第3章

Itwasnotmerelyundertheexcitementofthesword-playthatthisfortitudewasshown；itwasshowninthesurgeon"sroomwhereanuninspiringquietreigned，andwheretherewasnoaudience。Thedoctor"smanipulationsbroughtoutneithergrimacesnormoans。Andinthefightsitwasobservablethattheseladshackedandslashedwiththesametremendousspirit，aftertheywerecoveredwithstreamingwounds，whichtheyhadshowninthebeginning。

Theworldingenerallooksuponthecollegeduelsasveryfarcicalaffairs:true，butconsideringthatthecollegeduelisfoughtbyboys；thattheswordsarerealswords；

andthattheheadandfaceareexposed，itseemstomethatitisafarcewhichhadquiteagravesidetoit。

Peoplelaughatitmainlybecausetheythinkthestudentissocoveredupwitharmorthathecannotbehurt。

Butitisnotso；hiseyesareearsareprotected，buttherestofhisfaceandheadarebare。Hecannotonlybebadlywounded，buthislifeisindanger；andhewouldsometimesloseitbutfortheinterferenceofthesurgeon。

Itisnotintendedthathislifeshallbeendangered。

Fatalaccidentsarepossible，however。Forinstance，thestudent"sswordmaybreak，andtheendofitflyupbehindhisantagonist"searandcutanarterywhichcouldnotbereachediftheswordremainedwhole。

Thishashappened，sometimes，anddeathhasresultedonthespot。Formerlythestudent"sarmpitswerenotprotected——andatthattimetheswordswerepointed，whereastheyareblunt，now；soanarteryinthearmpitwassometimescut，anddeathfollowed。Theninthedaysofsharp-pointedswords，aspectatorwasanoccasionalvictim——theendofabrokenswordflewfiveortenfeetandburieditselfinhisneckorhisheart，anddeathensuedinstantly。ThestudentduelsinGermanyoccasiontwoorthreedeathseveryyear，now，butthisarisesonlyfromthecarelessnessofthewoundedmen；

theyeatordrinkimprudently，orcommitexcessesinthewayofoverexertion；inflammationsetsinandgetssuchaheadwaythatitcannotbearrested。Indeed，thereisbloodandpainanddangerenoughaboutthecollegedueltoentitleittoaconsiderabledegreeofrespect。

Allthecustoms，allthelaws，allthedetails，pertainingtothestudentduelarequaintandnaive。

Thegrave，precise，andcourtlyceremonywithwhichthethingisconducted，investsitwithasortofantiquecharm。

Thisdignityandtheseknightlygracessuggestthetournament，nottheprize-fight。Thelawsareascuriousastheyarestrict。Forinstance，theduelistmaystepforwardfromthelineheisplacedupon，ifhechooses，butneverbackofit。Ifhestepsbackofit，orevenleansback，itisconsideredthathedidittoavoidabloworcontriveanadvantage；soheisdismissedfromhiscorpsindisgrace。

Itwouldseemnaturaltostepfromunderadescendingswordunconsciously，andagainstone"swillandintent——yetthisunconsciousnessisnotallowed。Again:ifunderthesuddenanguishofawoundthereceiverofitmakesagrimace，hefallssomedegreesintheestimationofhisfellows；

hiscorpsareashamedofhim:theycallhim"harefoot，"

whichistheGermanequivalentforchicken-hearted。

CHAPTERVII

[HowBismarkFought]

Inadditiontothecorpslaws，therearesomecorpsusageswhichhavetheforceoflaws。

Perhapsthepresidentofacorpsnoticesthatoneofthemembershipwhoisnolongeranexempt——thatisafreshman——

hasremainedasophomoresomelittletimewithoutvolunteeringtofight；someday，thepresident，insteadofcallingforvolunteers，willAPPOINTthissophomoretomeasureswordswithastudentofanothercorps；heisfreetodecline——everybodysaysso——thereisnocompulsion。

