The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-08-06
DECIDEDLY FRENCH.
The Dinner Dnel-Translated Expressly for
the Chicago Tribune. IA astR

/
Both parties came to the ground.
1t was aidining room all oak and leath-
er, brilliantly lighted, with, a high cell
ing, splendid and gay. ''s ! s''''.S
| The table was spread with exaggerated
profqsion. There We're but two p ates- -
those Of the duelistsra5 a+st.a; -'.;ss 4 -
- Propriety obliges me to conceal their
names. Let us Know. them only under
the flimsy ,disguises 81; Ernest and Count
Falbaire. r . LIKE rf-s.. a.,3,,,,..+..; .I.Is
p, In addition, I will inform you, that
both were accomplished gentlemen, . in
the prime Of lite, brave, elegant, and wit
| ty, with a spice of British eccentrlcity,
An admirable seasoning for the French
| character. ... ;,lo3 I'M
| II notwithstanding which, the evening
before, at the club, one, of these gentle
men--I shall not tell you swhich-seri-
| ously insulted the other; SO seriously that
duel, was unavoidable. ,as,~yTsy,r,T,
t. Both were magnificent fencers and
shots. They disdained to employ ordin-
airy weapons; .-.r. .s:F~..sTr at.a.t i}e,,t
Both were gourmands-using the word
in its most heroic and RECHERCHE sense.
Ernest and the Count decided !, TO-, settle
their dispute Ivy dinner duel, s. 1-I,
Though Unusual, the duel was to be
serious and dangerous. The rules to
govern were carefully settled by the sec
Onds. ,.. =. ...-.-.i. an .'t.isE. l...:,
They we're to eat to the bitter end, in
each others presence, without stopping,
till one or the other was hors dw COM.
bat. .. ,,.....,- . .-s IT,. au.,a... .t.,; $500.
At first sight this makes us smile.
When we reflect, itmakes us shudder..
/ 80 ,..- r.; .,...a H. ,... r., +, r,..,~.,r,r
| o. 500 your duty, gentlemen said the,
seconds. IT.. f..a.s. .agfs,..1
At tue signal the two adversaries bowed
to each other and sat down. .,.s...s ~
The seconds were at another table, a
little to one side, where they could watch
the vicissitudes of the combat, r. /, sas,s;,1 ;,
It was 6 o'clock in the evening Nv,
At midnight the dinner (three courses
of the most expensive and exquisite dish
I esq was over. Neither had obtained any
decided advantage. sa:.f.. s53au II
Ernest smiled. Il. ,ai s-@. ...,,1 4sf ~, II
= {, The Count had dined-that was all. -.
4 The seconds made a sign to the head
waiter. .r,.r. H.. .,.a.. ar..,,- Ia. X, -. 5,
a1t'';Reload y they said. s,.E..f.- St5.,rt.4
On the spot another dinner was served,
exactly like the first. The, same roasts,
the same fine wines. = This time the Sc
verify of the principals was little re-
laxed: They were permitted to, talk; at
first they used, this privilege sparingly.
y second, ordeal loosened their tongues.
After a. few convenience phrases, a. few
brief remarks were made, a running COM
mentary on the yiands before them. .,t,
'''These roast thrushes are excellent
murmured Ernest. .sr.rr .fa4Ttlg f,.hs5n5a
81 cannot altogether agree with you,'
answered the Count Falbaire.: Gin in
the sauce seems to me ,barbarous.': -
b#"Yet all the authorities on the sub
ject--'' q.a..s,. -. bin. ars T.. yrrf.. .,,,.,,
% sHTousseuel agrees with me.''7 !zl).:
Ernest bowed, Il ri ID tss.i.. .syffr,z,
. In "a minute Or two Count Falbaire
made all observation. ,r... :,.,y, : r.; ! nfnl
elf it be the same to you, Monsieur Er-
nest, we will abandon the Hermitage
and have some Lttutr Blanche instead.".f
ut' "'As you will, Monsieur lie Comte. ''od =
blt seemed as if the, first repast had only
been the absinthe before dinner of, the
other. ri -.,-,,,-.l.-.
The seconds glanced at each otuer in
amaZement., GyJ!-I3 s~anr.a dtaat ri stli4f
!, It's unnecessary to add, that, the part
they played, active at nrst, had now be-
come purely contemplative. r. sid aftr.
"Let us sup" said the Count Fa barre,
after swallowing the last drops of his
coffee. ,r.-,y +,f- r ,r,s,# T,5fa.
i"Let us sup" repeated Ernest. ,,y vsg,a
The eventually had been foreseen:
Consommes,, cold meats, crawfsh,f and
Russian salad followed one another in
rapid succession, washed down with
draughts of hook, port wine, and cham
payne. .'s,;taygir:l>4 ,Is.@.f
The supper was animated noisy, even.
The duel was coming to a crisis. Each
OF the adyersaries played closely watch
ing his yis-a-vis the mean lille. IN ~. 80
II OF the two Ernest was the more bril-
liant eater-the Count the more methodi-
cal: One had to admire, their perfect
style that, of the old ., masters-with
muscles Of iron. foa ns,,.a,g }.,,.r' ,ft,,.,S.s
Each seemed equally certain Of success
there was & suspicion Of defiance, in
their voices. Raillery sprang from the
edge OF the cup, epiggram from the point
Of a fork. III vi > .rs,Iy.l, ,s,,.,r.. -
ia. Still Ernest's cheeks, had a faint tinge Of
red in them. ,.,.r. ..ro,r, -.
The Countsaw it. y, :. ,..,.i,
i "W ould You like that window opened,
Monsieur Ernest; you seem very, warm :
ns Ernest looked at him sternly.,,laf,,.s 4
The supper continued. 5Es,,g IN s. Ill =
| Two of the seconds had gone to sleep,
the Others were. watching. , They had
made arrangements to relieve each other
every hour r., ,ai .n5af d s5.IJ, I. ~,
Once Ernest wanted to sing. ~ = ~. .a
lio His seconds promptly checked this in
decent manifestation. q Singing .ad been
carefully ruled out because it facilitates
digestion. s.af y .ErMf .,gf ,,,s.,. 81
|3H This mistake told on Ernest. 1t was q
sortot ''first blood" -. Il
1t was evident t at Ernest, was strr,uLep
Cling against the first approach Of drunk
.enness. His eye wandered, his hands
rtrcmbled y little. ,st2as ii,,5 .s,..
lau"Do, you wish to stop?" said the Count.
i..a Ernest laughed a dreadful laugh. His
only .answerwas to empty three glasses
Of champagne in rapid succession. IN, w
s The Count quietly followed his exam an