The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-11
DUEL IN THE AIR.
The Mad Tale Told by M'sieu BOvet
of Quality Court.

Chancery lane. One foggy afternoon,
near TO the Christmas of 1880, was anx-
iously reading through one specification
after another, taking each out of it's neat
box, with a mild approach to the feeling
of member of the famous Suicide Club.
who may at any moment draw his death
card-my death card would have been a
specification that my lock infringed-when
l had TO use the ladder In order to reach
box of specifications which was on the top
shelf. Turning from the reading shelf to
where the ladder stood, 1 saw it occupied
by an oldish man, who was replacing the
box he had just been examining. / rec
ognized MIN as a habitue of the search
room, with whom / had now and then ex-
changed a good morning" and he, seeing
me at the foot of the ladder, asked, lis
1t one OF these you want?" The specif-
cation l wanted was one that CHANGED to
be near the mans hand. so he took the box
containing it from the shelf and handed
1t to me.
This little act of civility led to an in
terchange of one or two casual remarks
ABOUT our work, and, as we found that
neither OF us was that thing so dreaded
by the inventor-a man on the same line
of search as himself-we became slightly
more communicative.
one morning in the following week at
was the day before Christmas, 1 remem-
ber) We again met in the searchroom.
ana at lunch time we CHANGED to go out
together, and my elderly friend--a French
man long domiciled in London, as 1 as
certained later-invited me to share with
him one of the little handicapped tables
IN the restaurant, close by Quality court
IN Chancery lane. When we had finished
eating Monsieur Bovet offered me a cigar.
and. lighting one himself, pulled from his
pocket a copy of the Gaulois and took
up Punch. ! remember this because there
was an amusing picture in it by Keene
about dueling in France-the bloodless
sort OF duels, where honor is satisfied very
easily. Later, Monsieur Bovet was look
ing at Punch, and, when he came to
heenes picture about the absurd duel. he
held out the paper to me, saying: "But
they are not all like that with US" His
zone mad more meaning than his words.
ana IN response to my questioning ''No?''
Monsieur Bovet said: 81 once fought a
very different sort of duel myself" His
manner did not show me that a question
would be considered indiscreet. so 7 ask
ed Monsieur Bowel, What was that?',
And then the Frenchman told me the in
cident which now relate.
In my younger days 1 was nominallv
draughtsman in the military engineering
once at Touion. l say nominally because
even then was what am now and what
l always shall bean inventor whose goal
is navigable balloon. Then I was NOT
90 now am over so; but, as YOU will
ma out, m sieu, If you have the true stuff
OF the inventor, years make no difference
10 man In pursuit of an ideal that must
forever inspire the true inventor until he
dies. And when he dies-what then9
VINO knows? Not you or /, m'sieu." ana
boVet looked up dreamily to the smuttv
panes of the skylight
After three years at Toulon bs5 so,,,o
money LETT to me-not much. but enough
10 let me work at my ideas undisturl,ed
by oftice routine and by the ideas Of INV
superiors in the service. If there is one
thlng man of Ideas hates it is the bejno.
FORCED to work at the ideas of other mon
TO draw ana shape them on the paper. to
measure them with rule and COMPASS
i went to Paris. At first things went
wen, and | found myself able to superin-
tend the actual making Of balloon which
believed to be navigable in any current
OF moderate strength. This was n small
machine, ana should carry only one per
son. l had 1t made in the shops of a
large firm of aeronautic engineers. who
We're known to me, and who carried out
my instructions faithfully The balloon ~
self-the silk bag for gas-was sent i'm
from Lyons to be fitted to the mechanism
and the car
This firm of engineers had. as mana
ger OF the shops, Breton mechanic. who
had reached his place of foreman from
that OF mere filter in their employ. His
name was Jean Durand, and he had much
patience and a long nose. You, M sieu.
have much patience and long nose. nest
ee pasT' l stared at Bovet, who went on:
Yes, his long nose gave him intelli-
gence in detail, and his chin, with a YER
teal crease in the middle of 1t, gave him
resolution" and as Bowel spoke, he light
ly touched my chin with a flicker of the
Punch in his hand. You have also
vertical crease in the chin"
/ began to feel uncomfortable.
"Durand was unfortunately quarrelsone
He was also of a superlative vanity. He
admired my wife, and she admired him
She liked his boasting. and L hated both
Of them. When was at work on my ma
chine, after the shops had been closed to
the workmen, Durand and she would see
each other. l knew, but waited Ii was
a Ions wait, but as you know, m'sieu, one
does not perfect navigable balloon at
the first attempt, nor at the second or the
third.
my wife was jealous of my balloon. and
she wanted the money l spent on 1t. AT
this time had son years old; he was
often my companion in the workshops.
His mother had no love for hlm-with me
he had more of my love than even my
invention. 1t is unfortunate m'sieu, that
your nose is long, that you have patience.
that you have q vertical crease in your
chin"
felt very comfortable, and got up to
so. but Bovet pulled me back
when my last machine was ready, ano
when 1t had been tried, took the oppor-
tunity to make Durand insult me openly
In the presence of the workmen who were
gathered around my machine. This was
a MS yhalA I
Durand himself was a capable balloonist
had turned the chatter on to the relative.
merits Of my balloon and that sometimes
used by Durand, and nothing was then
more pleasing to the men than my insist
ence-I had the choice Of weapons-that
purand ana would fight in the air. Du.
rand had to agree or be crushed In the
eyes Of his men," Bowel pressed the Hide
head Of cigar ash quite nat on the marble