arpet and the flowers.
The square building in all its bravery of Doulton ware and yellow and
mauve tiles and its great gilt inscription

INTERNATIONAL HOSTELS

above the windows of the second storey seemed typical of all those
modern forces that are now invading and dispelling the ancient
residential peace of Bloomsbury.

Mrs. Blapton appeared only five minutes late, escorted by Bertie Trevor
and her husband's spare secretary. Graper became so active at the sight
of her that he seemed more like some beast out of the Apocalypse with
seven hands and ten hats than a normal human being; he marshalled the
significant figures into their places, the door was unlocked without
serious difficulty, and Lady Harman found herself in the main corridor
beside Mr. Trevor and a little behind Mrs. Blapton, engaged in being
shown over the new creation. Sir Isaac (driven by Graper at his elbow)
was in immediate attendance on the great political lady, and Mrs.
Pembrose, already with an air of proprietorship, explained glibly on her
other hand. Close behind Lady Harman came Lady Beach-Mandarin, expanding
like an appreciative gas in a fine endeavour to nestle happily into the
whole big place, and with her were Mrs. Hubert Plessington and Mr. Pope,
one of those odd people who are called publicists because one must call
them something, and who take chairs and political sides and are
vice-presidents of everything and organize philanthropies, write letters
to the papers and cannot let the occasion pass without saying a few
words and generally prevent the institutions of this country from
falling out of human attention. He was a little abstracted in his
manner, every now and then his lips moved as he imagined a fresh turn to
some classic platitude; anyone who knew him might have foretold the
speech into which he presently broke. He did this in the refectory where
there was a convenient step up at the end. Beginning with the customary
confession of incontinence, "could not let the occasion pass," he
declared that he would not detain them long, but he felt that everyone
there would agree with him that they shared that day in no slight
occasion, no mean enterprise, that here was one of the most promising,
one of the most momentous, nay! he would go further and add with due
deference to them all, one of the most pregnant of social experiments in
modern social work. In the past he had himself--if he might for a moment
allow a personal note to creep