We arrived at the edge of the corporation which is Monte Carlo and walked in, surveying the character of the place. It was as gaudy and rococoesque as one might well expect this world to be. It reminded me in part of that Parisian world which one finds about the Arc de Triomphe, rich and comfortable, only there are no carriages in Monte Carlo to speak of. The distances are too slight and the grades too steep. When we reached the square of the Casino, it did not strike me as having any especial charm. It was small and sloping, and laid off in square beds of reddish flowers with greensward about and gravel paths going down either side. At the foot lay the Casino, ornate and cream-white, with a glass and iron canopy over the door and a swarm of people moving to and fro--not an idling throng but rather having an air of considerable industry about it, quite as one might expect to find in a business world. People were bustling along as we were to get to the Casino or to go away from it on some errand and get back. We hurried down the short length of the sward, checking our coats, after waiting a lengthy time for our turn in line, and then entering the chambers where credentials are examined and cards of admission sold. There was quite some formality about this, letters being examined, our personal signature and home address taken and then we were ready to enter. While Barfleur presented our credentials, Sir Scorp and I strolled about in the lobby observing the inpouring and outpouring throng. He showed me the exact pillar where he had attempted to ease his tooth. This was an interesting world of forceful people. The German, the Italian, the American, the Englishman and the Russian were easily recognizable. Sir Scorp was convinced that the faces of the winners and the losers could be distinguished, but I am afraid I was not enough of a physiognomist to do this. If there were any who had just lost their last dollar I did not detect them. On the contrary it seemed to me that the majority were abnormally cheerful and were having the best time in the world. A large bar at the end of the room opposite the general entrance to the card-rooms had a peculiarly American appearance. The one thing that was evident was that all here were healthy and vigorous, with a love of life in their veins, eager to be entertained, and having the means in a large majority of cases to accomplish this end. It struck me here as it has in so many other places where great pleasure-loving throngs congregate, that the difference between the person who has something and the person who has nothing is one of intense desire, and what, for a better phrase, I will call a capacity to live.