"

"A comfortable faith," adds Silver.

Once the discussion turned upon suicide. "Du M. says before he married
he often felt tempted to suicide."

In heading his diary shortly after du Maurier joined the table, Silver
writes "Du M." and then corrects it "(no: DU M.)." And in another place
he writes, "Du Maurier says fellows write to him de Maurier: 'give the
devil his du.'"

In 1865 the proprietors, getting old, have put their sons in their
stead, and taken the Agnews into partnership. The staff talk
sentimentally of old times. They drink success to the Firm. Mark Lemon,
the Editor, proposes the health of Bradbury & Evans, saying, "men work
well together because they are liberally treated. Thought our loss last
year (death of Leech) would have seriously affected _Punch_, but it did
not. And no single loss will." Bradbury, replying, speaks of the
brotherly affection between the editor and the proprietors. "Says if you
want men to serve you well treat them well, and win their sympathy and
esteem.... Evans is emphatic on the Brotherhood of the Punch table."
Thackeray's "Mahogany Tree" is sung; du Maurier sings a French song, and
F.C.B. also singeth a song with no words to speak of, &c. &c. &c. "So we
pass a jolly evening, and bear in mind--that Sociality is the secret of
the success of _Punch_."

On another occasion there is the paper's "Silver Wedding." A watch and
chain with eleven links--the mystic number of the _Punch_ staff--is
handed over to Mark Lemon. In the morning he has received a letter with
a hundred guineas. He claims, in replying, "that the _Punch_ Brotherhood
is one of the most extraordinary literary brotherhoods the world has
seen."

Shirley Brooks hands him letters written by the staff individually,
testifying their gladness at the gift proposed. Du Maurier wrote the
longest and Charles Keene the shortest.

We have extracted the following items from the diary, quoting exactly,
except for the substitution sometimes of the full name for initials:

_November 7th_--_Monday_. "S.B., du Maurier (his debut), H.S.,
J.T., M.L., P.L., F.C.B., H.M., T.T.

"(The initials stand for Shirley Brooks, Henry Silver, John
Tenniel, Mark Lemon, Professor Leigh, F.C. Burnand, Horace Mayhew,
Tom Taylor.)

"Du Maurier tells of Whistler and Rossetti's rage for old china,
and how Rossetti once left his guests at dinner and rushed off to
buy a piece before Whistler could forestal