Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-02-23
OLD SERIES, VOL. 81, NO. 19.

that blade is about to strike Perdious or
compel him to break off once more and fall
into the canal, when the latter is seen to
take frm stand, then make a desperate
lunge, his hand holding his sword in quartz,
and, by terrible straight thrust, bury itself
in the breast of Hermann, whose arms fell
powerless to his side, whilst his left, seizing
Perdious' sword, still in his breast, he cody
remarks to his seconds and those who have
rushed up to him.
~ knew the scoundrel would play me
foul but any how, he has forfeited the bet !;
give me the 'stakes.'"
Then letting go the sword which, in his
terror, Perdious has abandoned in the wound,
Hermann falls to the ground-a corpse
A few weeks have elapsed, and the mem
ory of .his event has almost entirely faded
away. few only occasionally remember the
martial bearing of Hermann, and his last call
for the stakes, when already in the clutches
of death.
Perdious has broken up his fencing room ;
he has only kept q few chosen pupils bare.
ly enoughto save him from starving He
is no longer seen at night around the little
coffee-house he SO long patronized. He no
longer smokes, nor drinks, nor sings-the
few faithful pupils who still insist or visit
ing him, simply amuse themselves in private
assaults with each other
In the little room where he sleeps, hangs
over his tei long sabre, wrapped up in
black cloth, the point of which is only
visible, and that point is fast being eaten up
by rust-or blood.
Perdious never speaks of bis duel, but
when driven to answer any question or any
other subject, he says, "How can you believe
what / say ? l, degraded man !"
But one day he opened his heart to one of
his pupis-:he oldest. "You see," he says,
81 am murderer, and you must not come
here any more-neither you nor any gentle
man. am an assassin broke my word,
because / was too cowardly to die or too
vain to run-leave me to my fate. have
sought refuge in God have prayed /; / have
confessed my crime and sought absoution,
but that absolution has been denied me on
earth l.; l must seek i. in Heaven. Come no
more till Monday next and then you will
know ALL"
With these words he shut himself up in
his little room it was on Friday. On the
Sunday following, his friends were surprised
to see him come out in his poor, but best
clothes, scrupulously clean, like those of an
old soldier. He spoke to none, recognized
none, but wended his way to the church and
devoutly attended the holy service of mass.
Then, still ignoring all those who sought
him, he returned to his quarters.
On Monday morning, the gentleman whom
he had asked to come ana see him on that
day, in SAD provision of what was to happen,
took with him few friends and went up to
the attic where Perdious lodged.
They knocked, but no one answered they
raised the latch and entered the ROOM and
there, before the hearth of the fireplace,
stretched on his face in pool of coagulated
blood, lay the body of Perdious. The sword
which had killed his friend was almost
twisted in his body, as if he haG thrown
himself on the point, and, rolling over in
his agony, buried it in his heart as deep as
it had been buried in the heart of hermann