The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1874-02-26

speak TO you" said he in low voice
remained.
The guests had left; being alone, W,
sat opposite to esch other, and silent
Iy began to smoke our pipes. Silvit
was careworn, and there were no lon
ger any traces of his affected cheerful
ness. The pallor OF his somber face
his sparkling eyes, and the dens,
smoke Issuing from his mouth, gave
him truly demonical look. Severa
minutes passed away, and SilviC
broke silence:
"We may perhaps never meet
again." said he; 81 wish to have al
explanation with you before we part
You must have noticed how little
value the opinion Of the world, but ]
like you, and l feel that it would prey
upon me were to leave an unjust inn.
preston respecting myself on youl
mind"
He stopped and began to refill his
emptied pipe; Lemained silent with
lowered eyes.
"You thought it strange" he con.
tinued, ''that ] did not demand salts.
fact on from that tipsy fool, R
You will doubtless own that, the right
to choose weapons being mine, his life
was in my hands, my own being al
most beyond the reach OF danger. l
might ascribe this forbearance to pure
generosity, but 1 will not deceive you.
Had 1t been in my power to punish
Il without risking my own life in
the least degree, 1 would by no means
have let him Off"
L looked at Silvio in surprise, and
was completely taken aback by such
a aconfession. Silvio went on:
That's just it. have no right to
imperil my life. I Ireceived box on
the ear six years ago, and my enemy
still lives.n
My curiosity was thoroughly
awakened. "You did not fight him, .
asked I. circumstances probably
parted you ?n
81 did fight him." answered Silvio
land here is the memorial of our du-
ell"
Silvio rose and took out of a hat-box
red cap Ornamented with a gold tas-
sci and braid what the French would
call bonnet de police; he put it on; it
had a hole about an inch from its
edge.
"YOu knoW,n continued SjIyio.
"that l served i'm the - Hussars'
My disposition is known to you. /
am accustomed to take the lead, but
in my early days it was a passion. At
that time practical jokes were in fash.
ion, and l was the greatest scamp in
the whole army. We prided ourselves
upon our drinking powers; I outdid
the famous Burzoff, whom Denis
Davidoft has sung. Duels took place
constantly in our regiment. I took
part in all Of them, either as a wit
ness or as principal. My comrades
idolized me, and the regimental COM
! mauders, who were constantly chang
Ing, looked upon me as an unavoid-
able evil.
II was thus quietly (that is, turbu-
lently) enjoying my popularity, when
there Joined us a wealthy youth. a
member of q well-known family q do
not wish to mention names). Never
in my life have I met such a favored
child Of fortune Imagine to YOUR
self, youth, talent, good looks, the
most exuberant cheerfulness, the
most undaunted courage, a high
sounding name, wealth to which he
knew no bounds, and you will form
some idea Of the impression his pres
ence produced among US. My pre-
eminence received a check. Dazzled
by my reputation, he would have
sought my friendship, but I received
him coldly, and he turned from me
without any show Of regret. began
to hate him. His success in our regi-
ment and in the society of ladies
threw me into complete despair. I
sought opportunities for a quarrel, but
my epigrams were answered by epi-
grams, which always seemed to me
more unexpected and more singing
than my own; they were of course
immeasurably more lively. He was
facetious; L was vicious. At last, up
on the occasion of ball given by q
Polish gentleman, seeing that he was
the object OF attention of all the ladies
and especially Of the hostess herself,
who was an ally of mine, 1 whisper
ed to 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 off to
fight duel.
"The day was breaking. 1 stood at
the appointed spot, attended by my
three seconds. awaited with mex
pressible patience the arrival of nv
opponent. The sun had already ris.
en-, and its rays were gathering heat.
l observed him in the distance. He
was on foot, in uniform, wearing his
sword, and accompanied by one Sec
ond. We walked on to meet him,
He approached, holding in his hand
his cap, which was full of cherries.
was to have fired first, but my rage
was so great that could not RELY up
on the steadiness of my hand, and, to
gain time, l conceded to him the first
shot. My opponent would not con.
sent to this. 1t was decided that we
shOuld.draw lots; he, with his usual
good luck, won the toss. He aimed,
and the ball went through nv can
1t was now my turn. His life was in
my hands at last. 1 looked eagerly
at him, trying to detect even a shad-
ow OF uneasiness. He stood covered
by my pistol, selecting the ripest
cherries out Of his cap, and splitting
out the stones, which nearly reached
me as they fell. His coolness exas-
perated me. What is the use, thought
L, of depriving him of his life, when
he values it so little? A wicked
thought fitted across my mind. L
dropped the pistol. You are not
thinking of death now,' said /; you
prefer to enjoy your breakfast 1 do
not wish TO disturb your You do
not disturb me in the least said he,
please to fire away; but, by the way,
that Is just as you please; your fire
remains with you; am always ready
and at your serviceu L turned to the
seconds, declaring / did not intend to
proceed at present, and thus our meet
ing ended.
81 quilted the service and came to
this place. But not day has since
passed without a thought of VEN
geance. Now my time has Gomez
Silvio drew out of his pocket the
letter he had that morning received,
and handed it to me. Somebody
probably the person intrusted with
the care of his business mattersl
wrote word to him from Moscow that
q certain Individual was soon to be
united in lawful Wedlock to q Young
and beautiful girl.
'You guess" said Silvio, "who is
meant by this certain individual. Il
go to Moscow. We shall see whether
he will meet death as coolly on the
eve of his marriage as he once await
ed it at his meal of cherries 2"
Silvio rose at these words, threw
his cap upon the floor, and paced the
room 10 and fro like q tiger in his
cage. I had listened to him in 81
lence strange and conflicting feel
ings had taken possession OF me.
The servant walked in and report
ed the horses ready. SiIvio pressed
my hand warmly; we embraced each
other. He took his place in the tele-
ga, wherein lay two boxes, one con-
tanning his pistols, the other his nec-
essaries. We bade each other good
by once more, and the horses were
off.
Several years had elapsed, and my
private affairs neeessitated my set
tling in a poverty-stricken little viii
lage in the district ofN-. Though
occupied with the duties of landlord, L
could not help silently signing after
my former rackety and reckless ex-