bugged. It
was here that the painter and the actor discussed their respective
arts; here, too, in the small hours of morning, the newspaper editor
and reporters gathered together to dismiss professional cares and
jealousies for the nonce, and to feed in the most amicable spirit
from the same trough. Jobs were put up, _coups_ planned,
reconciliations effected, schemes devised, combinations suggested,
news exploited and scandals disseminated, friendships strengthened,
acquaintances made--all this at Billy Boyle's--so you see it would
have been hard to find a better field in which to study human nature,
for hither came people of every class and kind with their ambitions,
hopes, purposes, and eccentricities.

The glory of the house of Boyle was the quality of viands served
there, and nowhere else in the world was it possible to find finer
steaks and chops. These substantials were served with a liberality
that would surely have astounded those who did not understand that
the patrons of Billy Boyle's were men blest with long appetites and
robust digestions. Spanish stew was one of the specialties; so were
baked potatoes, and so were Spanish roasted onions. It was the custom
to sit and smoke after the meal had been disposed of, and the quality
of the cigars sold in the place was the best; at night
particularly--say after the newspaper clans began to gather--Boyle's
wore the aspect of a smoke-talk in full blast. Harmony invariably
prevailed. If, perchance, any discordant note was sounded it was
speedily hushed. Charlie, the man behind the bar, had a way of his
own of preserving the peace. He was a gentleman of a few words, slow
to anger, but sure of wrath. Experience had taught him that the best
persuasive to respectful and reverential order was a spoke of a
wagon-wheel. One of these weapons lay within reach, and it never
failed to restore tranquillity when produced and wielded at the
proper moment by Charlie. The consequence was that Charlie inspired
all good men with respect and all evil men with terror, and the
result was harmony of the most enjoyable character. Perhaps if
Charlie had been on watch when that horrid sheriff arrived on his
meddlesome errand, Billy Boyle's might still be open to the rich and
the poor who now meet together in that historic alley and bemoan the
passing of their old point of rendezvous. Perhaps--but why indulge in
surmises?