- description
- # Mr. Scribe's return for an estimate and narrator's renewed resistance
## Overview
This is a segment extracted from the short story [I and My Chimney](arke:01KG8AJ72QDX8N8STJ3550X2NW) by Herman Melville. The segment, labeled "Mr. Scribe's return for an estimate and narrator's renewed resistance," describes the narrator's interaction with Mr. Scribe regarding an estimate for work on the chimney. It spans lines 729-743 of the source text file, [i_and_my_chimney.txt](arke:01KG89J1H4TA19251AXAPE3ZWC).
## Context
The segment is part of the larger [Melville Complete Works](arke:01KG89HMDZKNY753EZE1CJ8HZW) collection. It follows the segment [Wife's ultimatum and narrator's feigned concession with his pipe](arke:01KG8AJN5HBWBR7ETY778MQJDZ) and precedes [Narrator's final resolve and wife's new, subtle tactic involving Mr. Scribe's residence](arke:01KG8AJN53Q1X8PHNBQ0T8VY1D) within the narrative. The text was extracted by a structure-extraction-lambda on January 30, 2026.
## Contents
The segment depicts Mr. Scribe's return to provide a pecuniary estimate for work on the chimney, quoting a price of five hundred dollars. The narrator responds noncommittally, promising to think about it. The narrator's continued resistance to altering the chimney frustrates Mr. Scribe, leading to his withdrawal and renewed exclamations from the narrator's wife and daughters.
- description_generated_at
- 2026-01-30T20:48:04.324Z
- description_model
- gemini-2.5-flash-lite
- description_title
- Mr. Scribe's return for an estimate and narrator's renewed resistance
- end_line
- 743
- extracted_at
- 2026-01-30T20:47:36.358Z
- extracted_by
- structure-extraction-lambda
- start_line
- 729
- text
- To my note, Mr. Scribe replied in person.
Once more we made a survey, mainly now with a view to a pecuniary
estimate.
“I will do it for five hundred dollars,” said Mr. Scribe at last, again
hat in hand.
“Very well, Mr. Scribe, I will think of it,” replied I, again bowing
him to the door.
Not unvexed by this, for the second time, unexpected response, again he
withdrew, and from my wife, and daughters again burst the old
exclamations.
- title
- Mr. Scribe's return for an estimate and narrator's renewed resistance