eight o'clock
Near the door stood a wide , flat table piled high with programs for the dancers . These were elaborate affairs , and had cost a mint of money -- vellum folders , emblazoned in colour outside , with a sort of fireman heraldry and the motto : `` We strive to save . '' Gilded pencils on short silken tasselled cords dangled from their corners . At eight o'clock the lights were all blazing , the orchestras were tuning , and the floor fluttered with anxious labelled committeemen dashing to and fro . There was nothing for them to do , but they were nervous . By half-past eight the first arrivals could be seen hesitating at the outer door , as though reluctant to make a plunge ; herded finally to the right and left of men 's and women 's dressing-rooms . After a long , chattering interval , encouraged by the slow accumulation of numbers , a little group debouched on the main , floor .