The Prince and Geraldine put their heads together for a moment.

"Bear me out in this," said the one; and "bear me out in that,"
said the other; and by boldlytaking up the characters of men with

whom both were acquainted, they had come to an agreement in a
twinkling, and were ready to follow their guide into the

President's cabinet.
There were no formidable obstacles to pass. The outer door stood

open; the door of the cabinet was ajar; and there, in a small but
very high apartment, the young man left them once more.

"He will be here immediately," he said, with a nod, as he
disappeared.

Voices were audible in the cabinet through the folding doors which
formed one end; and now and then the noise of a champagne cork,

followed by a burst of laughter, intervened among the sounds of
conversation. A single tall window looked out upon the river and

the embankment; and by the disposition of the lights they judged
themselves not far from Charing Cross station. The furniture was

scanty, and the coverings worn to the thread; and there was nothing
movable except a hand-bell in the centre of a round table, and the

hats and coats of a considerable party hung round the wall on pegs.
"What sort of a den is this?" said Geraldine.

"That is what I have come to see," replied the Prince. "If they
keep live devils on the premises, the thing may grow amusing."

Just then the folding door was opened no more than was necessary
for the passage of a human body; and there entered at the same

moment a louder buzz of talk, and the redoubtable President of the
Suicide Club. The President was a man of fifty or upwards; large

and rambling in his gait, with shaggy side whiskers, a bald top to
his head, and a veiled grey eye, which now and then emitted a

twinkle. His mouth, which embraced a large cigar, he kept
continually screwing round and round and from side to side, as he

looked sagaciously and coldly at the strangers. He was dressed in
light tweeds, with his neck very open in a striped shirt collar;

and carried a minute book under one arm.
"Good evening," said he, after he had closed the door behind him.

"I am told you wish to speak with me."
"We have a desire, sir, to join the Suicide Club," replied the

Colonel.
The President rolled his cigar about in his mouth. "What is that?"

he said abruptly.
"Pardon me," returned the Colonel, "but I believe you are the

person best qualified to give us information on that point."
"I?" cried the President. "A Suicide Club? Come, come! this is a

frolic for All Fools' Day. I can make allowances for gentlemen who
get merry in their liquor; but let there be an end to this."

"Call your Club what you will," said the Colonel, "you have some
company behind these doors, and we insist on joining it."

"Sir," returned the President curtly, "you have made a mistake.
This is a private house, and you must leave it instantly."

The Prince had remained quietly in his seat throughout this little
colloquy; but now, when the Colonel looked over to him, as much as

to say, "Take your answer and come away, for God's sake!" he drew
his cheroot from his mouth, and spoke -

"I have come here," said he, "upon the invitation of a friend of
yours. He has doubtless informed you of my intention in thus

intruding on your party. Let me remind you that a person in my
circumstances has exceedingly little to bind him, and is not at all

likely to tolerate much rudeness. I am a very quiet man, as a
usual thing; but, my dear sir, you are either going to oblige me in

the little matter of which you are aware, or you shall very
bitterly repent that you ever admitted me to your ante-chamber."

The President laughed aloud.
"That is the way to speak," said he. "You are a man who is a man.

You know the way to my heart, and can do what you like with me.
Will you," he continued, addressing Geraldine, "will you step aside

for a few minutes? I shall finish first with your companion, and
some of the club's formalities require to be fulfilled in private."

With these words he opened the door of a small closet, into which
he shut the Colonel.

"I believe in you," he said to Florizel, as soon as they were
alone; "but are you sure of your friend?"

"Not so sure as I am of myself, though he has more cogent reasons,"
answered Florizel, "but sure enough to bring him here without

alarm. He has had enough to cure the most tenacious man of life.
He was cashiered the other day for cheating at cards."

"A good reason, I daresay," replied the President; "at least, we
have another in the same case, and I feel sure of him. Have you

also been in the Service, may I ask?"
"I have," was the reply; "but I was too lazy, I left it early."

"What is your reason for being tired of life?" pursued the
President.

"The same, as near as I can make out," answered the Prince;
"unadulterated laziness."

The President started. "D-n it," said he, "you must have something
better than that."

"I have no more money," added Florizel. "That is also a vexation,
without doubt. It brings my sense of idleness to an acute point."

The President rolled his cigar round in his mouth for some seconds,
directing his gaze straight into the eyes of this unusual neophyte;

but the Prince supported his scrutiny with unabashed good temper.
"If I had not a deal of experience," said the President at last, "I

should turn you off. But I know the world; and this much any way,
that the most frivolous excuses for a suicide are often the

toughest to stand by. And when I downright like a man, as I do
you, sir, I would rather strain the regulation than deny him."

The Prince and the Colonel, one after the other, were subjected to
a long and particular interrogatory: the Prince alone; but

Geraldine in the presence of the Prince, so that the President
might observe the countenance of the one while the other was being

warmly cross-examined. The result was satisfactory; and the
President, after having booked a few details of each case, produced

a form of oath to be accepted. Nothing could be conceived more
passive than the obedience promised, or more stringent than the

terms by which the juror bound himself. The man who forfeited a
pledge so awful could scarcely have a rag of honour or any of the

consolations of religion left to him. Florizel signed the
document, but not without a shudder; the Colonel followed his

example with an air of great depression. Then the President
received the entry money; and without more ado, introduced the two

friends into the smoking-room of the Suicide Club.
The smoking-room of the Suicide Club was the same height as the

cabinet into which it opened, but much larger, and papered from top
to bottom with an imitation of oak wainscot. A large and cheerful

fire and a number of gas-jets illuminated the company. The Prince
and his follower made the number up to eighteen. Most of the party

were smoking, and drinking champagne; a feverish hilarity reigned,
with sudden and rather ghastly pauses.

"Is this a full meeting?" asked the Prince.
"Middling," said the President. "By the way," he added, "if you

have any money, it is usual to offer some champagne. It keeps up a
good spirit, and is one of my own little perquisites."

"Hammersmith," said Florizel, "I may leave the champagne to you."
And with that he turned away and began to go round among the

guests. Accustomed to play the host in the highest circles, he
charmed and dominated all whom he approached; there was something

at once winning and authoritative in his address; and his
extraordinary coolness gave him yet another distinction in this

half maniacal society. As he went from one to another he kept both
his eyes and ears open, and soon began to gain a general idea of

the people among whom he found himself. As in all other places of
resort, one type predominated: people in the prime of youth, with