Here Jaap, dimly apprehending that Enderby was speaking about him, performed a mystic rite that puzzled me extremely.
Pretending to sharpen an imaginary pencil on his forefinger he held it towards us and cried, “Sliep uit.”
“What on earth is that?” I asked Enderby—who, however, could only tell me that it was intended as a roguish taunt—Jaap was always a schelm—but the phrase was otherwise meaningless.
As such I jotted it down at once in my notebook for future use.
From these experiences in the boerderij I was able to deduce an important general principle of practical value.
If you want anything in Holland never say “thank you”, until the object is firmly in your grasp. Then you may be as civil as you like. But before you get hold of it, you are only safe if you say, “If I”.
In the Dutch language premature thanks are equivalent to a refusal; so you’d better keep your gratitude out of sight.
Well, I had won all hearts here in virtue of my discoveries. As we were going away the grandmother gave me a second Good-bye, shaking me warmly by both hands. “Heeft mijnheer zich goed geamuseerd?” she enquired.
A PARTING SALVO.
“Kostelijk—Uitstekend—Nouw!” was my prompt reply, for I had expected that query.