elped. She only faced the realities of this task that she had not so
much set for herself as had happened to her, after dreadful phases of
disillusionment and dismay.

"These hostels," said Mr. Brumley in his most prophetic mood, "can be
made free, fine things--or no--just as all the world of men we are
living in, could be made a free, fine world. And it's our place to see
they are that. It's just by being generous and giving ourselves, helping
without enslaving, and giving without exacting gratitude, planning and
protecting with infinite care, that we bring that world nearer.... Since
I've known you I've come to know such things are possible...."

The Bloomsbury hostel started upon its career with an embarrassing
difficulty. The young women of the International Stores Refreshment
Departments for whom these institutions were primarily intended
displayed what looked extremely like a concerted indisposition to come
in. They had been circularized and informed that henceforth, to ensure
the "good social tone" of the staff, all girls not living at home with
their parents or close relations would be expected to reside in the new
hostels. There followed an attractive account of the advantages of the
new establishment. In drawing up this circular with the advice of Mrs.
Pembrose, Sir Isaac had overlooked the fact that his management was very
imperfectly informed just where the girls did live, and that after its
issue it was very improbable that it would be possible to find out this
very necessary fact. But the girls seemed to be unaware of this
ignorance at headquarters, Miss Babs Wheeler was beginning to feel a
little bored by good behaviour and crave for those dramatic cessations
at the lunch hour, those speeches, with cheers, from a table top, those
interviews with reporters, those flushed and eager councils of war and
all the rest of that good old crisis feeling that had previously ended
so happily. Mr. Graper came to his proprietor headlong, Mrs. Pembrose
was summoned and together they contemplated the lamentable possibility
of this great social benefit they had done the world being discredited
at the outset by a strike of the proposed beneficiaries. Sir Isaac fell
into a state of vindictiveness and was with difficulty restrained by Mr.
Graper from immediately concluding the negotiations that were pending
with three great Oxford Street firms that would have given over the
hostels to their employees and closed them against