s body, to clothe himself with a certain
discrimination, to attend to polite commerce with his fellow man and to
put to some fair use the hours of his day. I did not doubt but that
by means of intelligent inquiry which I determined to pursue in every
possible direction I should sooner or later obtain news of Lola. A lady
with a troupe of performing cats could not for long remain in obscurity.
True, I might have gone in gallant quest of her; but I had had enough of
such fool adventures. I bided my time, consulted with Dale, who took
up the work of a private detective agency with his usual zeal, writing
letters to every crony who languished in the exile of foreign embassies,
and corresponding (unknown to Lady Kynnersley) with the agencies of
the International Aid Society, did what I could on my own account, and
turned my attention seriously to the regeneration of the Judds.

As the affairs of one drunken tailor's family could not afford me
complete occupation for my leisure hours, I began to find myself
insensibly drawn by Campion's unreflecting enthusiasm into all kinds of
small duties connected with Barbara's Building. Before I could realise
that I had consented, I discovered myself in charge of an evening class
of villainous-looking and uncleanly youths who assembled in one of the
lecture-rooms to listen to my recollections of the history of England.
I was to continue the course begun by a young Oxford man, who, for some
reason or other, had migrated from Barbara's Building to Toynbee Hall.

"I've never done any schoolmastering in my life. Suppose," said I, with
vivid recollections of my school days, "suppose they rag me?"

"They won't," said Campion, who had come to introduce me to the class.

And they did not. I found these five and twenty youthful members of the
proletariat the most attentive, respectable, and intelligent audience
that ever listened to a lecture. Gradually I came to perceive that they
were not as villainous-looking and uncleanly as at first sight I had
imagined. A great many of them took notes. When I came to the end of
my dissertation on Henry VIII, I went among them, as I discovered the
custom to be, and chatted, answering questions, explaining difficulties,
and advising as to a course of reading. The atmosphere of trust and
friendliness compensated for the lack of material sweetness. Here were
young men pathetically eager to learn, grateful for every crumb of
information that came from my lips.