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172 pages

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. During his residence in London, the accomplished Prince Florizel of Bohemia gained the affection of all classes by the seduction of his manner and by a well-considered generosity. He was a remarkable man even by what was known of him; and that was but a small part of what he actually did. Although of a placid temper in ordinary circumstances, and accustomed to take the world with as much philosophy as any ploughman, the Prince of Bohemia was not without a taste for ways of life more adventurous and eccentric than that to which he was destined by his birth. Now and then, when he fell into a low humour, when there was no laughable play to witness in any of the London theatres, and when the season of the year was unsuitable to those field sports in which he excelled all competitors, he would summon his confidant and Master of the Horse, Colonel Geraldine, and bid him prepare himself against an evening ramble. The Master of the Horse was a young officer of a brave and even temerarious disposition. He greeted the news with delight, and hastened to make ready

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	23 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819919506
Langue	English

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PART 1 - THE SUICIDE CLUB
STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN WITH THE CREAM TARTS
During his residence in London, the accomplishedPrince Florizel of Bohemia gained the affection of all classes bythe seduction of his manner and by a well-considered generosity. Hewas a remarkable man even by what was known of him; and that wasbut a small part of what he actually did. Although of a placidtemper in ordinary circumstances, and accustomed to take the worldwith as much philosophy as any ploughman, the Prince of Bohemia wasnot without a taste for ways of life more adventurous and eccentricthan that to which he was destined by his birth. Now and then, whenhe fell into a low humour, when there was no laughable play towitness in any of the London theatres, and when the season of theyear was unsuitable to those field sports in which he excelled allcompetitors, he would summon his confidant and Master of the Horse,Colonel Geraldine, and bid him prepare himself against an eveningramble. The Master of the Horse was a young officer of a brave andeven temerarious disposition. He greeted the news with delight, andhastened to make ready. Long practice and a varied acquaintance oflife had given him a singular facility in disguise; he could adaptnot only his face and bearing, but his voice and almost histhoughts, to those of any rank, character, or nation; and in thisway he diverted attention from the Prince, and sometimes gainedadmission for the pair into strange societies. The civilauthorities were never taken into the secret of these adventures;the imperturbable courage of the one and the ready invention andchivalrous devotion of the other had brought them through a scoreof dangerous passes; and they grew in confidence as time wenton.
One evening in March they were driven by a sharpfall of sleet into an Oyster Bar in the immediate neighbourhood ofLeicester Square. Colonel Geraldine was dressed and painted torepresent a person connected with the Press in reducedcircumstances; while the Prince had, as usual, travestied hisappearance by the addition of false whiskers and a pair of largeadhesive eyebrows. These lent him a shaggy and weather-beaten air,which, for one of his urbanity, formed the most impenetrabledisguise. Thus equipped, the commander and his satellite sippedtheir brandy and soda in security.
The bar was full of guests, male and female; butthough more than one of these offered to fall into talk with ouradventurers, none of them promised to grow interesting upon anearer acquaintance. There was nothing present but the lees ofLondon and the commonplace of disrespectability; and the Prince hadalready fallen to yawning, and was beginning to grow weary of thewhole excursion, when the swing doors were pushed violently open,and a young man, followed by a couple of commissionaires, enteredthe bar. Each of the commissionaires carried a large dish of creamtarts under a cover, which they at once removed; and the young manmade the round of the company, and pressed these confections uponevery one's acceptance with an exaggerated courtesy. Sometimes hisoffer was laughingly accepted; sometimes it was firmly, or evenharshly, rejected. In these latter cases the new-comer always atethe tart himself, with some more or less humorous commentary.
At last he accosted Prince Florizel.
"Sir," said he, with a profound obeisance,proffering the tart at the same time between his thumb andforefinger, "will you so far honour an entire stranger? I cananswer for the quality of the pastry, having eaten two dozen andthree of them myself since five o'clock."
"I am in the habit," replied the Prince, "of lookingnot so much to the nature of a gift as to the spirit in which it isoffered."
"The spirit, sir," returned the young man, withanother bow, "is one of mockery."
"Mockery?" repeated Florizel. "And whom do youpropose to mock?"
"I am not here to expound my philosophy," repliedthe other, "but to distribute these cream tarts. If I mention thatI heartily include myself in the ridicule of the transaction, Ihope you will consider honour satisfied and condescend. If not, youwill constrain me to eat my twenty-eighth, and I own to being wearyof the exercise."
