Thirteen steps down

Mix Cellini (whihc he pronounces with an "S" rather than a "C") is superstitious about the number thirteen and has always felt dogged by ill-luck- In St Blais House where he lives, there are thirteen steps down to the landing below his roomsm which he keeps spick and span in marked contrast to the rest of the place. His landlady, Gwendolen Chawcer, was born there, and lives her life almost exclusively through her library, blind to the neglect and decay around her.