Thisisalltrue——butIhavenotheardofanystudentwhoDIDdecline；todeclineandstillremaininthecorpswouldmakehimunpleasantlyconspicuous，andproperlyso，sinceheknew，whenhejoined，thathismainbusiness，asamember，wouldbetofight。No，thereisnolawagainstdeclining——exceptthelawofcustom，whichisconfessedlystrongerthanwrittenlaw，everywhere。

ThetenmenwhoseduelsIhadwitnesseddidnotgoawaywhentheirhurtsweredressed，asIhadsupposedtheywould，butcameback，oneafteranother，assoonastheywerefreeofthesurgeon，andmingledwiththeassemblageinthedueling-room。Thewhite-capstudentwhowonthesecondfightwitnessedtheremainingthree，andtalkedwithusduringtheintermissions。Hecouldnottalkverywell，becausehisopponent"sswordhadcuthisunder-lipintwo，andthenthesurgeonhadsewedittogetherandoverlaiditwithaprofusionofwhiteplasterpatches；neithercouldheeateasily，stillhecontrivedtoaccomplishaslowandtroublesomeluncheonwhilethelastduelwaspreparing。

Themanwhowastheworsthurtofallplayedchesswhilewaitingtoseethisengagement。Agoodpartofhisfacewascoveredwithpatchesandbandages，andalltherestofhisheadwascoveredandconcealedbythem。

Itissaidthatthestudentlikestoappearonthestreetandinotherpublicplacesinthiskindofarray，andthatthispredilectionoftenkeepshimoutwhenexposuretorainorsunisapositivedangerforhim。

NewlybandagedstudentsareaverycommonspectacleinthepublicgardensofHeidelberg。Itisalsosaidthatthestudentisgladtogetwoundsintheface，becausethescarstheyleavewillshowsowellthere；

anditisalsosaidthatthesefacewoundsaresoprizedthatyouthshaveevenbeenknowntopullthemapartfromtimetotimeandputredwineinthemtomakethemhealbadlyandleaveasuglyascaraspossible。

Itdoesnotlookreasonable，butitisroundlyassertedandmaintained，nevertheless；Iamsureofonething——scarsareplentyenoughinGermany，amongtheyoungmen；

andverygrimonestheyare，too。Theycrisscrossthefaceinangryredwelts，andarepermanentandineffaceable。

Someofthesescarsareofaverystrangeanddreadfulaspect；

andtheeffectisstrikingwhenseveralsuchaccentthemilderones，whichformacitymaponaman"sface；

theysuggestthe"burneddistrict"then。Wehadoftennoticedthatmanyofthestudentsworeacoloredsilkbandorribbondiagonallyacrosstheirbreasts。

Ittranspiredthatthissignifiesthatthewearerhasfoughtthreeduelsinwhichadecisionwasreached——duelsinwhichheeitherwhippedorwaswhipped——fordrawnbattlesdonotcount。[1]Afterastudenthasreceivedhisribbon，heis"free"；hecanceasefromfighting，withoutreproach——exceptsomeoneinsulthim；hispresidentcannotappointhimtofight；hecanvolunteerifhewantsto，orremainquiescentifhepreferstodoso。

StatisticsshowthathedoesNOTprefertoremainquiescent。

Theyshowthattheduelhasasingularfascinationaboutitsomewhere，forthesefreemen，sofarfromrestingupontheprivilegeofthebadge，arealwaysvolunteering。

AcorpsstudenttoldmeitwasofrecordthatPrinceBismarckfoughtthirty-twooftheseduelsinasinglesummertermwhenhewasincollege。Sohefoughttwenty-nineafterhisbadgehadgivenhimtherighttoretirefromthefield。

