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an ignorant man conscious of his incompetence, but with
a shrewdness that enabled him to combine other people’s
suggestions, constantly asked the opinion of the assistants
in his department in making up new designs; and he had
the quickness to see that Philip’s criticisms were valuable.
But he was very jealous, and would never allow that he took
anyone’s advice. When he had altered some drawing in ac-
cordance with Philip’s suggestion, he always finished up by
saying:
‘Well, it comes round to my own idea in the end.’
One day, when Philip had been at the shop for five months,
Miss Alice Antonia, the well-known serio-comic, came
in and asked to see Mr. Sampson. She was a large woman,
with flaxen hair, and a boldly painted face, a metallic voice,
and the breezy manner of a comedienne accustomed to be
on friendly terms with the gallery boys of provincial mu-
sic-halls. She had a new song and wished Mr. Sampson to
design a costume for her.
‘I want something striking,’ she said. ‘I don’t want any
old thing you know. I want something different from what
anybody else has.’
Mr. Sampson, bland and familiar, said he was quite
certain they could get her the very thing she required. He
showed her sketches.
‘I know there’s nothing here that would do, but I just
want to show you the kind of thing I would suggest.’
‘Oh no, that’s not the sort of thing at all,’ she said, as she
glanced at them impatiently. ‘What I want is something
that’ll just hit ‘em in the jaw and make their front teeth rat-