The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1854-03-24

le eteteo, opposite to captain Horizons. Bo
IN captains had been it afterwsrd appeared, CO
n versing on pretty nearly the ssrne topics
j. King and LIE Page, but in quite q differe
h tone and spirit. D'Ermonville was Bourbo
y Royalist, par excellence, and agreed general
rs with the English estimate Of, the Frens
IL emperor. Captain Horton was, I5.must oil
e mention, somewhat nesr-sighted, and the a
.. of the room moreover, by this time, was thic
70 with cigsr-smoke. Captain Horton, who ha
10 sunk into a reSeriei, for few minutes did n,
g notice, for thess various reasons, that DE
y knoxville had left his place, much less that
VI was occupied by another, and, leaning side
!, ways over the table, SO as to he heard onl
4 by the person addressed, he quietly said
ayes, yes, Monsieur; as you say, no sensibl
man can deny that Napoleon was a most un
= principled usurper, an unscru-"
, Hs got no further. lie Page, believin,
, himself to be purposely insulted, sprung VI
with fierce oath, and dashed the goblet o
eau sucre, which D'Ermonville had beer
drinking, at the speakers head, thereby in
ficting a severe and stunning blow upon tha
gentleman's forehead. The terrific uproai
that ensued could hardly be described in
words bottles flew across the room and
through the windows, swords were drawn
while high above the din thundered the de.
liant voice OF Lieutenant King, as he forced
his way through the melee to the almost in.
sensible captain, seized him in his arms, and
! bore him from the apartment. This action
the lieutenant afterwards admitted, was not
purely the result Of generous feeling. The
honor of the English name was, he believed,
at stake, and 1t had instantly occurred to him
that Captain Horton, if left to himself would
not vindicate that honor in the only way in
which he, Lieutenant Ring, held that 1t could
be vindcated. .,.,.I :, .t.....,
The exertions OF D'Ermonville, and the
governor gradually stilled the tumut;. and as
soon as calm was comparatively restored, the
French officers left the house, with the i'm
derstanding, as LIE Renard sailed in the morn
ing, that they should wait at retired place,
agreed upon, for any communication the Eng
l:sh party might have to make. The affair
had, in some degree, sobered Us all, and it
was soon plain that strange misgivings were
creeping over the minds Of Burbage and 9TH
ers Of our set, as the time flew by, and no
message came from the captain and lieuten-
ant, nor the governor, who had gone to join
them. At last, voices in loud and angry dis.
Pute were heard approaching, und presently
the door few open, and in burst Lieutenant
King, while with excitement, and closely ,foI.
lowed by his now perfectly recovered csm-
manding officer. -'
"Do you hear, gentlemen!" shouted the
lieutenant, who was really frenzied with rage,
"this captain of ours refuses to chastse the
insolsnt Frenchman, or permit either of US
to co 70. He has conscientious objection,
forsooth, to dueling! Heavens! to think lthat
the honor of the British name should be i'll
the keeping Of a coward!" ...-.. ... .
Lieutenant King" replied Captain Hor-
ton, in calm and measured tones, 81 order
you to go on board the CurletO instantly.
"Iwill not return TO the ship till this in
suit, which affects US all, has been avenged"
rejoined the lieutenant. with unabated wrath;
"no, not if dismissal from the service be the
consequences" E t..l 81
Captain Horton glanced toward us, but find
ing, probably from our looks, that we, too, in
the excitement of the moment, might refuse
to obey his commands, and thereby incur
for no one could deny that he was 4 kind
hearted, considerate man--,he ruinous pen
alties of a court-martial for disobedience of
orders, merely said, again addressing Lieu.
tenant King, "If that be your determination,
sir, must have recourse to other measure %
enforce obedience, and, fortunately, they are
not far from hand" He then left the room,
we supposed, to supposed, 70 summon guard
Of marines. .,......, f,..
SHOW, gentlemen" exclaimed Lieutenant
King, snow to meet these Frenchmen, be-
tore this accursed captain Of ours Gan pre-.
vent us. Yet, stay" he added, "itJwould be
better, perhaps, that should 60 alone. This
suggestion was indignantly sputhed; ip truth
We were all pretty nearly crszed with wine
and psssiotii and off we set to the sppointed
rendezvous--one only idea whjrlihg in our
brains, namely, that if some Frenchman or
other was not shot, or otherwise slain, the
honor and glory Of Old England were gone
forever!
King and Burbage were ahead together,
walking very fast, and conyersing esrnestly,
no doubt as to tho most plausible, excuse to
| be offered for the absence of the captain, aud
the best mode of insisting that substitute
should be accepted. The moon, cloudless
one, was at the full, and very soon heglltter
Of the impatient Frenchlnel's epuulets and
sword-hilts indicated the exact spot appoint.
ed for the meeting. We were quickly there,
aud D'Ermonville, who received us. adroiiiy
availed himself Of Captain Horizons absence
to bring about q rational and coneiliatory
settlement.
"Csptain Horton is the only person who
has right to demand satisfaction of any one
here" he said, in reply to Lieutenant Kings
menacing abord, "and he. very rightly. in my
opinion, prefers, perceive, some better mode
Of arbi,rsment than the senseless one OF
dueling." .s..s4 ,r
"irspeat to you." replied Lisutenan: Hing
with reckless equivocatipn, "that Captain
Horton is indisposed, and has devolved upon
ms the duty Of chsstislng the puppy Who
assaulted him." II is well to state that both
gentlsmeu spoke in their own lsngasgei bot
perfectly coapfsbentsd each o,ner.