Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1856-08-28
How to meet q Duelist .

few years since, as New England gen.
| tleman, whose namc wo shall call Brown, was
passing n few days at hotel in ono Of our
| western cities, he had tho misfortune to unir
tentionally offend the susceptible honor of
tall Indiana colonel who was one Of his fellow
boarders His apologies not being satisfactory,
challenge was seat him, which, however, he
declined, upon the ground of conscientious
scruples The colonel-whc, by the way, had
won, In two or three encounters, quite a repu-
tatlon as duelist-at once conceived the idea
| that his opponent was a coward, and resolved
to disgrace him by fogging him in tho face of
all the assembled inmates of the house. Ac-
cordingly, the next day at dinner time, in
marched the duelist, armed with formidable
cowhide, and, advancing to Browns chair,
proceeded to dust his jacket for him in the
most approved style. Brown was astonished
Luckily he had been a lieutenant of militia
in his native State, and knew the Importance
of ineommoding his enemy by diversion. So
selsing gravy tureen, he tossed the contents
into the face Of the belligerent Colonel, and, /,
before that hero could recover from the drowz.
| ing sensation thus occasioned, he sprang upon
| the table and began to shower upon him, with
| d liberal hand, the contents of the dishes
| around.
"You are an infernal-'
| Coward" the colonel was about to say,
but at that moment plate Of green's struck
full upon his mouth, and the word was block
| AIDED and lost forever.
'Ha.'' cried the little New Highlander whose
blood was low up, " fond of greens, are you
Take a potato, too," and he hurled telling
| volley of hard potatoes at him; "excellent
eggs here; capital things with calves head;'
| and crash came plate Of boiled eggs
| against the side Of his Uranium.
The blows of the cowhide, which had hith-
| erto descended upon the Yankees head and
| shoulders, now began TO fall more weakly aud
| wildly, and it became evident that the assail-
| ant half stunned, choked, and partially blind
ed, was getting the worst Of il. His courage
| was rapidly oozing out.
Take a turkey p shouted Brown, as a no.
| bic old gobbler descended fairly upon the col
opels head, and bursting, filed his hair and
eyes with delicious looking stuting; and
here's the 6xings" he continued, as the squash
and jelly followed after.
By this time the Colonel was irretrisvably
defeated, and as his merciless opponent seized
| huge plum pudding, steaming hot, and hold
| ing it above his head with both hands seemed
about to bury him beneath it, he quailed In
terror, and throwing down his cowhide, turn
| ed about and make a rush for the door
"Stop for the pudding, Colonel stop for
| the pudding 20 shouted Brown. pudding
Colonel, pudding" screamed all his fellow
| boarders, amid convulsons of laughter. But
| the Colonel was too terrified to listen to their
kind invitations, and did not cease running
until he had locked himself in his room.
| But although the Colonel escaped from the
| plum pudding, he could not escape from tho
| ridiculc which the affair occasioned. He SUBJ
! sequently challenged four persons against
| whom his ire was particularly excited, and
| they all consented to fight, but availing them
| selves of the privilege Of the challenged par
| ty, appointed pudding bags for their weapons.
| Al length the unhappy duelist, finding no one
| who was unwilling to shoot or be shot at, was
obliged to quit the State.