The Dickinson press., 1891-04-25

selves, and explained this to them: they
hated each other mortally; no IL was to
know the cause of this antipathy which
was rooted in them like incurable lunacy;
one of them was superfluous upon this
earth; they lad resolved to fight each
other to the death.
"Don't imagine that the four students
raised any objection. For a very long
while, the romantic, driven froa: Paris by
scepticism, had found refuge in the pro
vinces. The people there still believed in
the heroes of George Sand, the trucnlence
of Gautier, and the Treize of Balzac. A duel
to the death. 1t was a rare windfall!
"Neverthelcss among these harc-brained
fellows, one, more thoughtful or more
selfish than the rest, observed that the Sc
conds in such IL grave duel might get into
serious trouble. Just at that period it
seemed that the authorities were inclined
to deal severely with duelIists, the fit
seizing upon them internationally, as you
are aware.
"Fearing such objections on the part of
the seconds, our two ducllists had prOvid-
ed for them: they would fight in a spot cal
culated to bid defiance to all curiosity, and
II which, besides, the cOrpse-they did
not doubt that there would be q corpse
would disappear without arousing the
attention of the authorities.
"This is the way in which the affair took
place:
"To%ard two o'clock one summer morn
ing the six young men quilted the little
town without their departure being no
ticed by anyone. The seconds, wrapped
in cloaks, concealed something, and that
something was not swords.
"They took mut-of the-way roads, in
which they were SURE of meeting no one.
and thus reached the small village of
Blanc.
"They found themselves at the foot of
the wall of Il cemetery. All the party
were agile, as we'll us young. The scaling
of the wall, therefore, presented no diff
Guilty. They gained the interior of the
cemetery.
"The spectacle was indeed romantic.
Amid the first glimmers of the day the
white tombs emerged from the morning
mist like spectrcs with arms outstreched
beneath their windlng-slieets: the wooden
crosses made black stains.
"They chose a spot where no burial had
certainly taken place for a very long
while-tl,is was easily OWNED by the top
| ography of the alleys already traced
And when they had fixed upon the point.
the four seconds, producing from under
their cloaks the spades they had kept con-
cealed there, began to dig a grave.
"They had strong arms; they were sons
of peasants andthey knew how to handle
implements. After twenty minutes tot
the grave was dug-two meters long and
one wide.
"'Is it all RICH" .! demanded one of the
seconds.
''The two adversaries, who. until then
had been walking among the tombs, tax
1 ms SyiSNks ANlSl " ~ &NStl lllSA eP
preached and made all affirmative answer
"'You are resolved to fight"
"'Yesv
"'Until one of you meets his death%
"'Yesv
"Tlere was no other attempt at a recon
ciIiation.
Each OF the two enemies handed til
seconds n letter which was nOt to Ii
opened until after the death of M O
them. The seconds took charge of then
"The two men then stripped to the Waisl
they did not want any bluod-stained ga1
ments to remain. Then each one we
given 4 knife.
"Tley sprang into the yaw ming grave.
How they threw themselves upon eac
other, how they closed, how maddenet
blinded by rage, they struck, no one knew
in their fit of furious madness they di
not know themselves.
"Suddenly one OF them said in a fail
voice:
"'He is dead"
"IIe-waS the other! *
"The seconds, Supplied with AoEfD4&S n
restrained by their G~sEilsIatt hathta1gsess
people AFFECTED paqss4laAAsS
" agalts,ssosalsiaaclas slAd sAsl9eesstfsetpbaes ssJsA6Esasl
4 llIKsssIalsssssassa6ffltt,,haa So. :ss:sssgs ! !
! .sis:'ii;'sisas ~ sSs 'ss' e :
sssfBafa VIZ Imperative that he shout
'fHfsappear. One of the students establish
ed that he was dead. Then they filled II
the grave, trOd down the earth, and II
placed the sods which had been CAREFUL
removed.
"After this they returned to the town.
"Ihe following day the parents of til
dead man received a letter in which
announced to them that, having for a Ion
, time had the desire to see foreign lands, !
had departed for the nearest port and Ell
barked for a destination he would mai
known to them only after his arrival.
"'The promised communication never a
rived.
"Ihr man had disappeared and it W;
. never known what had become of him.
The auditors of this singular story liz
, grown pale.
; s.But tho 0.hcr?.' cried some one.
"Tlle other, the living man," sad ii
doctor, in a solemn voice. twas myself
"And the wOman"
! "She was a wretch! l never saw Il
afterward."
They We're Begging for Us.