The Florence daily tribune., 1899-01-11

done IN MS plact-chailtngS the young
German TO a duel vita pistols The
haron. who was unable 10 explain TO his
own satisfaction how he had been cap
riyated by the graces OF Mrs. Parker.
found himself in lame entable guam
lary. A challenge FROM Mr.. Parker he
well knew was equivalent TO death
sentence. or al least a very close shave.
should the Eugllsbmsu insist on the
duel there was no doubt as TO the re-
suit. He thought the matter over very
carefully. and was suddenly filled with
great concern as TO the sttcci which
his death would have upon his widowed
mother, and. being desirou> above all
things of spariug her. he persuaded two
cf his friends. who happened 10 be in
nomburg al the time. To seek out and
try to pacify the offended husband.
Mr.. Parker received the gentlemen
with all the polished polieness of
nan of the world.
Gentlemen" snid MIR. Parker, cold
ly. in French, II really fail to under
stand the object of your visit. Surely
the details oi this matter have been
discussed al Sufficient length. Nothing
more remains 10 be said
You sre right. sir" replied the elder
OF the two ambas sadors. but We have
come trusting TO your tenderness OF
heart. and we are sure Nnu wi not be
able to turn Il deaf ear To our plea. We
have come TO appeal 10 \ ou. not on he
half of the baron. but for The sake of his
mother. to whom he is all in all. aud
who will certainly die OF grief II any
thing happens to her ideal We ask you
to agree to other terms. Would you poi
son and curtail the life Of weak WON.
I'm? Think of your own mother"
Then the speaker explained Mt length
20 Mr.. Parker that the baron WAS the
last male representative OF his s'line. the
last of famous house. and that the
iumor, even, of the approaching duel
might cause the mothers death
Mr.. Parker listened with quiet dig
nifty, and when the gentlemen closed
with warm appeal to his goodness of
heart, the Englishman rose, and with
out losing any of his dignity. or relax
ing his severity of expression. said.
81 will. not have the death OF the
mother on my conscience; just give me
time TO think OF some way out of this.
| will write to YOU tomorrow"
The two callers took leave. after hav-
ing overwhelmed Mr.. Parker with
words Of gratitude for his magnanim-
7 ity. Their thanks seemed 10 embarrass
| him, for us he held out his hand his eyes
modestly sought the floor
Next morning the gentlemen received
the following letter:
Dear Sirs-
you appealed to my sympathy. As
| said to yon yesterday. | will not be
guilty of depriving the mother of her
son, and | do not think that in HON.
burg there could be two opinions as to
what would be the outcome of the ouel
which was to have taken place between
the baron and me. | withdraw the
challenge. In return for this | expect
the baron to pay over TO my orphans
such sum as he may himself deter
mine. At the same time | take it for
granted that he values his Young life
at. at least c 1000. viii You have the
goodness to make this known to the
baron?
Finally. gentlemen, l must lay par
ticular stress on the fact that, as |
leave HomburR Tomorrow morning. ]
shall have to lay upon you the coudi-
ton, as men of honor. to clear up any
misunderstanding which may arise as
to the cause of my having backed out
of the duel ! trust to your fairness TO
justify me wherever and whenever you
shall find il necessary or advisable"
On the following day Mr.. Parker re-
ceived from the baron a letter of regret
and apology. and check for e1.200.
The promise was also made TO send
more as soon as the writer should be in
n position to do So The 200 sent
Was all that he had in hand at that mo-
ment.
Mr.. and Mrs. Parker at once left
Homburg, and on the following day
new scandal occupied the minds and
wagged the tongues of the visitors
The baron. il is scarcely necessary to
say. speedily quilted Homburg. as he
had no wish to keep alive the story of
his misfortune and of Mir. Parker's
magnanimity. He succeeded, strange
as it may seem in hiding all knowledge
of the affair from his mother. The
c 1.200 with which he had bought his
life was pretty nearly the amount he
had won at the gambling table.
He did not forget his promise to Mr..
Parker. and few years later when he
came INTO possession of his estates, he
sent check for e30o to the trustees,
orphanage of llamarby. York Strange
TO say, the letter came back unopened,
but the envelope was covered with notes
which gave the following information:
The so-called Parker orphanage at
Hamar5s had formerly consisted of n
tumbled-down hovel inhabited by an
old woman and n cripple. but at the
time NJ writing nothing but the ruins
remained Parker.who was we'll
known swindier had. two years pre,i-
ously- escaped arrest by fight With
him had f,d his beloved Mary Cowen,
his aceoniplice.