In which we take a moist and sombre stroll through Clerkenwell, where Mr Wegg calls upon Mr Venus, an engraver of bones and preserver of curiosities, whose melancholy reveries and cluttered shop evoke a world both quaint and fantastical. Amidst muffled conversations and flickering candlelight, the earnest yet forlorn Mr Venus reveals the trials of his peculiar craft and a tender affection unrequited, while Mr Wegg, ever pragmatic, contemplates his own place and prospects with a mixture of shrewdness and aspiration.