Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-01-19

regarded a rival who possessed such preponderating ad
vantages, It was not long before 1 began 10 feel that my
security was only adelusion my popularity began
TO decline. Influenced by the high opinion entertained of
the new arrival at first sought to cultivate my &c
quaintanee but as received him eOOlly, he had, vita
any apparent regret, left me to myself. 1 thoroughly
hated him His success in the regiment, and especially IN
the society of the ladies. drove me to desperation. | en-
deavored to find a quarrel with him. wrote %epigrams
to these he replied with epigrams which always appeared
70 me more unexpected and much sharper than my own
and which were certainly incomparably leveller lie
retOrted with an irritation which l could not
control
Atlast we both happened to be at a ball given by a
Polish gentleman. Here / saw him the center Of attrac-
ton Of the whole of the Ladies', and, above al, l saw the
hostess assduOus in hr attentions towards n m an
seemed to render him homage al attention seemed III
rected 70 him alone. A comparison Of my present posi-
ton with whatit had been notlong ago was sufficient My
was taken; and meeting with him afterwards
IN a side room / whispered into his ear some meditaueu
insult He few into a rage aud struck me a blow IN the
face; we drew our swords then followed a scene OF
confusion, the ladies tainted. the gentlemen separated US
and we fastened that very night to settle the dispute IN a
more satisfactory manner.
at was at daybreak that l arrived at the appointed
spot, with my three seconds. With the utmost impauenee
I awaited the appearance Of my opponent The sun had
risen, and it was already getting hot, when 1 saw MIN IN
the distance. He was coming on foot, accompanied by
one assistant. We fastened to meet him, and as we ap-
preached, / saw that his cap, which he held n his hand,
was filed with cherries. The seconds measured twelve
PAGES. 1t was my place TO fire FIST but l was so agita-
ted with the desire Of revenge, that felt tn re was no
dependence on the accuracy of my aim 50 IN order 70
gain time enough TO cool my feyered brain, l proposed
tn t he should take the first shot; to this he would not
agree we were therefore obliged TO cast lots. he te
ever fortunate, drew the lucky number. We resumed
our places he TOOK his aim, fired, and sent the bullet
through my cap. It was now my turn his life was at
last in my hands 1 glOated over my victim with a Il nd
ISL delight, and eagerly looked at him, endeavoring to
c4jch if only a shadow Of agitation but there he stood
stOieally Indifferent, helping himself 70 the ripe cherries,
which he had brought with him, and splitting the stones
from his mouth with such force that several Of them
reached ths place where 1 was standing.
II equanimity p~erplexed and enraged me. Of what
use is it, thought l, 10 Try TO punish a man who does not
care a pin whether he is dead or alive / reflected a mo-
ment, and lowering my bistol, said: 1T appears that
YOU are very unconcerned about death Just now per
haps you would ike 20 take breakfast first if 50, | have
not the slightest wish to di turb you.
You do not disturb me in the least" said he. Fire,
if you please and if you do not wish to hre new you
can reserve it for any future occasion. shall hold my
self at any time at your service"
" ] turned to my seconds, explained TO them the use
iessness Of ~reyenging myself on an individual 50 indhfer
ent TO life as my opponent, and with that the duel ended.
Tlleft the service. and then found my way 10 this
place. From the time l came here, not a day has passed
ia which have not thoughtof vengeance aud no" my
hour is come"
Sivio took from his pocket the letter which he had re-
| ceived in the morning, and gave it to me to read Some
one-it appeared to be an agent of his-had written from
Moscow TO inform him that a certain person whom he
knew was soon about to marry a young and beauiiiui
You guess" said silyio, who that certain person is
who is about 10 marry. 1 am going TO Moscow and we
shall see whether he viii regard death with such indifer
ence on the eve of his weddi5g day, as he did on a former
occasion when Teasing on those cherries"
With these words silvio rose, flung his cap on the floor,
and began to pace the room back and forwards ike
( a tiger in bis cage. During the time he had been speak
ing, l sat quite mOtionless, while strange and conflicting
emotions violently agitated me.
The servant entered, and announced that the horses
were ready. Siivio very warmly pressed my hand and
we took leave of one another very a1ectionately. He
jumped into the tetegc-a small wagon without springs
in which were deposited two boxes one containing his
whole collection of pistols, and the other all his movea-
bic property. We babe a1iieu once more, and he was
soon far away on his long journey.
Few years had passed away when domestic circum-
stances compelled mt to settle in a miserable country
residence in the district Of DOloya This life was not al
all suited 20 my tastes and while initiating myself in my
new duties, / east many a lingering thought on my for
mer boister0us aud careless life but the most difhcHl1
task Of all was 70 accustom myself to spend the lone win
ter evenings IN complete solitude. 1 generalytmanage
in some way or other, to employ myself until dinner hour
chatted with the old people who lived with me l rod5
abort, Inspecting new works which had been set on I OF
but with the daylight, these resources failed me; moth
ing remained for NE but 10 sit idle for the remainder
OF the evening. a suali number OF books, which l found
in a cupboard and in the st0rehouse, 1 read 50 many
times, that 81 last knew them pretty well by heart
When these sources Of intellectual enjoyment were>ex
hausted, 1 had recourse 10 the services o. my housekeeper
who related to me al the tales she could remember
| Although well stocked she eOuld not last forever; when she
did fail, my WEAKNESS and vexatOn became so insuppor
table, that resolved 10 drown my cares IN the less Ihno
/ cent bottle. This only increased my wretchedness, by
adding 10 It tie weight Of bodily suffering. ! confess
also, that 1 was afraid Of becoming a habitual drunkard
Of which I saw many dePlorable specimens in our dis
tict.
