“Well, it is,” said Richard. “It’s humiliating to find what a slave one is to one’s body in this world. D’you know, I can never work without a kettle on the hob. As often as not I don’t drink tea, but I must feel that I can if I want to.”

‘Let them go,’ said Mr Vincent Crummles, ‘and we’ll have it snugly and cosily together by the fire.’