Bim lost
himself here in the ecstasy of his description, lacking also names for
many of the things that he saw. But there was a whole suit of shining
armour, and there were jewels, and old brass trays, and carpets, and a
crocodile, which Bim called a "crodocile." There was also a friendly old
man with a white beard, and over everything a lovely smell, which Bim
said was like "roast potatoes" and "the stuff mother has in a bottle in
her bedwoom."
Bim could, of course, have stayed there for ever, but Mr. Jack reminded
him of a possibly anxious family. "There, is that what you're after?"
he said, and, sure enough, there on a shelf, smiling and eager to be
bought, was a mug exactly like the one that Bim had broken.
There was then the business of paying for it, the money-box was produced
and opened by the old man with "a shining knife," and Bim was gravely
informed that the money found in the box was exactly the right amount.
Bim had been, for a moment, in an agony of agitation lest he should have
too little, but as he told us, "There was all Uncle Alfred's Christmas
money, and what mother gave me for the tooth, and that silly lady with
the green dress who _would_ kiss me.
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