About three miles from me was a fine estate belonging
I 70 tile countess III Dut tu5 Dtiilldul Hldusiou on II
was occupied only by a steward. The countess had only
visited Il on one occasion, and that was with her husband
directly after her marriage, and thea had only remained
| a month However, IN the second spring alter 4 mad
taken up my residence in my solitary abode, a report De-
came current that the countess with her husband intead
ed 10 pass the summer there; and 10 the beginning OF
June, the report was verified by their appearance.
The arrival Of q rich neighb0r Is an epoch Of great in
portanee TO people who live in the country. Il is the
talk of-the neighborhood for some months beforehand,
and II furnishes the principal topic OF conversation for at
least three years after. Ilonged with the greatest impa-
dence 70 see them, and, on the first Sunday after their
arr val, I set out Immediately after dinner, 70 pay my
best respects 10 their exceleneies, as their nearest neigh
Dor and most obedieut servant.
The servant showed me to the counts cabinet, and
went 10 announce my arrival. The immense cabinet
was nitcd UP most sunptuouslyi around the walls stood
cupbourds flied with DUUAz and on eaChcupbaard was a
/ bronze bust on the marble mantle-pieee was a splendid
mirror the floor was covered with green cloth, ead on
the cloth were placed several rich carpets. Living a. /
had Tor so long % time in sUcn an Insignificant dwelling, l
was unprepared tor such "a change. I began to feel very
Ill AZ ease. and awaited the appearance OF the count with
just as much difidence as a country solicitor would the
arrival Of a great man Of state. The door opened and
the count, a fne, handsome man Of about t~hirtytwO
years Of age, entered. He approached me with a look
full Of candOr and ~aifabiLity. / began TO take courage,
ana was beginning TO commend myself when the count
interrupted me, and prevented any further apologies.
We SAT down, and found his conversation so free and
perfectly mrestrained, that in q shor; time l conquered
my uneasiness, and had just recovered my ordinary self
possession, when, the countess entered, and all my en-
barrasnent returned with renewed force.
The count perceived the state Of my feelings, and in
order to give Imc time TO recover myself began to speak
to his wife, thus treating me as though he wished to lay
aside all ceremony, and regard me as a respected neigh
Dor. Ia the meantime, / moved about here and there,
examining the books and pictures / am no eonnOisseur
scented a scene in Switzerland i was not struck with the
beauty Of the scene, or with the skill Of the painter, but
my attention was riVeted by seeing the marks Of the balls
which had been shot through il, the mark Of one ball
very nearly corresponding with the other. "This is a
good shot said 1, turning to the count.
Yes" he answered, " that is celebrated shot. De
you shoot wellf
Pretty well, I answered, delighted that the converse
ton had fallen on a subject with which I felt perfectly at
vidsd 1 have q Trustworthy weapon"
Really 2" said the countess with a look Of great at
tenti0n. And you, said she, turning TO the count,
4" could not you shoot with equal accuracy at thirty
pacess'
Somed day we viii try" he replied. Long ago, / did
not shoot badly but four years have passed since took
a pistol in my hand"
"Oh, if that be the ease, I observed, Il will lay your
exceleucy a wager that you viii not bit a card even at
twenty paees, for the pistol requires daily practice. This
] know from experience, for was reckoned one Of the
best shots IN our regiment, and on one occasion I had not
fired for a whole month, As my pistols were undergoing
repair. What do you think was the consequence Z The
first time l tried l Inissei q bottle at twenty-five PAGES,
four times running. No, your exceuency, to attain to
perfection in the us OF the pistol, one must not neglect
Ia practice. The best shot whom il has ever been my
lot to meet. practced every day at least three times before
inner. His practice seemed AS natural to him as the
glass of yb9dfy which he drank to sharpen his appetite
The count and countess were pleased that I had at last
got into a hunor for talking.
And at what did he fire ~ inquired the count.
81 viii tell your excellency. Whenever he happened
10 see a fly on the wall-yGu laugh, countess, but / can
assure you It is true-whenevcr he saw a fly on the wall,
he called out: Couzca. my pistol = Couzca always
brought him Il loaded one. He took his aim-bane and
the remains Of the fly found a resting place in the wall
That is extraordinary said the count. And what
was the name of this prodigy -
Slvio, your excellency."
Silviot shrieked the count, jumping out Of his seat.
" Is it possible that you know Silgio -
" And how should | not know him. your exeellency
We were all on terms Of intimacy with him: in our reg
imeut he was treated as a brother officer, but for five
years 1 have had no intelligence Of him. From your
manner, I suppose your eXcelleHcy also knows him r
Il know him very we'll Did he never mention TO YOU
anything Of . very strange occurrence y
d yen refer 10 an in ult he received from some
hair Drained young Ohicerg'
lido. Bot did he mention to you the name of that
hair-brained individual -
"He did not, your exeellency. o. continued. as the
truth began 10 dawn upon me, pray, excuse me-
had not the slightest idea Isl possible that you are
the personF
! am theyery person said the count, with a look Of
great embarrassment; and that picture which excites