1。FROMMYDIARY——DinedinahotelafewmilesuptheNeckar，inaroomwhosewallswerehungalloverwithframedportrait-groupsoftheFiveCorps；somewererecent，butmanyantedatedphotography，andwerepicturedinlithography——thedatesrangedbacktofortyorfiftyyearsago。Nearlyeveryindividualworetheribbonacrosshisbreast。Inoneportrait-grouprepresenting(aseachofthesepicturesdid)anentireCorps，Itookpainstocounttheribbons:thereweretwenty-sevenmembers，andtwenty-oneofthemworethatsignificantbadge。

Thestatisticsmaybefoundtopossessinterestinseveralparticulars。Twodaysineveryweekaredevotedtodueling。Theruleisrigidthattheremustbethreeduelsoneachofthesedays；therearegenerallymore，buttherecannotbefewer。ThereweresixthedayIwaspresent；sometimestherearesevenoreight。

Itisinsistedthateightduelsaweek——fourforeachofthetwodays——istoolowanaveragetodrawacalculationfrom，butIwillreckonfromthatbasis，preferringanunderstatementtoanoverstatementofthecase。

Thisrequiresaboutfourhundredandeightyorfivehundredduelistsayear——forinsummerthecollegetermisaboutthreeandahalfmonths，andinwinteritisfourmonthsandsometimeslonger。OfthesevenhundredandfiftystudentsintheuniversityatthetimeIamwritingof，onlyeightybelongedtothefivecorps，anditisonlythesecorpsthatdothedueling；occasionallyotherstudentsborrowthearmsandbattlegroundofthefivecorpsinordertosettleaquarrel，butthisdoesnothappeneverydueling-day。[2]Consequentlyeightyyouthsfurnishthematerialforsometwohundredandfiftyduelsayear。

Thisaveragegivessixfightsayeartoeachoftheeighty。

Thislargeworkcouldnotbeaccomplishedifthebadge-holdersstoodupontheirprivilegeandceasedtovolunteer。

2。Theyhavetoborrowthearmsbecausetheycouldnotgetthemelsewhereorotherwise。AsIunderstandit，thepublicauthorities，alloverGermany，allowthefiveCorpstokeepswords，butDONOTALLOWTHEMTOUSETHEM。

Thisislawisrigid；itisonlytheexecutionofitthatislax。

Ofcourse，wherethereissomuchfighting，thestudentsmakeitapointtokeepthemselvesinconstantpracticewiththefoil。Oneoftenseesthem，atthetablesintheCastlegrounds，usingtheirwhipsorcanestoillustratesomenewswordtrickwhichtheyhaveheardabout；

andbetweentheduels，onthedaywhosehistoryI

havebeenwriting，theswordswerenotalwaysidle；

everynowandthenweheardasuccessionofthekeenhissingsoundswhichtheswordmakeswhenitisbeingputthroughitspacesintheair，andthisinformedusthatastudentwaspracticing。Necessarily，thisunceasingattentiontotheartdevelopsanexpertoccasionally。

Hebecomesfamousinhisownuniversity，hisrenownspreadstootheruniversities。HeisinvitedtoGo"ttingen，tofightwithaGo"ttingenexpert；ifheisvictorious，hewillbeinvitedtoothercolleges，orthosecollegeswillsendtheirexpertstohim。AmericansandEnglishmenoftenjoinoneoranotherofthefivecorps。Ayearortwoago，theprincipalHeidelbergexpertwasabigKentuckian；

hewasinvitedtothevariousuniversitiesandleftawakeofvictorybehindhimallaboutGermany；

butatlastalittlestudentinStrasburgdefeatedhim。

TherewasformerlyastudentinHeidelbergwhohadpickedupsomewhereandmasteredapeculiartrickofcuttingupunderinsteadofcleavingdownfromabove。Whilethetricklastedhewoninsixteensuccessiveduelsinhisuniversity；

butbythattimeobservershaddiscoveredwhathischarmwas，andhowtobreakit，thereforehischampionshipceased。

Arulewhichforbidssocialintercoursebetweenmembersofdifferentcorpsisstrict。Inthedueling-house，intheparks，onthestreet，andanywhereandeverywherethatthestudentsgo，capsofacolorgroupthemselvestogether。

