Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-10-30
have remarked that care little for the opinion

have remarked that care little for the opinion
and feel that it would cost me pahg TO leave
you with an unfavorable opinion OF ma
He paused TO knock the ashes of the top o,
his pipe; said nothing, but turned my gaze
TO the floor and waited.
at must have appeared singular to you,n he
continued, ''that did not exact fuller satfsfac.
ton from that drunken fool OF lieutenant.
ons, the IDIOTS life was In my power, and that
ran no very great risk. might speak of my
moderation as generosity: but do not wish TO
to the fellow without hazarding my life-marK
me, without hazardtng 1t Ia the least-he
S would ;, not have got out of my clutches so
easily" looked at Si,vlo with surprise. An
avowal like this mystifled and panied me. he
resumed ~
"Unfortunately, | have not the right to ex-
pose myself to death. Six years ago got box
On the ear, and my enemy is still living"
MY curiosity was wildly stirred.
I. s ana you did not fight him?" I demanded.
must I have prevented the affair from coming
,o ~ did fight him" said slvlo quietly, .and
mere Is souvenir OF our meeting"
he rose and drew from a box can O: red
cloth with gold stripe and gland-a Cap of the
make OF those worn In cavalry undress, such as
his head. 1t was penetrated by bullet aoout
al inch above the temple
;" You KNOW" said Sllvio, "that served IL the
hussars. You can see the sort Of man ANA
Urine overbearing. l have the habit OF COM
mand; TO dominate is an Instinct of my nature.
my carrier days 1t was passion with me.
q my time, the roysterer5 were the mode. /
was the greatest roy sterer and roHdy In the
army. All Dragged then about getting drunk.
put under the table the famous B. mentioned
II the song by DID. that used to be sung at the
there were duels In our corps; every day I
played my part as second or principal. My
comrades venerated me; the superior Officers,
VINO changed every other month, regarded me
as scourge that they could not get rid of. For
my own part, l pursued my career OF glory
TRANQUILITY, or rather unanimously, until they
belonged to distinguished family. shall not
tell you his name. Never did meet luckier
DOG; his luck was almost insOlent. Picture to
yourself youth, wit, fine figure, sprigntly
spirits, bravery reckless of danger an honored
name, as much money as he wished and more
than he could ever possibly SPEND and now
try ana bring before. your mind the effect that
MS arrival produced amongst us. / was no.
where. My scepter was broken. At the out
set, dazzled by my reputation he sought to
make me bis friend. But l received his ad-
coin. Without appearing in the least m ortlfied,
he left me to myself. I conceived mortal
grudge against him. His success In the reg-
ment and amongst the petticoats drove me to
him. To my epigramS he retorted with cpl
grams that always struck me as more pIquant
and original than mine, and which, 1 must adj.
init, IN any case, were much more lively. He
JeSted: hated; that made the difference. At
last, one day, at a ball at Polish landei pro
prletors, seeing that he was the object of atten.
tlon from several ladies', especially from the
mistress of the house, with Waom had been a
pet, went over to him and whispered some
gross and stupid impertinence. He burst into
passion ana gave me box On the ear. We
new 10 our sabres, the ladies tainted, the guests
parted us. and on the spot, we quilted the
combs.
"Da as breaking 1 was at the trystin-.
grou,.u ,..Lh my three witnesses, waiting my
adversary with a mad Impotence. The sum
mer's sun rose. and the heat already began 70
grill us, saw him In the distance. He was on
foot, In his Shirt sleeves, Carrying his Jacket
over his sabre-hilt, and acco npanied by slngle
second. We sat out to meet them. AS he came
he held his cap, which was full of cherries our
seconds placed us at twelve PAGES apart. TWAS
my privilege to fire first; but passion ana ha-
t!ed got SO much the better OF me that was
afraid should not be able to keep my wrist
steady. In order to gain time to cool down
conceded the first fire to him. He refused it.
we then determined to settle it by drawing
fortune. He pulled trigger, and pierced my
bonnet de police. 1t was my turn now. At
last last had his life In my grasp: serutintzed
the expression of his features at the least a
shade OF emotion. No! There he was under
cover OF my pistol, and not witch in brows or
his cheeks. He was quietly picking the rlpest
cherries out OF bis cap and blowing the stones
from his mouth, like a school boy, until they
almost fell at my feet. This coid.blooded com.
posure made me feel like a devil. Ill O'''''N ''''
What is to be gained" said to myself, "by
taxing this mans Lie, seeing thft he sets such
small store by IT,"
let down the hammer OF my pistol.
" 1t seems" said I, THAT you are hardly In
MOOD to die at present. You prefer to break
you"
" Don't mix yourself up In my concerns he
answered, . but take the trouble OF firing, pray.
For the matter OF that, do as you please. You
have always that pistol shot to your credit; aud
discharge it."
did not intend to effect the exchange of shots
for the moment And thus the affair termi-
81 sent In my resignation. and withdrew to
this village. Not day has passed since then
mat have not dreamt OF revenge. Now the
hour has Gomez
silyio drew from his pocket the letter he had
received In the morning and gave it to lne to
read. Somebody his lawyer pre5um ably
wrote to him from MOSCOW that the person In
question was on the eve of marrying young
you divine" said Silvio, "who Is the person
In question. I am starting for Moscow. Well
see II hell face death In the middle of we'd
9lng+ Win tne same composure that he did IN
. AT these words he rose, threw bis cap on the
floor, and began striding to and fro like tiger
In a cage. had listened to him, outwardly
passive, but racked by thousand contending
sentiments
A servant, entering, announced that the
horses had arrived. Silvio shook me warmly by
the hand, and we embraced. He Jumped into a
calecae, IN which there were two boxes, the one
containing his collection OF pistols, the other
nus luggage. We said adleu once more and the
horses went Off at canter.
III.
THE PERSON IN QUESTION.
several years passed. when family affairs
Oollged me to exile myself In wretched petty
nanlet OF the yoloSta OF PodjaritZkL Busy
!n0ugn was with my property, l could not
nelp signing whenever thought OF the noisy
ne, gay ana Careless, l had led I'D to that
period. Ia PodJaritzki one did not uve-dId moi
G4lsI even; one yegetated. The greatest trouble
n au " Was 10 accustom myself to pass the even
I,, vi spring and winter In complete solitude,
unlli olnner-hour succeeded In killing time.
more 1tore or less effectualIy, by talking to the
sSoa qua superlntending my Workmen. inspact
NY new buildings, and Overlooking improve.
t1SHls s but as soon as dusk came on w,sot
pSiiscG loss 10 know what to do with nvSa1r
ny ho9uiu almost repeat by rote the few hnoys T
i Lat untartned In the drawers and in a cnek-
luz ,ot. i made my housekeeper. KiriloVna toll
taI over ana over again, all the old con,ntrw
d iI sne recollected. The songs of the naaSont
s s,it mace me melancholy took to lrinkiar
ouI mat gave me the headache' = Yes ,lr;