely things to handle and hold, caught Peter by the throat.
In that hour he could have walked without a scruple into an empty house
or shop and carried away what he could of its beauties, and brought them
home to Thomas, saying, "Anyhow, here's something for us to go on with."
He was in the mood in which some people take to drink, only Peter didn't
like any drinks except non-alcoholic ones; or to reckless gambling, only
he didn't find gambling amusing; or to some adventure of love, only to
Peter love meant one thing only, and that was beyond his reach.

But when he had put Thomas to bed, in his little common cheap night-shirt,
he went out into the streets with his weekly earnings in his pockets and
spent them. He spent every penny he had. First he went to a florist's and
bought daffodils, in great golden sheaves. Then he went to a toyshop and
got a splendid family of fluffy beasts, and a musical box, and a Noah's
Ark, and a flute. He had spent all his money by then, so he pawned his
watch and signet ring and bought Thomas some pretty cambric clothes and
a rocking cradle. He had nothing else much to pawn. But he badly wanted
some Japanese paintings to put in the place of the pictures that at
present adorned the sitting-room. Thomas and he must have something nice
and gay to look at, instead of the Royal Family and the Monarch of the
Glen and "Grace Sufficient" worked in crewels. So he went into a shop in
Holborn and chose some paintings, and ordered them to be sent up, and
said, "Please enter them to me," so firmly that they did. Having done
that once, he repeated it at several other shops, and sometimes they
obeyed him and sometimes said that goods could not be sent up without
pre-payment. Pre-payment (or, indeed, as far as Peter could look forward,
post-payment) being out of the question, those goods had to be left where
they were. But Peter, though handicapped by shabby attire, had an
engaging way with him, and most shopmen are trustful and obliging. If
they lost by the transaction, thought Peter recklessly, it was their turn