Ifallthetablesinapublicgardenwerecrowdedbutone，andthatonehadtwored-capstudentsatitandtenvacantplaces，theyellow-caps，theblue-caps，thewhitecaps，andthegreencaps，seekingseats，wouldgobythattableandnotseemtoseeit，norseemtobeawarethattherewassuchatableinthegrounds。

Thestudentbywhosecourtesywehadbeenenabledtovisitthedueling-place，worethewhitecap——PrussianCorps。

Heintroducedustomanywhitecaps，buttononeofanothercolor。Thecorpsetiquetteextendedeventous，whowerestrangers，andrequiredustogroupwiththewhitecorpsonly，andspeakonlywiththewhitecorps，whileweweretheirguests，andkeepalooffromthecapsoftheothercolors。OnceIwishedtoexaminesomeoftheswords，butanAmericanstudentsaid，"Itwouldnotbequitepolite；

thesenowinthewindowsallhaveredhiltsorblue；

theywillbringinsomewithwhitehiltspresently，andthoseyoucanhandlefreely。"Whenaswordwasbrokeninthefirstduel，Iwantedapieceofit；butitshiltwasthewrongcolor，soitwasconsideredbestandpolitesttoawaitapropererseason。Itwasbroughttomeaftertheroomwascleared，andIwillnowmakea"life-size"

sketchofitbytracingalinearounditwithmypen，toshowthewidthoftheweapon。[Figure1]Thelengthoftheseswordsisaboutthreefeet，andtheyarequiteheavy。

One"sdispositiontocheer，duringthecourseoftheduelsorattheirclose，wasnaturallystrong，butcorpsetiquetteforbadeanydemonstrationsofthissort。

Howeverbrilliantacontestoravictorymightbe，nosignorsoundbetrayedthatanyonewasmoved。

Adignifiedgravityandrepressionweremaintainedatalltimes。

Whentheduelingwasfinishedandwewerereadytogo，thegentlemenofthePrussianCorpstowhomwehadbeenintroducedtookofftheircapsinthecourteousGermanway，andalsoshookhands；theirbrethrenofthesameordertookofftheircapsandbowed，butwithoutshakinghands；

thegentlemenoftheothercorpstreatedusjustastheywouldhavetreatedwhitecaps——theyfellapart，apparentlyunconsciously，andleftusanunobstructedpathway，butdidnotseemtoseeusorknowwewerethere。

Ifwehadgonethitherthefollowingweekasguestsofanothercorps，thewhitecaps，withoutmeaninganyoffense，wouldhaveobservedtheetiquetteoftheirorderandignoredourpresence。

[Howstrangelyarecomedyandtragedyblendedinthislife!

Ihadnotbeenhomeafullhalf-hour，afterwitnessingthoseplayfulsham-duels，whencircumstancesmadeitnecessaryformetogetreadyimmediatelytoassistpersonallyatarealone——aduelwithnoeffeminatelimitationinthematterofresults，butabattletothedeath。Anaccountofit，inthenextchapter，willshowthereaderthatduelsbetweenboys，forfun，andduelsbetweenmeninearnest，areverydifferentaffairs。]

CHAPTERVIII

TheGreatFrenchDuel[ISecondGambettainaTerrificDuel]

MuchasthemodernFrenchduelisridiculedbycertainsmartpeople，itisinrealityoneofthemostdangerousinstitutionsofourday。Sinceitisalwaysfoughtintheopenair，thecombatantsarenearlysuretocatchcold。

M。PauldeCassagnac，themostinveterateoftheFrenchduelists，hadsufferedsoofteninthiswaythatheisatlastaconfirmedinvalid；andthebestphysicianinParishasexpressedtheopinionthatifhegoesonduelingforfifteenortwentyyearsmore——unlessheformsthehabitoffightinginacomfortableroomwheredampsanddraughtscannotintrude——hewilleventuallyendangerhislife。

