190
                 Scribbling and Loafing.
opposite the creole belle.    Dismounting near
the St Charles, Ripley and I dined at the
Southern Restaurant, then returned to the ho-
tel, a whiskey-skin and bed � at least, I
did.   Tired.
  3.  Tuesday.   Resting.    Breakfast at Wi-
bel�s. To the Delta Office and other loafing, of
which non mi recordo.
  4.  Wednesday.   Ripley up.   Off to the levee
alone and boarded the Honduras.   A cold, raw
morning; nothing worth going for in the way of
news.       Back to hotel.     At work hard and
hurriedly till 3 P. M. then with Ripley to the
Empire City, which was expected to start
at 4.       Finished letter in cabin amid the
crowd, Ripley leaving; Schell coming we
went off together along the windy stormy levee,
beside the swollen, tossing and turbid Mis-
sippi.      Up in A. G. Hills room during the
evening, helping him by dictation in writing a
letter descriptive of the trip to Dixie.         He
had got stuck fast and thought everything 
that I uttered � chaff, extravagance and ex-
aggeration � first rate.   So I went ahead and
amused myself.     Other fellows came in sub-
sequently and we drank whiskey-skins.
  5.  Thursday.   Loafing in various
[word cut off], at the Delta Office, Wilbels, the