National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-03-07
zHE PzsroL-sHoE

known. -Drills and ths .ridiag school d ~
mornIn6 49, q ths cannsaAnsbV1moou
or in e JsslIA s6f1ng house, an 40 .
punc& = - eseafng cpnstkutsa ~ -
work. 41ets ~ no society q -s -
Iws6f tAen ~ aen1ageable eirlss " - =
meet at tach Others rooms, whese ssly ~
uniform were to be seen.
One civilian, however, was admitted within
srfifcle. ~ might hsve reached ne Ags' pi
nve-and- thirty, and we, therefore, ldbk6d upon
him q being greatly our senior IN years. Hi
IlhySS ldpsHenes secured to him . certain
Amount 81 Differences, md his usual morose-
ness, his stern and sarcastic disposition, exer-
tuled powerful influence over our youthful
In mystery. Though bearing foreign name,
he was apparently Russian. He had served
at one time IN the hussars, and had even been
fortunate In professional advancement; none Of
lus know the reason why he had retired from
the service and taken up his abode in this
I'vretchsd neighhorbood, where he lived pcnu-
riously, and Jet extravagantly; he invariably
went out o. foot, ssd he was always seen in q
baack lsurtout the worse for wear, but at the
tsams time he kept open house for al tho ON
fcers Of COR regiment. Truth TO tell, two OF
tkrse dishes, cooked By an old pensioner, con,
stituted his dinner, but, on the other hand,
lchaapagns Acwsd It his table. His circum-
lsames and. hts Income were unknown, and
none ofus presumed to ask any questions about
Icifhef.. ths i',i.ss's ! ~ s-'.7 q
; His only books were works connected with
the military service, and some novels which he
" Ningg lenf, never asking to have them re-
turned; but neither did he give back those
wRich be had borrowed. HIS chief pastime
consisted IN pistol practice, The walls Of his
apartment Nere we'll riddled, and perforated
Ike Q honeyacomb. A valuable collection Of
pistols formed the only luxury in this humble
habitation. The degree Of perfection he had
attained in his art, was Uncomfortable, and had
he required to shoot at pear ON any ones
head, not one Of oQr fellows would have hest.
tated to offer himself. Our conversation Otter
touched on the subject Of duelling. silvio "a
I shan name him) never joined in Il; and when
asked whether he had ever had occasion to
fight, would answer dryly that he had; but be
entered upon no details, and Il was evident thai
these and similar questions were distastefui 70
him. We concluded that the recollection o.
some unfortunate victim TO this dreadful &C
complainant, troubled his conscience, the sdea
| Of cowardice never even suggested itself. Thore
are people whose exterior alone sufBces to Dis
arm susplcioa. An unexpected Occurrences dis
concerted us an. = a771.1
Some ten Of us were ons day dining with
Slvio. We drank a. usual-that Is exces-
stvely-and after dinner we endeavored to pre-:
vail upon our host to be the banker in gam
ct faro. For some time he persisted in decfA'
ing, for he seldom played, but at length be
ordered the cards to be brought, threw any
ducats on the table, and commenced to deal.
We all took our places and the game began.
silvio was wont to keep the strictest silenee
upon such occasions, never discussing or e1'
planning anything. II the punter chancsd -
make mistake, he either paid up the balance
Immediately, or noted the surplus. We were
already aware Of this, and therefore, never
interfered. But OF our number there was {
young eficer who had lately joined. He took
part 1n the game, and ina Of Of sbHnce bent
down one corner too many. Silvio took up the
tom. The officer thinking he was mistaken,
began to explain matters. 6flvio continued
dealing in silence. The o6lcer losing patience,
rubbed ont what to him appeared unnecessary.
eflyio taking mp the chalk, again marked the
score. The officer, excited with wine, and BY
the game, and the laughter Of his comrades,
imagined himself cruelty offended, and in his
passion, he lifted metal caDdlestick OF the
table, and threw Il at 6ilvio, who had barely
time to eyade the blow. We felt confused.
Silvio rose, and, with FIRE I'm his eyes said :
'Pleass to walk out, cir, and thank your stars
that this has happened under my roof"
We did not doubt the CONSEQUENCES; and we
looked upou our new c0mrade - dead man.
He walked out, declaring himself ready to an
swer for the adront In such manner as the
banker might elect. Tho game was continued
tie onr hosts thoughts were In Il, We LEFT, one
BIZ one, and repaired TO our quarters, discussing
the possibility Of speedy vacancy.
When we met in the riding school on the fol-
lowing day, I'VE Immediately inquired of each
other Ii our poor ensign was still alive. When
he himself appeared we greeted him, putting
the same question. He replied that he had
heard nothing Of Silvio as yet. This surprised
yard, sending bullet after bullet into an ace Of
cards, which he had fixed to the gate. He 70
cefyed us as usual, and did not allude to the
event of the preceding evening. Three days
elapsed, and the ensign still lived. We asked
in astonishmcnt: 9Can 1t be possible that 6il-
VIC will not fight 2" Silyio did not nght. A
very slight explanation satisfied him, and peace
was restored.
IN the estimation Of youth. The want Of pluck
q what young men excuse least, for they gen
orally consider 1t the highest Of human virtues
-ope that covers . nultitude of sinsl How
ever, little by little, all was forgotten, and
Silvio regained his former influence. I alone