It could never enter any one's head to chaffer about five shillings; on
the contrary, getting it for half-a-sovereign might be considered
dirt-cheap, considering the quality of the thing.

I had no intention of turning off such special work gratis. As far as I
was aware, one did not pick up stories of that kind on the wayside, and I
decided on half-a-sovereign.

The room brightened and brightened. I threw a glance towards the door, and
could distinguish without particular trouble the skeleton-like letters of
Miss Andersen's winding-sheet advertisement to the right of it. It was
also a good while since the clock has struck seven.

I rose and came to a standstill in the middle of the floor. Everything
well considered, Mrs. Gundersen's warning came rather opportunely. This
was, properly speaking, no fit room for me: there were only common enough
green curtains at the windows, and neither were there any pegs too many on
the wall. The poor little rocking-chair over in the corner was in reality
a mere attempt at a rocking-chair; with the smallest sense of humour, one
might easily split one's sides with laughter at it. It was far too low for
a grown man, and besides that, one needed, so to speak, the aid of a
boot-jack to get out of it. To cut it short, the room was not adopted for
the pursuit of things intellectual, and I did not intend to keep it any
longer. On no account would I keep it. I had held my peace, and endured
and lived far too long in such a den.

Buoyed up by hope and satisfaction, constantly occupied with my remarkable
sketch, which I drew forth every moment from my pocket and re-read, I
determined to set seriously to work with my flitting. I took out my
bundle, a red handkerchief that contained a few clean collars and some