"March, here, is opposed to it, of course.

He'd like to publish 'Every Other Week' on the sly; keep it out of the papers, and off the newsstands; he's a modest Boston petunia, and he shrinks from publicity; but I am not that kind of herb myself, and I want all the publicity we can get--beg, borrow, or steal--for this thing.

I say that you can't work the sacred rites of hospitality in a better cause, and what I propose is a little dinner for the purpose of recognizing the hit we've made with this thing.

My idea was to strike you for the necessary funds, and do the thing on a handsome scale.

The term little dinner is a mere figure of speech.