ThisoughttomoderatethetalkofthosepeoplewhoaresostubborninmaintainingthattheFrenchduelisthemosthealth-givingofrecreationsbecauseoftheopen-airexerciseitaffords。AnditoughtalsotomoderatethatfoolishtalkaboutFrenchduelistsandsocialist-hatedmonarchsbeingtheonlypeoplewhoareimmoral。

Butitistimetogetatmysubject。AssoonasIheardofthelatefieryoutbreakbetweenM。GambettaandM。FourtouintheFrenchAssembly，Iknewthattroublemustfollow。

IknewitbecausealongpersonalfriendshipwithM。Gambettarevealedtomethedesperateandimplacablenatureoftheman。Vastasarehisphysicalproportions，Iknewthatthethirstforrevengewouldpenetratetotheremotestfrontiersofhisperson。

Ididnotwaitforhimtocallonme，butwentatoncetohim。AsIhadexpected，IfoundthebravefellowsteepedinaprofoundFrenchcalm。IsayFrenchcalm，becauseFrenchcalmnessandEnglishcalmnesshavepointsofdifference。Hewasmovingswiftlybackandforthamongthedebrisofhisfurniture，nowandthenstavingchancefragmentsofitacrosstheroomwithhisfoot；

grindingaconstantgristofcursesthroughhissetteeth；

andhaltingeverylittlewhiletodepositanotherhandfulofhishaironthepilewhichhehadbeenbuildingofitonthetable。

Hethrewhisarmsaroundmyneck，bentmeoverhisstomachtohisbreast，kissedmeonbothcheeks，huggedmefourorfivetimes，andthenplacedmeinhisownarm-chair。

AssoonasIhadgotwellagain，webeganbusinessatonce。

IsaidIsupposedhewouldwishmetoactashissecond，andhesaid，"Ofcourse。"IsaidImustbeallowedtoactunderaFrenchname，sothatImightbeshieldedfromobloquyinmycountry，incaseoffatalresults。

Hewincedhere，probablyatthesuggestionthatduelingwasnotregardedwithrespectinAmerica。However，heagreedtomyrequirement。ThisaccountsforthefactthatinallthenewspaperreportsM。Gambetta"ssecondwasapparentlyaFrenchman。

First，wedrewupmyprincipal"swill。Iinsisteduponthis，andstucktomypoint。IsaidIhadneverheardofamaninhisrightmindgoingouttofightaduelwithoutfirstmakinghiswill。Hesaidhehadneverheardofamaninhisrightminddoinganythingofthekind。

Whenhehadfinishedthewill，hewishedtoproceedtoachoiceofhis"lastwords。"Hewantedtoknowhowthefollowingwords，asadyingexclamation，struckme:

"IdieformyGod，formycountry，forfreedomofspeech，forprogress，andtheuniversalbrotherhoodofman!"

Iobjectedthatthiswouldrequiretoolingeringadeath；

itwasagoodspeechforaconsumptive，butnotsuitedtotheexigenciesofthefieldofhonor。Wewrangledoveragoodmanyante-mortemoutburts，butIfinallygothimtocuthisobituarydowntothis，whichhecopiedintohismemorandum-book，purposingtogetitbyheart:

"IDIETHATFRANCEMIGHTLIVE。"

Isaidthatthisremarkseemedtolackrelevancy；buthesaidrelevancywasamatterofnoconsequenceinlastwords，whatyouwantedwasthrill。

Thenextthinginorderwasthechoiceofweapons。

Myprincipalsaidhewasnotfeelingwell，andwouldleavethatandtheotherdetailsoftheproposedmeetingtome。

ThereforeIwrotethefollowingnoteandcarriedittoM。Fourtou"sfriend:

Sir:M。GambettaacceptsM。Fourtou"schallenge，andauthorizesmetoproposePlessis-Piquetastheplaceofmeeting；tomorrowmorningatdaybreakasthetime；

andaxesastheweapons。

Iam，sir，withgreatrespect，MarkTwain。

M。Fourtou"sfriendreadthisnote，andshuddered。

Thenheturnedtome，andsaid，withasuggestionofseverityinhistone:

"Haveyouconsidered，sir，whatwouldbetheinevitableresultofsuchameetingasthis?"

