Page 839 - of-human-bondage-

‘He’ll catch the belle of Lynn’s, if he’s not careful.’
Philip had already heard of the social evenings, for the
money stopped from the wages to pay for them was one of
the grievances of the staff. It was only two shillings a month,
and it covered medical attendance and the use of a library
of worn novels; but as four shillings a month besides was
stopped for washing, Philip discovered that a quarter of his
six shillings a week would never be paid to him.
Most of the men were eating thick slices of fat bacon
between a roll of bread cut in two. These sandwiches, the
assistants’ usual supper, were supplied by a small shop a few
doors off at twopence each. The soldier rolled in; silently,
rapidly, took off his clothes and threw himself into bed. At
ten minutes past eleven the gas gave a big jump and five
minutes later went out. The soldier went to sleep, but the
others crowded round the big window in their pyjamas and
night-shirts and, throwing remains of their sandwiches at
the women who passed in the street below, shouted to them
facetious remarks. The house opposite, six storeys high, was
a workshop for Jewish tailors who left off work at eleven;
the rooms were brightly lit and there were no blinds to the
windows. The sweater’s daughter—the family consisted of
father, mother, two small boys, and a girl of twenty—went
round the house to put out the lights when work was over,
and sometimes she allowed herself to be made love to by
one of the tailors. The shop assistants in Philip’s room got
a lot of amusement out of watching the manoeuvres of one
man or another to stay behind, and they made small bets on
which would succeed. At midnight the people were turned

Of Human Bondage