midday
But when he returned of a morning from the river , where he went for a bath , he found the red-flowered counterpane of the canopied bed neatly arranged , the floor swept , and strewn with sand and fragrant fir spikes , and saw awaiting him on the gold-legged table -LRB- the fourth leg of which was propped up with a brick -RRB- a steaming brown coffee-pot , and dainty slices of black bread lying beside it . His shyness at taking food from her hands had soon to be got over . At first he had still hesitated a little to break bread that she had brought him , but it looked so appetising , and bathing in the cold autumn mornings sharpened his hunger , that at last his scruples had gone to the wall . At midday , a soup made of bread , and slices of roast meat , stood ready for him , not to mention a bottle of good wine ; and in the evening , by some clever stratagem , another meal of a different character was contrived out of the same unpromising materials . Thus she knew how to keep house with nothing but the scanty larder he had found in the cellar at her disposal . He often saw her whisk past the window with pots and kettles , on her way to wash them in the river . When she came back she would cautiously peer with her lustrous eyes through the shrubs , to ascertain whether the coast was clear .