The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1880-06-05
A Duel to the Death.

M8ND $A&' Z I,
One of our brother officers, named Vet
sky, had a brother officer in the civil SER
vice, who was an especial favoritc of mine
lie was a man Of singular intelligence, but
never saW3a man 50. full of, physical i'm
perfcctions.S III health had rendered him
uspecies Of 5aborsion.s He knewshis weakl
ness and hisShaturalGdefeots aIfd carefully
avoided all efforts and all gymnastic exer-
cises, leading the life of the utmost prccau-
tion. On horseback he was a terribly comic
spectacle, and whenever we arranged Il
riding party he Invariably chose the oldest
and least spirited of the horses. He had
ulso defect in his pronunciation, which
obliged him to speak very slowly in order
to keep from suffering. You may ina
gine what figure this unhappy man made,
with his ailments and his precautions,
among n. band Of vigorous young men,
who never looked before they leapcd.
Vetsky was nevertheless good compan-
ION. Weall were fond Of hInl, but wcmudeno
allowance for the infirmitics Of his consti-
tuition, his akwardncss, and his excessive
prudence, that bordercd on cowardicc
Vetsky took all our jokes in good part, some
times joining in the laugh against himself.
Nevertheless, it frequently occurred that
when some sudden railery attacked him he
found himself at a loss for a reply. 1t
seemed as If The faculties of his mind, like
those Of mis- body, suffered occasion para
lysis. He was one OF those men whom. it
was easy to unseat with a word, and who
have not the power Of immediately regain
ing the saddle. In cases like this, Vctsky
evidently suffered very much, however
strongly he forced himself TO conceal it un-
der cold and calm exterior. Every one
could see that he made every effort to re-
main master Of himself, because, as he
would say with forced smile, ''To get
angry would be to injure my health"
1 had observed since q certain epoch that
my brother was one of the most pitilcss
prosecutors of poor Vetsky; but we had all
fallen into the habit of laughing at ''our
petit naait1e," as we called him. and made
this jocularity 80 much regular !pastime,
that | paid no attention to his childish way
wardnc.s. 1t seemed to us 80 perfectly
natural All things, howe 'cr, had sec.
ret cause; and tho secret Of this was that
my brother was desperately in love with o
lady who, by singular caprice, gave a
marked preference over the elegant Vet
chcslatf to the distorted Vetsky.
When officers are newly appointed, it is
the custom among us Russians to expect
them to "baptizc their cpuulettcs," as we
say. AS we had some newcomers in the
regiment, days were fixed when we should
dine successfully with each of them. You
hnvc some idea of the style of what our
,jetes used to be-. You have been ten yeara
absent, and in Russia ten years is IN age.
Tho time has gohc by for those wild, frcn-
gicd revels that you knew once. Now
young men arc very rational, even over the
bottc, and good tasto reigns in their orgies.
Their wives might preside over them with
out blushing. 1T is not that wine is want
ing. They doA- not drink at present. it is
truo, until they are under the table; but
they diink enough 10 become gay and
qlarrelsome, and foolish, sometimes, and to
say things in their cups that they regret in
sober moments.
We dincd one day in little country
house Gt. was tho period when, ,thc troops
were cncampedin the Suburbs OF St.fPet.
ersburg for ticlsunllnerg review), and our
host was liberal of his champagne. The
dinner lasted considerable time, and all
Of us, including even Vctsky, were, to use
military phrase, charged up to the muz-
Zlc. 1t was two o'clock In the morning.
The room was ciuee, and felt as if | was
suifocating; SO loft thc house to wander
through the fields and fresh air. rcrncm-
Der 1t still. The skies were pure, tho coun-
try silent. Il faint morning breeze was
arising, and hailed it with voluptuous de-
light. The field, bathcd in the purple rays
OF the rising morning, made delicious
picture. Not Il SOUND was, audible, except
In the direction, Of the cottage where we
dned, through whose open windows frag-
ments of laughter and snatches of song
hoatcd. Suddenly song and laughter
ceased. This unexpected change from
noise ,toprofound silence alarmed mo, and
shivcrcd involuntarily. My heart beat as
if had just learned evil news. BY an in
voluntary movcmcntfI returned to the cot
tage. At the moment of crossing the
threshold. ! mot Vetsky coming out with
his hat in his hand. He did not speak to
me; but his face was white as a sheet, and
he sought to disscmblc some agitation be-
meath smile. My presentmcnts wero
verified ,ew1 - ~ ~ ws ,
My companions related all that had oc-
Cured during nay brief absence. 1t was
a boyisl freak, but one that feared would
lead to bloodshed.
Some Of them had opened window that
looked out on n courtyard, and one young
fellow, In q tit Of gayety. leaped from it.