"You touch me," said the Prince, "and I have all thewill in the world to rescue you from this dilemma, but upon onecondition. If my friend and I eat your cakes - for which we haveneither of us any natural inclination - we shall expect you to joinus at supper by way of recompense."
The young man seemed to reflect.
"I have still several dozen upon hand," he said atlast; "and that will make it necessary for me to visit several morebars before my great affair is concluded. This will take some time;and if you are hungry - "
The Prince interrupted him with a politegesture.
"My friend and I will accompany you," he said; "forwe have already a deep interest in your very agreeable mode ofpassing an evening. And now that the preliminaries of peace aresettled, allow me to sign the treaty for both."
And the Prince swallowed the tart with the bestgrace imaginable.
"It is delicious," said he.
"I perceive you are a connoisseur," replied theyoung man.
Colonel Geraldine likewise did honour to the pastry;and every one in that bar having now either accepted or refused hisdelicacies, the young man with the cream tarts led the way toanother and similar establishment. The two commissionaires, whoseemed to have grown accustomed to their absurd employment,followed immediately after; and the Prince and the Colonel broughtup the rear, arm in arm, and smiling to each other as they went. Inthis order the company visited two other taverns, where scenes wereenacted of a like nature to that already described - some refusing,some accepting, the favours of this vagabond hospitality, and theyoung man himself eating each rejected tart.
On leaving the third saloon the young man countedhis store. There were but nine remaining, three in one tray and sixin the other.
"Gentlemen," said he, addressing himself to his twonew followers, "I am unwilling to delay your supper. I ampositively sure you must be hungry. I feel that I owe you a specialconsideration. And on this great day for me, when I am closing acareer of folly by my most conspicuously silly action, I wish tobehave handsomely to all who give me countenance. Gentlemen, youshall wait no longer. Although my constitution is shattered byprevious excesses, at the risk of my life I liquidate thesuspensory condition."
With these words he crushed the nine remaining tartsinto his mouth, and swallowed them at a single movement each. Then,turning to the commissionaires, he gave them a couple ofsovereigns.
"I have to thank you," said be, "for yourextraordinary patience."
And he dismissed them with a bow apiece. For someseconds he stood looking at the purse from which he had just paidhis assistants, then, with a laugh, he tossed it into the middle ofthe street, and signified his readiness for supper.
In a small French restaurant in Soho, which hadenjoyed an exaggerated reputation for some little while, but hadalready begun to be forgotten, and in a private room up two pair ofstairs, the three companions made a very elegant supper, and drankthree or four bottles of champagne, talking the while uponindifferent subjects. The young man was fluent and gay, but helaughed louder than was natural in a person of polite breeding; hishands trembled violently, and his voice took sudden and surprisinginflections, which seemed to be independent of his will. Thedessert had been cleared away, and all three had lighted theircigars, when the Prince addressed him in these words:-
"You will, I am sure, pardon my curiosity. What Ihave seen of you has greatly pleased but even more puzzled me. Andthough I should be loth to seem indiscreet, I must tell you that myfriend and I are persons very well worthy to be entrusted with asecret. We have many of our own, which we are continually revealingto improper ears. And if, as I suppose, your story is a silly one,you need have no delicacy with us, who are two of the silliest menin England. My name is Godall, Theophilus Godall; my friend isMajor Alfred Hammersmith - or at least, such is the name by whichhe chooses to be known. We pass our lives entirely in the searchfor extravagant adventures; and there is no extravagance with whichwe are not capable of sympathy."
"I like you, Mr. Godall," returned the young man;"you inspire me with a natural confidence; and I have not theslightest objection to your friend the Major, whom I take to be anobleman in masquerade. At least, I am sure he is no soldier."
The Colonel smiled at this compliment to theperfection of his art; and the young man went on in a more animatedmanner.
"There is every reason why I should not tell you mystory. Perhaps that is just the reason why I am going to do so. Atleast, you seem so well prepared to hear a tale of silliness that Icannot find it in my heart to disappoint you. My name, in spite ofyour example, I shall keep to myself. My age is not essential tothe narrative. I am descended from my ancestors by ordinarygeneration, and from them I inherited the very eligible humantenement which I still occupy and a fortune of three hundred poundsa year. I suppose they also handed on to me a hare-brain humour,which it has been my chief delight to indulge. I received a goodeducation. I can play the violin nearly well enough to earn moneyin the orchestra of a penny gaff, but not quite. The same remarkapplies to the flute and the French horn. I learned enough of whistto lose about a hundred a year at that scientific game. Myacquaintance with French was sufficient to enable me to squandermoney in Paris with almost the same facility as in London. Inshort, I am a person full of manly accomplishments. I have hadevery sort of adventure, including a duel about nothing. Only twomonths ago I met a young lady exactly suited to my taste in mindand body; I found my heart melt; I saw that I had com