“What is happening?” whispered Bidderdale.

“Five minutes hush,” explained his guide; “it is a sign that the speaker was listened to in silent approval, which is the highest mark of appreciation that can be bestowed in Pandemonium. Let’s come into the smoking-room.”

“Will the motion be carried?” asked Bidderdale, wondering inwardly how Sir Edward Grey would treat the protest if it reached the British Parliament; an entente with the Infernal Regions opened up a fascinating vista, in which the Foreign Secretary’s imagination might hopelessly lose itself.

“Carried? Of course not,” said the Fiend; “in the Infernal Parliament all motions are necessarily lost.”

“In earthly Parliaments nowadays nearly everything is found,” said Bidderdale, “including salaries and travelling expenses.”

He felt that at any rate he was probably the first member of his family to make a joke in Hell.