The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1893-11-17
THE QUIET MAN.
Why the Subject of Duoling Was
DiStaSteful to Him

/ IN my time, as you know, but | never
! yet told you about the strangest of
them all; and can promise you that
| it's Il story worth hearing
So spallc Gen. R, as we sat side
! by side in the veranda of his snug little
! house in one of the northwestern prov
inccs 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
eral," suggested /, 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.
Il don't mind If / do answered the
veteran, for although it is an affair
that have no great pleasure in look
ing back upon, it Taught me n good les
son, if only | had the sense to profit
10y it.
when | was quite n young fellow
and hadn't long Joined the army" he
resumed after pause, Il used to De-
long to a fashionable club in London.
the members of which We're Just the
sort of men you read about in Levers
novels-aS wild as could be. always in
some Scrape or other, and spending
their whole time in riding. shooting
gambling or fishing-all except one
That one was a small, quiet, pale
faced, gray-haircd 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 il off He
hardly ever spoke To anyone. and when
he did it was in voice as meek as his
Af 4. F,r,,
of him among ourselves. finding these
quiet ways of his a very queer contrast
To- our own racEety, harum-scarum
style, and we niclluamcd him the
'Quietcst Man in the Club though, in
deed, we might just as well have called
iRm 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 u talk about ducIing. "A sub
jrct with which we were all tolerablv
familiar, for there was hardly "A man
among Us who hadn't been out once.
They did some tidy ducling in the
old times said Lord IL. who was
killed aftcrvard in action 'You re-
member how those six chuIns of Harry
III. of France fought three 10 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, il doesn't beat the great
duel thirty years ago between Sir Har-
~ Martiagalc and Col. Fortescuc.'
he had hardly spoken when mp
jumped the quiet man as If somebody
had stuck pin into him.
What on carth's the ma tier with
him? whispered Thornton. 1 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 his
kind in all England, and I've heard of
his fight with Martingale, too; but 1
don't think I've ever had any particu-
lars, or at least none worth speaking
of
~ can give them TO you, then an
swered Thornton; for my uncle was
Martingale's second I've heard him
tell the story many a time, and ne al
ways said that although he had been
in plenty Of duels, he had never seen
one like that, and never wanted to see
it again. What they quarreled about |
don't know, and / dare say they didn't |
know themselves; but my uncle used I
to say ne knew by the look in their !
eyes when they took their places To fire !
that it could not end without blood, and !
il didn't. They fired twice, and every ]
shot told; and then their seconds see !
ing that both men We're hard hit and {
bleeding fast, wanted to put an end to 4
it. But Fortescuc-who was one of |
those grim fellows who are always I
most dangerous toward the end of I
upon third shot. The (
third time, by some accident, Martin i
gale fred a moment too soon, and gave \
him bad wound in the side; but For !
tescue pressed his hand to the wound to I
stop the bleeding, and then, almost 4
bent double with pain though he was,
he fired and brought down his man
Killed him?'
'Rather-shot him slap through the
heart. But it was his last duel, for
from that day he was never heard of
again: and people said he had either
suicide or died of broken
heart
"'Well, don't see why he need have
done that, for, after all, it was a fair
fight struck in Lord Il, who had
been looking over the newspapers on
y
what do you say To this?
''''Another Dueing Tragedy in Paris.
The notorious Prussian bully and duel
ist. Armand de Vnleneuve. has just
added another wreath TO his blood
stained laurels. the new victim being !
Chevalier Henri de Polignac, fine
young fellow of twenty three, the only :
son Of "A widowed mother. Some strong /
expressions of disgust used by the
,hcvalier with reference to one of DE |
former duels having come !
10 the lattcr's ears, he sought out De !
Polignac and insulted him SO grossly as
to render n meeting inevitable. The
,hevalicr having fired first and missed, }
De Nilleneuve called out to him: ''LoolS
20 the second buttonhole of your coatr'
md sent bullet through the spot in
Heated into the breast of his opponent,
Who expired half an hour later in great
agony. His mother is said To be broken /
hearted at his death. How much long
r, we wonder, viii this savage be al
owed 10 offer these human sacrifices to
iis own inordinate vanity?"'
Just then | happened 10 look up and
aw the QuSet Man rise Slo WY from the
hair with n face so changed that il
tartled me almost as much as if had
cen him disappear bodily, and another
nan rise up in his stead | had once !
cen an oil painting abroad in which
an avenging angel was hurling light
nings upon Sodom and Gomorrah, and
hat is just how that man looked ut
hat moment. He glanced at his watch
and then came across the room and
went quickly out.
THE next night, and the next, and
-he next after that, the Quiet Man
lidnt appear at the club. and we all
began To wonder what could have be