The painting refers to the passage in Sterne's novel 'A Sentimental Journey', where the narrator, Parson Yorick, is seeking help with directions from a particularly attractive glove-seller. She is extremely helpful and Yorick finds her so charming and thoughtful that he cannot believe that she can behave with such consideration. Can she be real? Can he believe in her sincerity by verifying that she indeed has evidence of her beating heart? He must take her pulse to be convinced. Solomon’s painting leads the eye to and fro in a restless journey taking in all the components of an intimate encounter between a man and a woman.