that the maiden could not wait, and that he had taken her place; and
he winked at us and laughed when he saw how our faces fell, so that
we had nothing for it but to laugh also -

"Where are you going?" said he to Dick.

"To Bloomsbury," said Dick.

"If you two don't want to be alone, I'll come with you," said the old
man.

"All right," said Dick, "tell me when you want to get down and I'll
stop for you. Let's get on."

So we got under way again; and I asked if children generally waited
on people in the markets. "Often enough," said he, "when it isn't a
matter of dealing with heavy weights, but by no means always. The
children like to amuse themselves with it, and it is good for them,
because they handle a lot of diverse wares and get to learn about
them, how they are made, and where they come from, and so on.
Besides, it is such very easy work that anybody can do it. It is
said that in the early days of our epoch there were a good many
people who were hereditarily afflicted with a disease called
Idleness, because they were the direct descendants of those who in
the bad times used to force other people to work for them--the
people, you know, who are called slave-holders or employers of labour
in the history books. Well, these Idleness-stricken people used to
serve booths ALL their time, because they were fit for so little.
Indeed, I believe that at one time they were actually COMPELLED to do
some such work, because they, especially the women, got so ugly and