“He listened to me in rapt ecstacy. I might have been music.
“‘And what size, sir?’ he asked.
“I had forgotten that. ‘Oh, sixes,’ I answered, ‘unless they are very stretchy indeed, in which case they had better be five and three-quarter.’
“‘Oh, and the stitching on the cream is to be black,’ I added. That was another thing I had forgotten.
“‘Thank you very much,’ said Mr. Jansen; ‘is there anything else that you require this morning?’
“‘No, thank you,’ I replied, ‘not this morning.’ I was beginning to like the man.
“He took me for quite a walk, and wherever we went everybody left off what they were doing to stare at me. I was getting tired when we reached the glove department. He marched me up to a young man who was sticking pins into himself. He said ‘Gloves,’ and disappeared through a curtain. The young man left off sticking pins into himself, and leant across the counter.
“‘Ladies’ gloves or gentlemen’s gloves?’ he said.
“Well, I was pretty mad by this time, as you can guess. It is funny when you come to think of it afterwards, but the wonder then was that I didn’t punch his head.
“I said, ‘Are you ever busy in this shop? Does there ever come a time when you feel you would like to get your work done, instead of lingering over it and spinning it out for pure love of the thing?’