“This is my first call, sir.”

“Oh, well, no doubt you will have plenty before the day is over.”

“Yes, sir, I am engaged for the afternoon.”

“Indeed! And in what way?”

“I am to go shopping with a lady.”

“Can’t she go by herself there?”

“Yes, sir, I suppose so, but she wants me to carry her bundles.”

“Retail merchants generally send them home.”

“Yes, sir, but she once had one miscarry, and now she prefers to take a boy with her.”