entious elevation, with nothing whatever about it to
attract the attention of the passer-by; but its interior is fitted up in
such a style of combined elegance and comfort, and its domestic
arrangements are so perfect, as to leave nothing to be desired.

Its numerous members are essentially wanderers upon the face of the
earth--that is the one distinguishing characteristic wherein they most
widely differ from their fellow-men--they are ceaseless travellers;
mighty hunters in far-off lands; adventurous yachtsmen; eager explorers;
with a small sprinkling of army and navy men. Their visits to their
club are infrequent in the extreme; but, during the brief and widely
separated intervals when they have the opportunity to put in an
appearance there, they like to be made thoroughly comfortable; and no
pains are spared to secure their complete gratification in this respect.

The smoke-room of the "Migrants'" presented an appearance of especial
comfort and attractiveness on a certain cold and stormy February evening
a few years ago. A large fire blazed in the polished steel grate and
roared cheerfully up the chimney, in rivalry of the wind, which howled
and scuffled and rumbled in the flue higher up. An agreeable
temperature pervaded the room, making the lashing of the fierce rain on
the window-panes sound almost pleasant as one basked in the light and
warmth of the apartment and contrasted it with the state of cold and wet
and misery which reigned supreme outside. A dozen opal-shaded gas-
burners brilliantly lighted the room, and revealed the fact that it was
handsomely and liberally furnished with luxurious divans, capacious
easy-chairs, a piano, a table loaded with the papers and periodicals of
the day, an enormous mirror over the black marble mantel-piece, a clock
with a set of silvery chimes for the quarters, and a deep, mellow-toned
gong for the hours, and so many pictures that the whole available
surface of the walls was completely covered with them. These pictures--
executed in both oil and water-colour--represented out-of-the-way scenes
visited, or incidents participated in by the members who had executed
them, and all possessed a considerable amount of artistic merit; it
being a rule of the club that every picture should be submitted to a
hanging committee of distinctly artistic members before it could be
allowed a place upon the smoke-room walls.

The occupants of the room on the evening in question were four in