The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-02-13
Forestaued
By JOHN c. LARNED

During the reigns Of Louis Kill,
XIV. and XIV. of France dueling was
so prevalent that at one time 1t began
to appear that all the bravest men in
France would be killed. While Louis
XIV. was on the throne q young gradu-
ate Of the College of New Jersey went
abroad for the purpose Of finishing his
education by travel.
Paris In those days was q fav0rite
resort for the few colonists Of North
America who ventured Il cross the
Atlantic, and young Mathewson made
quite q sojourn there. The principal
reason for bis doing 30 was Mile. Hor.
tense de Boyer, a dashing girl, who was
setting the young bloods Of the capital
wild. She was considered the most
graceful dancer and the best horsewo-
man In Paris and had so far practiced
the art Of self defense as to stand
well az a handler Of the foil.
One evening after a ball. at which
Mathewson had paid marked attention
to Mile. de Boyer. he was addressed By
q young army officer as follows:
IL am the bearer of a challenge to
you from Count CASTOR Vaudelais. you
having during the evening brushed
against him In the dance"
Mathewson knew very we'll that the
charge was but a pretext for the chal-
ienge and concerned himself only about
the latter. Moreover. he knew that he
must either accept 1t or leave Paris.
followed by the contempt of all who
had favored him BY their good will.
He suspected that the true reason for
being called out was that he had paid
marked attention to Mile. de Boyer.
He replied by referring the officer to
q friend. then went to his apartments.
The friend joined him sOon after. and
upon consultation 1t was determined
to put of the meeting SO long as pos
sible in order that the American might
prepare himself by practice. for he had
no skill whatever with any weapon
The best, however. that could be done
was to defer the encounter for ten
days. Then Mathewson began to prac-
tice shooting with q pistol.
The next evening after the ball while
Count Vaudelais was dining at the cafe
where he vas used to taking his dinner
a lady handsomely dressed. but wear.
ing a veil that she did not raise. entered
the place and took a seat nea him.
No lady was In those days ever seen
to enter a cafe unattended by m eS-
cort. and the yelled woman at once ar
rested the attention of every one pres
ent. Presently abe spoke In ar indig-
nant tone to Vaudelais. accusing him
Of staring at her. threw a card on his
table bearing the name Of Albert du
Plessis and left the cafe.
Vaudelais. ast0nished. picked up the
card. surprising 1t to bear the name of
the lady's husband. Since its being
given him was tantamount to a chal-
ienge. he waited for Il friend of the
gentleman to appear. Presently Il man
entered and said that he represented
Du Plessis and made arrangements for
the duel to take place the next morning
at sunrise.
Vaudelais now had two duels on his
hands on successive mornings. This
| did not trouble him. for not a year
passed that he fought fewer than half a
dozen. Rut he did not like fighting the
husband Of a woman ON u charge
that he had stared ut her. and he was
not satisfied IN to the status Of the w.
man herself. since she had been In u
public cafe unattended. He belonged
49, khc AZ, <irolr> aud tn Anhf OnC
one except Il gentleman would detract
from his social standing. He endeav-
Ored to discover who was NJ. du Pies
sis. but found 40 n who had ever
heard Of him. However. thinking to
suffer iess by fighting 4 man Ut the
people than by declining to fight. be
concluded. 40 long as the affair would
not interfere with his meeting with
Mathewson. to let 1t proceed.
He was ON the ground the next
morning waiting for VI. du PIessis.
who had mol arrived. when \ carriage
drove up and out stepped a lady at
tended by a maid. She drew aside
her veil and revealed the features Of
Mile de Boyer. vaudeiais was thun
der1truck.
How long. NJ. le Count" she said.
since you constituted yourself my
guardian. with the right to say who
shall and who shall not pay NE at
%tentiOny"
"Hortense. what do you lean by
such wOrds?"
II mean that / have heard that you.
whose brains are In your limbs. have.
under pretext. challenged a III
whose brains are In his head because
he danced with me several times at a
recent bali. prOEN,se that you shall
first settle with me for accepting his
invitations. after which you may set
tie with him for giving them"
Throwing on \ long cloak. she re-
vealed 4 fencing costume. vaudelais
did all In mis- power tn avoid fighting
4 woman and succeeded only BY
pledging himself to withdraw his
challenge to MathewxOn. admitting
i - - A.-a-- 49,