"Well，forinstance，whatWOULDitbe?"

"Bloodshed!"

"That"saboutthesizeofit，"Isaid。"Now，ifitisafairquestion，whatwasyoursideproposingtoshed?"

Ihadhimthere。Hesawhehadmadeablunder，sohehastenedtoexplainitaway。Hesaidhehadspokenjestingly。

Thenheaddedthatheandhisprincipalwouldenjoyaxes，andindeedpreferthem，butsuchweaponswerebarredbytheFrenchcode，andsoImustchangemyproposal。

Iwalkedthefloor，turningthethingoverinmymind，andfinallyitoccurredtomethatGatling-gunsatfifteenpaceswouldbealikelywaytogetaverdictonthefieldofhonor。SoIframedthisideaintoaproposition。

Butitwasnotaccepted。Thecodewasinthewayagain。

Iproposedrifles；thendouble-barreledshotguns；

thenColt"snavyrevolvers。Thesebeingallrejected，Ireflectedawhile，andsarcasticallysuggestedbrickbatsatthree-quartersofamile。Ialwayshatetofoolawayahumorousthingonapersonwhohasnoperceptionofhumor；

anditfilledmewithbitternesswhenthismanwentsoberlyawaytosubmitthelastpropositiontohisprincipal。

Hecamebackpresentlyandsaidhisprincipalwascharmedwiththeideaofbrickbatsatthree-quartersofamile，butmustdeclineonaccountofthedangertodisinterestedpartiespassingbetweenthem。ThenIsaid:

"Well，Iamattheendofmystring，now。PerhapsYOU

wouldbegoodenoughtosuggestaweapon?Perhapsyouhaveevenhadoneinyourmindallthetime?"

Hiscountenancebrightened，andhesaidwithalacrity:

"Oh，withoutdoubt，monsieur!"

Sohefelltohuntinginhispockets——pocketafterpocket，andhehadplentyofthem——mutteringallthewhile，"Now，whatcouldIhavedonewiththem?"

Atlasthewassuccessful。HefishedoutofhisvestpocketacoupleoflittlethingswhichIcarriedtothelightandascertainedtobepistols。Theyweresingle-barreledandsilver-mounted，andverydaintyandpretty。

Iwasnotabletospeakforemotion。Isilentlyhungoneofthemonmywatch-chain，andreturnedtheother。

Mycompanionincrimenowunrolledapostage-stampcontainingseveralcartridges，andgavemeoneofthem。

Iaskedifhemeanttosignifybythisthatourmenweretobeallowedbutoneshotapiece。HerepliedthattheFrenchcodepermittednomore。Ithenbeggedhimtogoandsuggestadistance，formymindwasgrowingweakandconfusedunderthestrainwhichhadbeenputuponit。

Henamedsixty-fiveyards。Inearlylostmypatience。

Isaid:

"Sixty-fiveyards，withtheseinstruments?Squirt-gunswouldbedeadlieratfifty。Consider，myfriend，youandIarebandedtogethertodestroylife，notmakeiteternal。"

Butwithallmypersuasions，allmyarguments，Iwasonlyabletogethimtoreducethedistancetothirty-fiveyards；

andeventhisconcessionhemadewithreluctance，andsaidwithasigh，"Iwashmyhandsofthisslaughter；

onyourheadbeit。"

Therewasnothingformebuttogohometomyoldlion-heartandtellmyhumiliatingstory。WhenIentered，M。Gambettawaslayinghislastlockofhairuponthealtar。

Hesprangtowardme，exclaiming:

"Youhavemadethefatalarrangements——Iseeitinyoureye!"

