I could no longer despise the milliners, now that Elstir had told me that the delicate touches by which they give a last refinement, a supreme caress to the ribbons or feathers of a hat after it is finished would be as interesting to him to paint as the muscular action of the jockeys themselves (a statement which had delighted Albertine). But I must wait until I had returned⁠—for milliners, to Paris⁠—for regattas and races to Balbec, where there would be no more now until next year. Even a yacht with women in white linen garments was not to be found.