The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-02-28

III. me; IL expect YOU without iall.' WIN ines
N. words he FASTENED ont, and we shortly dl
q; perscd having agreed to meet at Silvios.
Il I arrived at the appointed hour, and toun
&c nearly the whole of my brother officers. 81
X vio's movabes were all packed, and little r.
re manned but the bare and battered walls. W
at sat down TO dinner; our host was In high Spi
IL rits and his checrfulncSs was soon partlcipa
ted in; the corks flew necessarily, our glasse
h irothcd and sparkled INCREASINGLY, and W!
he wished the traveller with all possible sncerl
k ty God speed and every blessing. 1t wa
5 already late when we rose While the cap!
+, were being sorted, Silvio, bidding every one
} "good-by," took me by the hand and detain
!, ed me, just as | was on the point of leaving
+ II must speak to you" said he in a low tone
I remained.
= The guests had left; being alone, we sal
+ opposite to each other, and silently began to
smoke our pipes SilvIo was carewOrn, and
there were no longer any traces of his affect
ed chccrlulncss. The pallor Of his somber
face, his sparkling eyes, and the dense smoke
issuing from his mouth, gave HIM truly de
mOniacal look. Several minutes passed away,
and Slvio broke the silence.
1--WE may perhaps never meet again said
he; II wish to have an explanation with you
before we part. You must have noticed how
little | value the opinion of the world, but
I like you, and | feel that it would prey upon
me were | TO leave an unjust impression re
spccting myself on your mind
He stopped and began TO refill his emp
| tied pipe; | remained silent with lowered
eyes.
"You thought it strange" he continued,
| that did not demand satisfaction from that
! tipsy fool R You will doubtless own
that the right to choose weapon being mine,
his life Uag in NV banIc my own heinz nj
most beyond the reach Of danger. might
ascribe This torbearancc to pure generosity,
but will not deceive you. Had it been in
my power to punish Il without risking
my life in the least degree, | would by no.
means have let him Off"
| looked at Silvio in surprise and was
completely taken aback by such confession.
Silvio went on:
That's just it. have no right to impcrll
my life. received n box on the ear six years
ago and my enemy still lives
My curiosity was thoroughly awakened
you did not fight him?' asked l. "CrCum-
stances probably parted you"
II did fight him." answered SilviO; land
here is the memorial Of our duel"
Slvio rose and took out of a hat-box a red
cap ornamented with II gold tassel and bHid
what the French would call Bonnet de poiice)
lc put IL ou' IL IaNi a nun dbOut du HUI
from its edge.
"You know" continued Silyio, that |
served in the lIGssars. My disposition
is known to you. | am accustomed to take
the lead, but in my early days it was pas
sion At that time practical jokes were il
fashion, and was the greatest scamp in the |
whole army, We pridcd ourselves upon our
drinking powers; | outdid the famous Bour.
zof, whom Denis Davidotf has sung. Dues |
took place constantly in our regiment. |
took part in all Of them, either as "a witness |
or as principal. My comrades idolized me, |
and the regimental commanders, who were
constantly changing looked upon me as an
unavoidable evil.
II was thus quietly 0hat is, turbulcntly) |
enjoying my popularity, when there joined |
us u wealthy youth, a member of we'll
known family Il do not wish to mention
namcs) Never in my life have | met such
Il favored child of fortune, Imagine to your
SELF youth, talent good looks, the most eXu.
bcrent cheertulness, the most undaunted cou- |
rage, q highsoundiRg name wealth TO which |
he knew no bounds, and you will form some
idea of the impression his presence produced |
among us. My prominence received check.
DaZzled by my reputation, he would have
sought my friendship, but received him
cOldly and he turned from me without any
show Of regret. | began to hate him. His
success in our regiment and in the society of
ladies threw me i'll complete despair. ! /
sought opportunities for quarrel, but my
epigramS were answered by eplgrams, which
always seemed to me more unexpected and
more singing than my own; they were of
course immeqsurably more lively. He was
facetious; | was vicious At last, upoa the
occasion of ball given by a Polish gentle
man, seeing that he was the object Of atten-
ton of the ladies, and especially Of the host
ess herself, who was an ally Of mine, | wills
pered 20 him some grossly rude remark He
warmed up and gave me "a box on the ear.
We flew to our swords The ladies tainted
we were separated, but that same night we
drove oil 10 fight duel.
THE day was brcukIng. / stood at the APP |
pointed spot, attended by my three seconds. |
| awaited with ineXprcssiblc Impotence for
the arrival OF my opponent The sun had al
ready risen, and its rays were gathering heat
| observed him in the distance. He was on
foot, in uniform, wearing his sword, and nc
by one second. We walked on to
meet him. He approached, holding in his
hand his cap, which was full of cherries
Our seconds proceeded to measure twelve
PAGES. | was to have fired first, but my rage
was so great that | could not rely upon the
Stcadncss of my hand and to gain time, |
him the first shot My opponent
would not consent to this. 1t was decided
that we should draw lots he, with his usual
good luck, won the toss. He aimed and his
ball went through my cap. 1t was now my
turn. His life was in my hands at last |,
looked eagerly at him, trying to detect a sha-
dow of uncasiness. He stood covered by my
pistol selecting the ripcst cherries out Of his
cap, and splitting out the stones which nearly
reached me as they fell. His GOODNESS cxas-
pcratcd me. What is the use, thought |, oft
dcpriving HIM of his life, when he values it
so little? \ wicked thought fitted across
my mind | cropped the pistol. You are
not thinking of death now said |; YOU pre-
Tor to enjoy your breakfast; do not wish to
disturb you" You do not disturb me in the
least he replied, please fire away but, by
the way, that is just as you please; your fire
remains with you | am always ready and at
your serviccr | turned to the seconds de
claring did not intend to proceed at present,
and thus our meeting ended.
81 1ttittaH carvire and retired ~.