UNITED STATES AND CANADA 81 



reporters at once. It was the room which Mr. 

 Chamberlain and his assistants use for office work. 

 Several tables were covered with papers, books, and 

 writing materials, and on one table was the regular 

 black leather-covered dispatch-box of British diplo- 

 macy . Mr . B ergne , who is small of stature , of slender 

 build, sharp, shrewd, and wiry, was standing inside 

 the door to welcome the coming guest ; and Mr. 

 Maycock, who is fat and fair and much bigger than 

 his colleague, although evidently several years 

 younger, was standing near by. Mr. Bergne might 

 be taken for a Yankee, and a keen, hard Yankee at 

 that ; but Mr. Maycock looks the typical Briton, fat, 

 fair, well fed, a perfect cushion stuffed with the roast 

 beef of old England. Mr. Chamberlain was not 

 visible just yet. He was engaged in his private room 

 on the other side of the corridor giving audience 

 to a Catholic priest who had called to make some 

 communication, which, of course, was held as con- 

 fidential as any of the conferences of the fishery 

 negotiators. Not from the priest and not from Mr. 

 Chamberlain, but from another very reliable source, 

 the reporter learned that, so far from Mr. Chamber- 

 lain being in danger of assassination at the hands of 

 the Irish in Washington, forty members of the 

 Clan-na-Gael had been detailed to watch over him 

 while here, and to do whatever might be necessary 

 to protect him from harm. But, notwithstanding 

 this, the Pinkerton detective force has been doubled 

 in anticipation of the commotion among the Irish 

 societies of this city caused by the visit of O'Connor 

 and Esmonde. 



