There's oil that burns in it, and you only have
to light it of an evening, and it burns on without going out till
the next morning."
"But how can the wet oil burn?"
"You might as well ask--how can brandy burn?"
"But it might set the whole place on fire. When brandy begins to
burn you can't put it out, even with water."
"How can the place be set on fire when the oil is shut up in a
glass, and the fire as well?"
"In a glass? How can fire burn in a glass--won't it burst?"
"Won't what burst?"
"The glass."
"Burst! No, it never bursts. It might burst, I grant you, if you
screwed the fire up too high, but you're not obliged to do that."
"Screw up the fire? Nay, dear, you're joking--how CAN you screw up
fire?"
"Listen, now! When you turn the screw to the right, the wick
mounts--the lamp, you know, has a wick, like any common candle,
and a flame too--but if you turn the screw to the left, the flame
gets smaller, and then, when you blow it, it goes out."
"It goes out! Of course! I But I don't understand it a bit yet,
however much you may explain--some sort of new-fangled gentlefolk
arrangement, I suppose."
"You'll understand it right enough when I've bought one."
"How much does it cost?"
"Seven and a half marks, and the oil separate at one mark the
can."
"Seven and a half marks and the oil as well! Why, for that you
might buy parea for many a long day--that is, of course, if you
were inclined to waste money on such things at all, but when Pekka
splits them not a penny is lost.
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