The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1872-03-21
THE CHALLENGED OFFICER.
BY MATTER A ROSE.

IT, London. L present IL TO my icaueie III
he words If the narrator, a tall, we'll
built man, whose olive complexion ind.
Gated long residence IN tropical cl'mes,
"When first received my comm issloa
as ensign in The British army, was e
zetted to the-th Regiment, Shen In lndla,
nd, as the P. and 0 Company did not
exist In hose days, took passage via he
Cape Of Good Hope
| In due course of time [ arrived at
Madras and joined my regiment, IN which
| remained only three years, however; for,
at the expiration of that period, pnr-
CHASED NY 'ieutenancy, and exchanged
mo the--rd, which was stationed up
country
Upti a man gets thoroughly used to it,
tn re is no hing so mountainous as all
officers lie in an isolated locality in
India There is routine in everything ;
in lty, in lounging, eating, smoking,
sleeping, reading and billiards or card
playing, and this is only varied IT, by
lucky chance he happens to be III dis
TT CT where pig-sticklng, elephant or tiger
hunting is obtainable. At @times-espe
cia ly if ladies are with the regiment
--amateul theatricals are in favor, and
occasionally hop" is improvIsed bu!
the climate is so enei vating that neither
offic rs nor men Of any regiment that had
becu considerable length OF time in the
country, relt very often disposed To exert
Themselves to provide amusement for their
comrades
The -rd had been six years in India,
and in consequence, al the members OF
that corps were afflicted with lassitude
that had almost become chronic. There
was great dearth of female socicty-that
sine qua non of pleasurable existence
and the bunting had been pronounced 10y
those old stagers, who considered them
selves genuine shikaries, to be- Internal. Y
bad therefore, when it was announced
that a new COLLECTOR had been appointed
t , succeed the lifeless old curmudgenn
wEo, for seventeen years, had held off oe
in that district, and nota bene was
aided, asserting that he was the forum
ate pnssessor of an extremely beaufifu
wife, every one was on the qui Vlve to
receive him. Much to cur disappoint
ment however, he arrived alone, having
left his spouse to enjoy the socety OF her
friends IN Calcutta tor few weeks, alter
which she was to follow him with their
only GUILD.
Mr.. Norman Eraser was man aOOut
thirty five years OF age, tall, muscular and
pre- eminently handsome; moreover, he Was
highly educ ted, and possessed such pow
eTs of pleasing that he Won his way to all
our hearts, and soon become universal
favorite.
He infused new life into our little
coterie, and many were the lamentations
whenever bis gen'a untenance did not
| beam across our messtable Our colonel s
two hard featured daughters-regula
| garrison girls who had frted success
fully with every sub whom they had met
during the last ten yeArs-were enchanted
by him, and open!y lamented that he was
already Benedict; for, though he was
Z" only a civilian" they would have been
good enough to have had toe ghost Of a
chance to ensnare him III the silken mesh
es Of matrimony.
It was custom in those days for Off
GERS to remain over the mess table long
after the cloth had been removed, and
unless man possessed q very strong
head, he was pretty certain to retire to
rest in lamentably betogged condition.
! One night, when we all had been indulg
| ing pretty freely, the conversation turned
to billiardS-an interesting topic, for
most of US were good players.
Have you seen Fraser play? He beat
Webb easily to day, and I'll back him
against any man IN the regiment" said
Captain Raper. who considered himself
an authority On matters connected with
games of skill.
II always give Webb points, and 1
won't shrink measuring cues with the
collector, though he certainly plays very
good game" replied
"Fraser, old fellow, Lieutenant HolrOyd
thinks that he Is your equal at billiards
Will you let me back you for a game ~
Raper cried, ACROSS the table.
1.-THE collector,who was half seas over,
promptly expressed his willingness to at
once engage with me, 30 registed bet
of hundred rupees with Captain Raper
and we adjourned to the billiard-room.
had pract ced great deal in my leisure
hours, and knew myself to be a steady
player, while, from what I had seen OF
Frasers play, judged that he became
nervous and irritable, ifluck went against
him ever SO little; therefore, did not
hesitate to accept few other bets offered
by admirers of my opponents brilliant
style.
1--WE had got about halfway through
the game, and our scores were nearly
equal, when made three most palpable
1ukes in one break, AMI this SO annoyed
my semi inebriated ltagonist that he
played wildly. missing most easy shots
and all the while denouncing my style oil
execution in no very measured terms
When sober, he was the most courteous
and urbane of men but when excited by
wine, he vas inclined to be insolent and