telephone buzzed like a hornet. Not five minutes went by without
callers or interruptions of some sort.

Most amazing of all, he found, was the miscellaneous passion for
palaver displayed by Big Business. Immediately he was invited to
join innumerable clubs, societies, merchants' associations. Every
day would arrive letters, on heavily embossed paper--"The Sales
Managers Club will hold a round-table discussion on Friday at one
o'clock. We would greatly appreciate it if you would be with us
and say a few words."-- "Will you be our guest at the monthly
dinner of the Fifth Avenue Guild, and give us any preachment that
is on your mind?"--"The Merchandising Uplift Group of Murray Hill
will meet at the Commodore for an informal lunch. It has been
suggested that you contribute to the discussion on Underwriting
Overhead."--"The Executives Association plans a clambake and
barbecue at the Barking Rock Country Club. Around the bonfire a
few impromptu remarks on Business Cycles will be called for. May
we count on you?"--"Will you address the Convention of Knitted
Bodygarment Buyers, on whatever topic is nearest your heart?"--
"Will you write for Bunion and Callous, the trade organ of the
Floorwalkers' Union, a thousand-word review of your career?"--
"Will you broadcast a twenty-minute talk on Department Store
Ethics, at the radio station in Newark? 250,000 radio fans will
be listening in." New to the strange and high-spirited world of
"executives," it was natural that Gissing did not realize that
the net importance of this kind of thing was absolute zero. It
did strike him as odd, perhaps, that merchants did not dare to go
on a junket or plan a congenial dinner without pretending to
themselves that it had some business significance. But, having
been so amazingly lifted into this atmosphere of great affairs,