The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1852-08-12

me ,word dexienfy that was hardly to be
ps'aileled. In the year 1915. when the royal
80. 20 aese!son broke outin La Vendee, he roved
sa,Ia.., oI long time at the head of band Of
'. .a9"en' When Of last this opportunity Of
cooiing his rage was taken from him bv The
u ..suln o. order, ne looked out for some victim
VINO was known to him by hi. revoIn,;ona,v
ptnciP,es, ana sought TO provoke him m rou~
oat. Inc younger, the richer. the hsnn;.r ,he
CHOSEN vIctim was, the more desirable d;a \.
seem. The landlord told me he himself i new
OF seven young peTsons W no had faI. en- 49,,
his redoubted sword. oe'o'e
The next morning at FIVE o'clock. w.. ),
the house of this singular character. He lived
on the ground fioor, in small simple room
where, excepting a large cruciix, and n;c'
ture, covered with black Grape, with the date.
1874, under it, the only ornaments we've some
nautical instruments, a trombone, and ahuman
skull. The picture was the portrait OF his
guillotined bride it remained always veiled,
excepting only when he had slaked his revenge
with blood then he uncovered it for 8 days.
and indulged himself in the sight. The skull
was that of his mother. His bed consisted of
the usual hnmmock slung from the ceiling
When entered, he was at his devotions, and
| little negro brought me meanwhile cup of
chocolate and cigar. When he had risen
| from his knees, he saluted me in friendly
manner, as if we were merely going for n morn
ing walk together afterwards he opened a
| closet, took out of it a case with a pair of En-
gilsh pistols, and a couple Of excellent swords,
which put Under my arm and thus provided
we proceeded along the quay towards the rort.
!be boatmen seemed ell to know him.
Peter, your boat!' He seated himselfin the
| stern.
| ;, fou will have the goodness to row. he said;
= will take the tller, SO that my hand may NOT
become unsteady
took of my coat, rowed away briskly, and
as ihe wind was favorable, we hoisted sail,
and soon reached Cap Verd. We could re.
mark from afar our three young men, who were
sitting at breakfast in garden not far from the
shore. This was the garden of restaurateur,
anu was the iavourite resort Of the inhabitants
OF Aarselles. Here you find excellent fish:
and also, in high perfection, the famous
| boiienbresse. a national dish in Province. as
celebrated as the ola podrida of Spain. How
mary love-meeting has occurred in this
place! But this time ii wns not Love that
brought the parties together, but Hate, his
| stcp-brother; and in Province the one is as
ardent, quick, and impatient as the other.
| My business was soon accomplished. 1t
| consisted in asking the young men what wea-
pons they chose, and with which of them the
duel was to be fought. The dark-haired
| youth-his name was Nj
ed that he alone should settle the business, and
his friends were obliged to give their word moi
to interfere.
you are too stout he said to the one, point
| ing TO his portly figure; 'and you'-to the other
ARE going to be married, besides, | am q
| hrst-rate hand with the sword. However,
| will not take advantage of my youth and
strength, but will choose the pistol, unless the
| gentleman yOnder prefers the sword.
A movement of convulsive Joy animated the
| face ofmy old captain: The sword is the wea.
pon ofthe French gentleman he said; Il shall
| be happy to die with it iE my hand
| BE it so. But your age?'
Never mind; make haste, and en- gardc.'
1t was a strange sight: the handsome young
| man on one side, overbearipg confidence in his
look, with his youthful form. full Of grace and
spppleness; and opposite him that long figure,
| halt naked-for his blue shirt was furled up
from his sinewy arm, and his broad, SCARED
breast was entirely bare. In the old man,
every sinew was like iron wire: his whole
weight resting on his left hip, the long arm-on
which, in sailor fashion, a red cross, three
| lilies, and other marks, " ore tattooed-held out
before him, and the cunning, murderous gaze
| rivetted on his adversary.
twill be but mere SCRATCH said one of
| the three friends to me. | made no reply, but
| was convinced beforehand that my captain,
who was an old practitioner, would treat the
matter more seriously. Young L., whose
| perfumed coat was lying near, appeared TO me
| to be already given over to corruption. He
began the attack, advancing quickly. This
confirmed me in my opinion; for although he
| might be pract;sed frncer in the schools, this
was proof that he could not frequently have
been engaged in serious combat, or he would
not have rushed forwards so incauiiously
against an adversary whom he did not as yet
know. His opponen, pro6ted by his ardour.
and retired step by step, and at first only with
an occasional ward and half thrust Young
l., getting hotter and hotter. grew fur
| ried; while every ward OF his adversary pro-
| claimed, by its force and exactness, the master
| Of the art Of fence. AT length the young man
made longe the captain parried il with
powerful movement. and. before 49, could
recover his position, made thrust in return,
his whole body falling forward as he did so,
| exactly like picture at the Academic des
| Armes-'ihe hand elevated, the leg stretched
| out'-and his sword went through his antago-
mist, for nearly half its length, just under the
shoulder. The captain made an almost i'm.
perceplible turn with his hand, and in an in
slant was again en- garde. L-felt him
self wounded; he let his sword fall, while with
J his other hand he pressed bis side; his eyes
grew dim. and he sank into the aims OF his
ITteD0S. ne cbptuiH Wtpcu uio e"oIu SoIc-
fully, gave il to me, and dressed himself with
the most perfect composure. 4 have the honor
to wish you good-morning, gentlemen: had
you not sung yesterday, you would not have
had to weep to.day;' and thus saying, he went
towards his boat. 'Tis the seventeenth = he
murmured; but this was easy work-a mere
greenhorn from the fencing OF Paris.
Twas a very different thing when had TO do
with the old Bonapartist officers, those brig
ands of the Loire But il is quite impossible
TO translate into another language, the fierce
energy of this speech. Arrived si the port, ne
threw the boainan few pieces of ofslver, say
ing: Here, Peter here's something for you.
Another requiem aud a mass for departed
soul, at the church of 81. Genevieve--is II not
so. captain? But that is matter OF course
And soon after we reached the dwelling OF the
captain.
The little negro brought US cold pas,y,
oysters, and two bottles Of sin d Artois.-
such walk betimes gives an appetite said
the captain gaily. 'How strangely things fall
outr he continued in a serious tone. Ihave