"I want," I said, "some----" and then a thought occurred to me.
After all, _did_ fishmongers sell ice? Probably the large block in
front of me was just a trade sign like the coloured bottles at the
chemist's. Suppose I said to a Fellow of the Pharmaceutical Society,
"I want some of that green stuff in the window," he would only laugh.
The tactful thing to do would be to buy a pint or two of laudanum
first, and _then_, having established pleasant relations, ask him as a
friend to lend me his green bottle for a bit.