Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-03-05

tiers were addressed unuef COscI W oui
regiment, and he was therefore usually
present. Upon one of these occasions
letter was handed 10 him, the seal oil
which he broke with q look of the
greatest impotence. His eyes bright
ened up as he perused IT. The
officers were themselves too much
engaged to notice anything. Gentle
men, said Silvio, circumstances re-
quire me to leave without delay. ! &c
this night, and hope you will not refuse
To dine witt, me for the last time. ex
pcct you also" he continued, turning 70
me; az expect you without fail" With
these words he FASTENED out, and we
shortly dispersed, having agreed to meet
at Silvio's.
/ arrived at the appointed hour, and
found nearly the whole Of my brother Off
GERS. Silyio's movables were all packed,
and little remained but the bare and bat
tered walls. We sat down TO dinner; our
host was In high spirits, and his cheer
fitness was soon participated in; the
corks flew necessarily, and we wished the
traveller with all possible sincerity God.
speed and every blessing. 1t was already
late when we rose. While the caps were
being sorted, Silvio, bidding every one
good by" took me by the hand and de.
tanned me, just as ! was upon the point OF
leaving. II must speak TO you" said he
in low voice. ! remained.
The guests had left; being alone, we sat
opposite to each other, and silently began
to smoke our pipes. Silyio was care
worn, and there were no longer any
traces Of his affected cheerfulness. The
pallor Of his s0mber face, his sparkling
eyes, and the dense smoke issuing from
his mouth gave him a truly demoniacal
look. Several minutes passed away, and
Silvio broke silence:
ave may perhaps never meet again, y
said he; Il wish 10 have an explanation
with you before we part. You must have
noticed how little value the opinion OF
the world; but like you, and feel that
II would prey upon me were to leave an
unjust impression respecting myself on
your mind"
He stopped and began to refill his emp.
tied pipe; j remained silent with lowered
eyes.
You thought 1t strange" he continued,
"that did not demand satisfaction 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 almost beyond the reach o
danger. Knight ascribe this forbearance
to pure generosity, but will not deceive
you. Had II been in my power to punish
R without risking my own life In the
least degree would by no means have
let him of"
/ looked at Silvio in surprise, and was
completely taken aback by such comics.
sion. Silvio went on
"That's just It, have no right TO i'm
peril my life. / received box on the ear
six years ago and my enemy still lives. T"
NY curiosity was thoroughly awak-
eDed. You did not fight himY" asked /.
+" Circumstances probably parted your"
II did fight him." answered Silyio;
{" and here Is the memorial Of our duely"
Silvio rose and took out OF hat bex a
red cap ornamented with gold tassel
and braid what the French would call
bonnet de police; he put 1t on; IL had a
hole about an inch from its edge.
you know" continued Silvio, that
served In the - ussars. My disposition
is known to you. p am accustomed to
take the lead, but In my early days IL was
passion. At that time practical jokes
were in fashion, and / was the greatest
scamp in the whole army. We prided
ourselves upon our drinking powers.
outdid the famous Bourzof, whom Denis
Davidoff has sung. Duels took place
constantly In our regiment. took part
In all OF them, either as q witness or ~ q
principal. My comrades idolized me, and
the regimental commanders, who were
constantly changing, looked upon me as
an unavoidable evil.
IL was thus quietly enjoying my popu'
larity, when there Joined US wealthy
youth, member of well-known family
Never In my life have met such favored
child OF fortunei Imagine TO yourself
youth, talent, good looks, the most exuber'
ant chcerfulness, 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 presence produced among us. My
pre-eminence 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 sue.
cess in our regiment and In the society OF
ladies threw me into complete despair.
sought opportunities for quarrel, but
my epigrams were answered by epigrams,
which always seemed to me more unex-
pected and more singing than my own
they were of course immeasurably more
lively. He was facetious; l was vicious.
AT last, upon the occasion of ball given
by Polish gentleman, seeing that he was
the object of attention of the ladies, and
especially Of the hostess herself, who was
an ally OF mine, whispered 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. / stood at the
appointed spot, attended by my three
seconds. / awaited with inexpressible
Impotence the arrival of my opponent.
The sun had already risen, and its rays
were gathering heat. observed him In
the distance. He was on foot, In uniform,
wearing his sword, and accompanied 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 fred first, but my
rage was 30 great that could not rely
upon the steadiness Of my hand, and to
gain time / conceded to him the first
shot MY opponent would not consent to
this. II was decided that we should draw
lofs. he with his usual good luck, won