uickness of his movements:

'You the genelmun as orduder bawth?' he asked anxiously. I admitted
it, and he gave a long sigh of relief.

'Oo! All right,' he said, almost gladly. 'I'll letcher know when it's
ready.'

And he hopped out. I finished my pipe, yawned, opened the Concordance,
and shut it again hastily, by reason of the extraordinarily pungent
mustiness its pages emitted. Then I went prospecting into the passage
between the stairs and the private bar. Here I passed a sort of
ticket-office window, at which a middle-aged Hebrew lady sat, eating
winkles from a plate with the aid of a hairpin. Her face lit up with
sudden interest as she saw me:

'Oo!' she cried with spirit, 'er you the genelmun has orduder bawth?'
Again I pleaded guilty, and with a broad, reassuring smile, as of one
who should say: 'Bless you, we've had visitors just as mad as you
before this, and never attempted to lasso or otherwise constrain them.
There's no limit to our indulgence toward gentlemen afflicted as you
are,' she nodded her ringleted head, and said: 'Right you are, sir.
I'll send Boots to letcher know when it's ready.'

Apart from consideration of her occupation, which seemed to me to
demand privacy, I could not stand gazing at this lady, though I was
momentarily inclined to ask if the Lord Mayor and his Aldermen had
been invited to attend my bathing; so I passed on to the only refuge
from the Concordance room--the private bar. There was a really
splendid young lady in attendance here, who smiled upon me so sweetly
that I felt constrained to order something to drink. Also, I was
greatly athirst. But the trouble was it happened I had never tasted
beer, and could think of nothing else suitable that was likely to be
available. While I pondered, one hand on the counter, the still
smiling barmaid opened conversation brightly:

'Er you the genelmun what's orduder bawth?' she asked engagingly.

I began to feel that there must be some kind of a special London joke
about this formula. Perhaps it is a phrase in the current comic opera,
I thought. A pity that ignorance should prevent my capping it! At all
events I was saved for the moment from choosing a drink, for three
hilarious city gentlemen entered from the street just then, and
demanded instant attention. As I hung indeterminately, waiting, I
heard a voice in the passage outside, and recognised it as belonging
to that elderly bird, the Boots.

'No, I ain't awastin' uv me time,' i