The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-12-07

Orleans" More than these nobody un-
derstood.
Nobody but the host. The remark,
he heard every word of it. He looked
! at Castex-horror, Indignation, hate,
were in the look. The attention of
the whole table was fastened upon the
scene.
Gentlemen" said Bostock. ''some-
thing very disagreeable has occurred.
could pardon much in man sitting
/ at my table and eating my salt; but I
say now that either Napoleon Castex
or rnust leave this table. Well know
ing that his presence in my house and
! at my board would be idiocy, he has
taken advantage of a social license
to force himself upon me. That could
endure in silence, out of regard for my
friends, that nothing unseemly might
occur here. But he is not content with
that exhibition of his malignant heart;
he has just this moment put upon me
an insult which cannot and will not
tolerate. If I could | know not what
next to expect from him. Irepeat it
either he or must leave this table"
In the painful silence that succeeded
this startling speech, all eyes were
fixed on Castex. He rose from his seat,
cool and smiling.
1T pleases me very much to retire."
he said. witness it. messieurs!---yon-
der gentleman drives me from his table
and his house"
! He bowed, and Immediately left the
room. Alphonse Basnet squirrned in
| his chair, and at last blurted out:
'Bostock, my dear fellow excuse
me-but you see can't remain. This
is a wretched business; hope it will
end here. But | brought my friend
here, and of course ! must go with
| him.
And he did. The soup grew cold,
and was removed untasted; course after
course of the choicest dishes succeeded
and were hardly touched. Everybody
was under dreadful constraint; occa-
sionally there was solitary remark,
| but the effort to keep up conversa
ton was fiat failure. | have said so
| much, that ! ought to tell the whole
truth. When the wine appeared, the
! guests turned to it as relief from the
awkwardness of the situation. | pre-
sumo everybody drank too much; am
certain that did. will except Bos-
took. He sat pale, rigid and silent
through it all. The guests departed
early, with hardly an effort to make
the usual compliments to the host.
The next morning was hardly out
| of bed when Pierce Bostocl walked in.
! He looked as stern and white as when
he was denouncing Castex at his own
table.
"Well, he's challenged YOU" was my
salutation.
| "No. | shall challenge him. Here's
the note. Take it to him, and then
go to the man that he names as his
friend"
| was thunderstruck. | tried to re-
monstrate with him. told him that,
| so far as an outsider could Judge, if
anybody had cause to send challenge,
| it was CasteX. begged him to tell
| me, in the strict confidence of friend
ship, what the language was that
CasteX had uttered to hln. told him
that | could not act intelligently for
him in this matter, unless ! was adj
vised. He peremptorily refused to tell
| me.
You have been my friend, Dorion,"
he said. when ] say to y0u that no
human being must know my cause of
offense, you will believe that there is
the best of reason for my silence Ma
poleon Castex knows, no man better
knows, the nature of his offense. He
knows me, also; and he understands
that if he We're to lisp hint of my
reasons for challenging him, would
seek him and shoot him down like
dog! Don't argue with me. Alfred
Dorion; tell you the man is a cold
blooded scoundrel; he has sought me
out to force a quarrel upon me, and
there are the best of reasons why the
affair must go on"
There was nothing for me to do but
to deliver the challenge. l found Cas-
tex cool, polite and consenting.
There is not one of my name," he
said, with his marked French accent,
who ever refused the request of
gentleman to meet him on the field of
honor. M. Bostock thinks him
self insulted. Some might think that
] was. No matter; here is his chal-
lenge. Take it to my dear Alphonse;
he will arrange everything with you.
only say to you, that my remark to
M. Bostock was the truth. He knows
it to be the truth; and he has not the
grace to see that put it in the Ian
guage Of la belle France, that others
might not understand IL. So much you
may tell him, if you choose"
The affair went on to its frightful
end. Nobody could discover the truth.
Basnet tried his best to make his man
divulge the cause of offense, but in
vain.
Il only told him the truth, and told
it in French, that it might not be
heard by Others. After have fought
him, | will tell it very loudly, in your.
harsh English, do you be sure. Mean