Untitled - Beeldbibliotheek

210 CARAVAN DAYSit :undergoes indeed it never attains to its fullcharm and dignitytill it has been tempered bywind and rain and sun. It ismerely raw andcrude when it is new, before it is broken in andshaped and moulded to one's form.But the sweater deteriorates. Its first visit tothe wash is a first step upon the downward course :never again can it quite recapture the virgin woollysplendour of the shop. Inevitably by degrees,while one looks helplessly on, it loses its bloom,becomes attenuated in its texture and at lastbegins to assume the dull, grey-yellow hue of slowdecay. The processisspread over many years,but in the end it loses its grip, grows baggy andwould even flap about the loins ;and then weknow that its course is run. For this reason it iswell to harden one's heart, never growing too fondof individuals, but embracing with enthusiasmthe class as a whole.It has no other fault, for it is the one sane andperfect garment. Its counterpart,the waistcoata thing I have always despisedis a terribleexample of what it has escaped from, what itmight have been. The dress waistcoat above allstands as a monumental specimen of the sort ofthing that can happen to clothing when it isallowed to dwindle and shrink to a snipped and