for the realisation of his
dreams--not upon paper, which perfectly satisfied him--but in terms of
life in which alone she could feel that her existence was honourable.
She kept a tight enough hold of Charles to see that he worked at _The
Tempest_, but, as she was no longer with him continually, she could not
check his delighted absorption in his committee. This was properly and
duly constituted. It had a chairman, Professor Laverock, and Mr Clott
acted also as its secretary in an honorary capacity, his emoluments
from Charles being more than sufficient for his needs. It met
regularly once a month in studios and drawing-rooms. The finest
unofficialised brains in London were gathered together, and nervous men
eyed each other suspiciously and anxiously until Charles appeared, with
Mr Clott fussing and moving round him like a tug round a great liner.
His presence vitalised the assembly; the suppressed idealism in his
supporters came bubbling to the surface. Poets whose works were
ignored by the great public, musicians whose compositions were ousted
by Germans, Russians, Frenchmen, and Poles from the concert-rooms of
London, dramatists whose plays were only produced on Sunday evenings,
art critics who had acclaimed Charles's exhibition, all in his presence
were conscious of a solidarity proof against all jealousy and
disappointment; Charles, famous in Paris, Berlin, Moscow, New York,
moved among them like a kindling wind.

He would arrive with his arms full of papers, while Mr Clott in a
little black bag carried the essential documents--minute-book, agenda,
suggestions, plans. For some months the Committee accomplished nothing
but resolutions to invite and co-opt other members, but it seemed
impossible to lure any really successful person into the net. No
actor-manager, no Royal Academician, no poet with a healthy circulation
could be found to give practical expression to his sympathy, though
admiration for Mr Mann's work and the high reputation he had won for
British Art on the Continent oozed from them all in letters of great
length, which were read to the Committee until its members, most of
them rather simple souls, were bewildered.

The accretion of Lord Verschoyle made a great difference. He attended
in person, a shy, elegant young man, educated at Eton, and in the
Guards for the gentle art of doing nothing. He owned a large area of
London, and his estates were managed by a board which he was not even
expect