Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1893-10-20
THE QUIET MAN.
Why the Subject of Dueling Was
Distasteful to Him.

yet told you about the strangest of
them all; and l can promise you that
it's story worth hearing"
So spake Gen. R, as we sat side
by side in the Veranda Of his snug little
house in one of the northwestern prov
inces of India, watching the sun sink
behind the endless line of stately palm
trees that stood ranged like plumed
soldiers along the opposite bank Of the
river.
Suppose you tell it me now, gen.
sral," suggested I, guessing from the
grave look on the old hero's weather.
beaten face that the forthcoming story
must have deeper interest than any Of
his ordinary campaigning anecdotes.
81 don't mind if do, y answered the
veteran, 'for although 1t is an affair
that have no great pleasure in look
ing back upon, it taught me good les
son, if only l had the sense to profit
by it.
when | was quite young fellow
and hadn't long joined the army" he
resumed after pause, 81 used to be-
long to a fashionable club in London,
the members of which were just the
sort of men you read about in Levers
novels-as wild as conld be, always in
some scrape or other, and spending
their whole time. in riding, shooting,
gambling or fishing-all except one.
THAT one was small, quiet, pale
faced, gray-haired man, with a very
sad, weary look, as if he had once been
crushed by some great sorrow and had
never been able to shake it off. He
hardly ever spoke to anyone and when
he did it was In voice as meek as his
face. 30, of course, we made great fun
of him among ourselves, finding these
quiet ways OF his very queer contrast
to our own rackety, harum-scarum
style, and we nicknamed him the
Quietest Man il the Club, though, in
deed we might just as we'll have called
him the only quiet man in it.
"Well, one evening when the room
was pretty full and our friend. the
Quiet Man, was sitting, as usual, in the
far corner, away from everybody else,
we began to talk about dueling, sub
| ject with which we were all tolerably
familiar, for there was hardly a man
among us who hadn't been out once.
"'They did some tidy dueling in the
old times said Lord H, who was
killed afterward in action. You re,
member how those six chums of Harry
III. of France fought three to three till
there was only one left alive out OF
the six.
"'That was pretty fair, certainly,
cried Charlie Thornton of the Guards
but after all, it doesn't beat the great
duel thirty years ago between Sir Har
| ry Martingale and Col. Fortescue.'
"He had hardly spoken when uE
jumped the quiet man .as if somebody
had stuck pin into him.
"'What on earth's the matter with
himT whispered Thornton. 4 never
saw him like that before"
"'But what was the story, then
Charlie?' asked another man. I've
heard of Fortescue, Of course, for he
was the most famous duelist of hi
kind in all England, and I've heard OF
his fight with Martingale, too; but
don't think I've ever had any particu
lars, or at least none worth speakin,
Of
81 can give them to you, then, an
swered Thornton; for my uncle wa
Martingale's secrad. I've heard hin
tell the story many time, and he al
ways said that although he had beer
in plenty of duels, he had never seel
one like that, and never wanted to Sc
it again. What they quarreled about
don't know, and dare say they didn'
know themselves; but my uncle use,
to say he knew by the look in thei
eyes when they took their places to fir
that it could not end without blood, an,
it didn't They fred twice, and ever.
shot told; and then their seconds, see
ing that both men were hard hit an
bleeding fast, wanted to put an end t
it. But Fortescue-who was one G
those grim fellows who are Away
most dangerous toward the end of
fight-%insiste;1 upon third shot TIL
third time, by some accident, Martin
gale fred moment too soon, and CAV
him bad wound in the side; but Fol-
tescue pressed his hand to the wound {
stop the bleeding. and then, almos
bent double with pain though he was
he fred and brought down his man
"'Killed him?'
'Rather-shot him slap through tn
heart but it was his last duel, fo
! from that day he was never heard {
4 again; and people said he had eitht
committed suicide or died of broke
+ heart'
4 "'Well, / don't see why he need hay
a lone that, for, after all, it was ia
n fight struck in Lord H, who ha
0 been looking over the newspapers o
e the table; but if you talk of duelin,
Y what do you say TO thisg
;, ""Another Dueling Tragedy in Pari
n The notorious Prussian bully and due
= list, Armand de Villeneuve, has ju
: added another wreath to his bloc,
n stained laurels, the new victim bein
}, Chevalier Henri de Polignac, a fiji
young fellow of twenty-three, the on
IS son of widowed mother. Some stror
> expressions of disgust used by Il
& chevalier with reference to one of |
e Villeneuves former duels having con
II to the latter's ears, he sought out |
}, Polignac and insulted him so grossly
y to render a meeting inevitable, III
l. chevalier having fred first and misse
e De Villene1ve called out to him; "Loc
S to the second suttonhole of your coat
r and sent bullet through the spot i
5, Dictated into the breast of his opponen
u who expired half an hour later in grei
q agony. His mother is said tn be broker