The little man with the deep blue eyes came up, stood in an uneasy attitude, and watched: 

“Your play’s improving, young Smith,” he said; “I should think you’d be able to give Banks a knight.”  His eyes rested on Shelton, fanatical and dreary; his monotonous voice was suffering and nasal; he was continually sucking in his lips, as though determined to subdue ’the flesh.  “You should come here often,” he said to Shelton, as the latter received checkmate; “you ’d get some good practice.  We’ve several very fair players.  You’re not as good as Jones or Bartholomew,” he added to Shelton’s opponent, as though he felt it a duty to put the latter in his place.  “You ought to come here often,” he repeated to Shelton; “we have a lot of very good young fellows”; and, with a touch of complacence, he glanced around the dismal room.  “There are not so many here tonight as usual.  Where are Toombs and Body?”

Shelton, too, looked anxiously around.  He could not help feeling sympathy with Toombs and Body.

“They ’re getting slack, I’m afraid,” said the little deep-eyed man.  “Our principle is to amuse everyone.  Excuse me a minute; I see that Carpenter is doing nothing.”  He crossed over to the man who had been drinking coffee, but Shelton had barely time to glance at his opponent and try to think of a remark, before the little man was back.  “Do you know anything about astronomy?” he asked of Shelton.  “We have several very interested in astronomy; if you could talk to them a little it would help.”

Shelton made a motion of alarm.

“Please-no,” said he; “I—­”

“I wish you’d come sometimes on Wednesdays; we have most interesting talks, and a service afterwards.  We’re always anxious to get new blood”; and his eyes searched Shelton’s brown, rather tough-looking face, as though trying to see how much blood there was in it.  “Young Curly says you ’ve just been around the world; you could describe your travels.”

“May I ask,” said Shelton, “how your club is made up?”

Again a look of complacency, and blessed assuagement, visited the little man.

“Oh,” he said, “we take anybody, unless there ’s anything against them.  The Day Society sees to that.  Of course, we shouldn’t take anyone if they were to report against them.  You ought to come to our committee meetings; they’re on Mondays at seven.  The women’s side, too—­”

“Thank you,” said Shelton; “you ’re very kind—­”

“We should be pleased,” said the little man; and his face seemed to suffer more than ever.  “They ’re mostly young fellows here to-night, but we have married men, too.  Of course, we ’re very careful about that,” he added hastily, as though he might have injured Shelton’s prejudices—­“that, and drink, and anything criminal, you know.”

“And do you give pecuniary assistance, too?”

“Oh yes,” replied the little man; “if you were to come to our committee meetings you would see for yourself.  Everything is most carefully gone into; we endeavour to sift the wheat from the chaff.”