The gentleman now took it, laying a hesitating hand on a corner of the table, and with another hesitating hand lifting the crown of his hat to his lips, and drawing it before his mouth.
'The gentleman, R.W.,' said Mrs Wilfer, 'proposes to take your apartments by the quarter.

A quarter's notice on either side.' 'Shall I mention, sir,' insinuated the landlord, expecting it to be received as a matter of course, 'the form of a reference ?' 'I think,' returned the gentleman, after a pause, 'that a reference is not necessary; neither, to say the truth, is it convenient, for I am a stranger in London.

I require no reference from you, and perhaps, therefore, you will require none from me.

That will be fair on both sides.

Indeed, I show the greater confidence of the two, for I will pay in advance whatever you please, and I am going to trust my furniture here.