Arnold
Bennett
(1867
–
1931)
Born
near
Hanley,
Staffordshire,
England.
He
studied
at
London
University,
clerked
in
London,
soon
became
a
journalist.
He
wrote
The
Man
from
the
North
(1898),
Anna
of
the
Five
Towns
(1902),
The
Old
Wives’
Tale
(1908),
Clavhanger
(1910),
Hild
Lessways
(1911),
These
Twain
(1916).
|
'YES,
sir?'
Jules,
the
celebrated
head
waiter
of
the
Grand
Babylon,
was
bending
formally
towards
the
alert,
middle-aged
man
who
had
just
entered
the
smoking-room
and
dropped
into
a
basket-chair
in
the
corner
by
the
conservatory.
It
was
7.45
on a
particularly
sultry
June
night,
and
dinner
was
about
to be
served
at
the
Grand
Babylon.
Men
of
all
sizes,
ages,
and
nationalities,
but
every
one
alike
arrayed
in
faultless
evening
dress,
were
dotted
about
the
large,
dim
apartment.
A
faint
odour
of
flowers
came
from
the
conservatory,
and
the
tinkle
of a
fountain.
The
waiters,
commanded
by
Jules,
moved
softly
across
the
thick
Oriental
rugs,
balancing
their
trays
with
the
dexterity
of
jugglers,
and
receiving
and
executing
orders
with
that
air
of
profound
importance
of
which
only
really
first-class
waiters
have
the
secret.
The
atmosphere
was
an
atmosphere
of
serenity
and
repose,
characteristic
of
the
Grand
Babylon.
It
seemed
impossible
that
anything
could
occur
to
mar
the
peaceful,
aristocratic
monotony
of
existence
in
that
perfectly-managed
establishment.
Yet
on
that
night
was
to
happen
the
mightiest
upheaval
that
the
Grand
Babylon
had
ever
known.
|
