76
         A Conference at Crook & Duff�s
ter Bellew.    Cahill there.    Found Bellew
with Haney, at the �Nic-nax� office (the latter
going to Philadelphia to-morrow night.) At the
�Courier� Office, got $5 from Smith.      Found
Bellew talking to Frank Leslie at Crook and
Duffs, Wilbour joined us.      Cahill around.
Plenty of familiar faces there.        Briggs promi-
sed to join us in half-an-hour, during which
time Bellew and I lunched.       O�Brien and
a knot of others at the bar, his black eye
very unsightly, his countenance generally about-
towny and vicious; every way deteriorated.    He
wore his Mambrino-helmet hat and land check,
peg-top trousers.        Mc.Lenan in, talked a
bit to us, then joined the others.         Joe Harper
and Bellew.       Briggs came.      Down-stairs
to one of the private rooms, or rather cells,
there sat for three mortal hours, smoking,
I over sherry, the rest over brandy, and tal-
king about the projected comic paper.    Briggs
proposes a bi-weekly, at three cents per num-
ber, I think a good idea, involving the neces-
sity of serving up matter hot and hot.    He
didn�t interpose any non-committalism in poli-
tics, as I apprehended.                Briggs� man-
ner, certainly the reverse of prepossessing, -set
me against him, some time ago � I suppose