Paradise Reclaimed by Halldor Laxness

From then on the woman brought this bricklayer coffee in a bottle once a week. She put the bottle in a sock and tucked it away under her coat. He thanked her each time most profusely for her generosity and produced the mug which he normally used for a drink of water. But he never drank more than half the bottle, and always made the woman take the rest back home with her.

"My husband always drank a whole bottle," she said.