Arnold Bennett
The Grand Babylon Hôtel
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4057664639196
Table of Contents
Chapter One THE MILLIONAIRE AND THE WAITER
Chapter Two HOW MR RACKSOLE OBTAINED HIS DINNER
Chapter Four ENTRANCE OF THE PRINCE
Chapter Five WHAT OCCURRED TO REGINALD DIMMOCK
Chapter Seven NELLA AND THE PRINCE
Chapter Eight ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE OF THE BARONESS
Chapter Nine TWO WOMEN AND THE REVOLVER
Chapter Eleven THE COURT PAWNBROKER
‘MR SAMPSON LEVI wishes to see you, sir.’
Chapter Twelve ROCCO AND ROOM NO. 111
Chapter Thirteen IN THE STATE BEDROOM
Chapter Fourteen ROCCO ANSWERS SOME QUESTIONS
Chapter Fifteen END OF THE YACHT ADVENTURE
Chapter Sixteen THE WOMAN WITH THE RED HAT
Chapter Seventeen THE RELEASE OF PRINCE EUGEN
Chapter Eighteen IN THE NIGHT-TIME
Chapter Nineteen ROYALTY AT THE GRAND BABYLON
Chapter Twenty MR SAMPSON LEVI BIDS PRINCE EUGEN GOOD MORNING
Chapter Twenty-One THE RETURN OF FÉLIX BABYLON
Chapter Twenty-Two IN THE WINE CELLARS OF THE GRAND BABYLON
Chapter Twenty-Three FURTHER EVENTS IN THE CELLAR
Chapter Twenty-Four THE BOTTLE OF WINE
Chapter Twenty-Five THE STEAM LAUNCH
Chapter Twenty-Six THE NIGHT CHASE AND THE MUDLARK
Chapter Twenty-Seven THE CONFESSION OF MR TOM JACKSON
Chapter Twenty-Eight THE STATE BEDROOM ONCE MORE
Chapter Twenty-Nine THEODORE IS CALLED TO THE RESCUE
Chapter One THE MILLIONAIRE AND THE WAITER
‘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.
‘Yes, sir?’ repeated Jules, and this time there was a shade of august disapproval in his voice: it was not usual for him to have to address a customer twice.
‘Oh!’ said the alert, middle-aged man, looking up at length. Beautifully ignorant of the identity of the great Jules, he allowed his grey eyes to twinkle as he caught sight of the expression on the waiter’s face. ‘Bring me an Angel Kiss.’
‘Pardon, sir?’
‘Bring me an Angel Kiss, and be good enough to lose no time.’
‘If it’s an American drink, I fear we don’t keep it, sir.’ The voice of Jules fell icily distinct, and several men glanced round uneasily, as if to deprecate the slightest disturbance of their calm. The appearance of the person to whom Jules was speaking, however, reassured them somewhat, for he had all the look of that expert, the travelled Englishman, who can differentiate between one hotel and another by instinct, and who knows at once where he may make a fuss with propriety, and where it is advisable to behave exactly as at the club. The Grand Babylon was a hotel in whose smoking-room one behaved as though one was at one’s club.
‘I didn’t suppose you did keep it, but you can mix it, I guess, even in this hotel.’
‘This