The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1880-09-30
PISTOLS AND CHERRIES.


We were stationed in the village
of -. You know what sort of a
life is that of an officer in line regi-
ment; in the morning. drill, the riding
school, then dinner with the commander
of the regiment or at a private restaur-
ant; in the evening, punch and cards.
AT -- there was not house where
receptions were held and not single
manageable young lady. We passed
our meetings none were seen but men
in uniform. Still there was in our So
ciety one man who was not a soldier.
He might have been thirty-five years of
age and therefore we looked upon him
as an old man. His experience gave
him considerable authority with us.
His taciturnity, too, and his naughty
and difficult temper and his sarcastic
tone made a great impression on US
young men. Some mystery seemed to
-envelop his existence. Formerly he
had served in hussar regiment, in
which, indeed, he had made some figure;
suddenly he had given in his reSigna-
ton, nobody knew why, and had estab-
lished himself in a poor village, where
he lived badly and spent much money.
He went out always on foot, in an old
frock coat, and yet he kept open house
for all the officers of our regiment. To
tell the truth. his dinners consisted of
only two or three dishes prepared by an
old soldier, but the champagne flowed
copiously, Nobody knew anything
about his fortune or his condition and
nobody dared question him on those
points. There were books in his house,
chiefly military books and novels also.
He readily lent them and never asked
for them again; on the other hand he
never returned the books that others
lent him. His great occupation was
pistol shooting; the walls ofhis chamber
were honey-combed with balls. The
only luxury of the wretched hut in which
he lived was a rich collection of pistols.
The skill which he had acquired was
incredible, and if he had made bet to
shoot the button off a cap, no one in our
regiment would have hesitated to wear
the cap. Sometimes our conversation
turned upon duels. Silvio, for / shall
call him by this name, never took part
in it. When asked if ne had ever fought
he would answer dryly, d" Yes" but he
never gave the slightest detail, and it
was evident that such questions did not
please him. We supposed that some
victim of his terrible skill had left a
weight on his conscience. Besides, no
one among us ever thought of suspect
ing him of weakness. There are people
whose exterior alone is sufficient to dis
pei such ideas. An unexpected occa-
sion surprised us all strangely.
One day ten of our officers were din
inc with Silvio. We drank as usual,
that is to saw enormously. After din
ner we asked the host to get up faro
bank. He refused for long time, for
he had hardly ever played, but at last
ne sent for some cards, placed before
him on the table fifty ducatS, and sat
down to deal We sat down around
him and the play began. When he
played. Silvio was in the habit of main
tanning the most complete silence; he
never allowed complaints or explana-
lions. If player made a mistake he
paid him just what was due or marked
to his own account what he had gained.
We knew that, and left him to manage
his bank as he pleased; but there was
among us an officer who had recently
Joined the corps, and who from distrac-
ton made a wrong bet. Silvio took the
chalk and made his reckoning as usual.
The officer, feeling sure that he had
made a mistake, began to protest.
Silvio, always silent, continued to deal
the cards. The officer, losing patience,
took the brush and wiped out what he
Al. l., IL =
chalk and marked it again. Where
upon the officer, heated by wine, seized
a brass candlestick and flung it at the
head of Silvio, who, by rapid move
ment, luckily avoided the blow. Great
confusion followed; Silvio rose, pale
with rage and flashing eyes.
My dear SIR" he said, "be good
enough to go away, and thank God that
this scene has taken place in my house"
No one of us felt any doubts as to the
issue of the affair, and we already
looked upon our new comrade as dead
man. The officer went out saying that
he was ready 10 give satisfaction when
ever he might be called upon. The faro
continued few minutes longer, but we
saw that the master of the house was
nO loAtSCl III bhC SttiliCs anu ouc bl OuO
we withdrew and returned to our quar-
tiers.
The next day al the riding school we
were just asking whether the poor Lieu
tenant were alive or dead when we saw
him appear in person. We questioned |
him. He replied that he had no news
of Silvio. That surprised US. We went |
TO see Silvio and we found him in his
court. sending bullet after bullet into an
ace of hearts nailed up on the door, He |
received us Just as usual and said nothing |
about the events of the previous even |
ing Three days passed and the Lieu
tenant was still alive. We said in as
constituent: "Will Silvio not fght?'
Silvio did not fight, but contented him.
self with a very slight explanation and
the matter was at an end.
This forbearance did him much harm /
in the eyes of us young men. Youth |
pardons least of all the want of bold |
ness. and in its eyes courage is the first /
of all merits and the excuse of all de- |