"Ihave。"

Hisfacepaledatrifle，andheleaneduponthetableforsupport。Hebreathedthickandheavilyforamomentortwo，sotumultuouswerehisfeelings；thenhehoarselywhispered:

"Theweapon，theweapon!Quick!whatistheweapon?"

"This!"andIdisplayedthatsilver-mountedthing。

Hecastbutoneglanceatit，thenswoonedponderouslytothefloor。

Whenhecameto，hesaidmournfully:

"TheunnaturalcalmtowhichIhavesubjectedmyselfhastolduponmynerves。Butawaywithweakness!

IwillconfrontmyfatelikeamanandaFrenchman。"

Herosetohisfeet，andassumedanattitudewhichforsublimityhasneverbeenapproachedbyman，andhasseldombeensurpassedbystatues。Thenhesaid，inhisdeepbasstones:

"Behold，Iamcalm，Iamready；revealtomethedistance。"

"Thirty-fiveyards。"……

Icouldnotlifthimup，ofcourse；butIrolledhimover，andpouredwaterdownhisback。Hepresentlycameto，andsaid:

"Thirty-fiveyards——withoutarest?Butwhyask?Sincemurderwasthatman"sintention，whyshouldhepalterwithsmalldetails?Butmarkyouonething:inmyfalltheworldshallseehowthechivalryofFrancemeetsdeath。"

Afteralongsilenceheasked:

"Wasnothingsaidaboutthatman"sfamilystandingupwithhim，asanoffsettomybulk?Butnomatter；

Iwouldnotstooptomakesuchasuggestion；ifheisnotnobleenoughtosuggestithimself，heiswelcometothisadvantage，whichnohonorablemanwouldtake。"

Henowsankintoasortofstuporofreflection，whichlastedsomeminutes；afterwhichhebrokesilencewith:

"Thehour——whatisthehourfixedforthecollision?"

"Dawn，tomorrow。"

Heseemedgreatlysurprised，andimmediatelysaid:

"Insanity!Ineverheardofsuchathing。Nobodyisabroadatsuchanhour。"

"ThatisthereasonInamedit。Doyoumeantosayyouwantanaudience?"

"Itisnotimetobandywords。IamastonishedthatM。Fourtoushouldeverhaveagreedtosostrangeaninnovation。

Goatonceandrequirealaterhour。"

Irandownstairs，threwopenthefrontdoor，andalmostplungedintothearmsofM。Fourtou"ssecond。Hesaid:

"Ihavethehonortosaythatmyprincipalstrenuouslyobjectstothehourchosen，andbegsyouwillconsenttochangeittohalfpastnine。"

"Anycourtesy，sir，whichitisinourpowertoextendisattheserviceofyourexcellentprincipal。Weagreetotheproposedchangeoftime。"

"Ibegyoutoacceptthethanksofmyclient。"Thenheturnedtoapersonbehindhim，andsaid，"Youhear，M。Noir，thehourisalteredtohalfpastnine。"WhereuponM。Noirbowed，expressedhisthanks，andwentaway。

Myaccomplicecontinued:

"Ifagreeabletoyou，yourchiefsurgeonsandoursshallproceedtothefieldinthesamecarriageasiscustomary。"

"Itisentirelyagreeabletome，andIamobligedtoyouformentioningthesurgeons，forIamafraidIshouldnothavethoughtofthem。HowmanyshallIwant?Isupposedtwoorthreewillbeenough?"

"Twoisthecustomarynumberforeachparty。Ireferto"chief"surgeons；butconsideringtheexaltedpositionsoccupiedbyourclients，itwillbewellanddecorousthateachofusappointseveralconsultingsurgeons，fromamongthehighestintheprofession。Thesewillcomeintheirownprivatecarriages。Haveyouengagedahearse?"

"Blessmystupidity，Ineverthoughtofit!"Iwillattendtoitrightaway。Imustseemveryignoranttoyou；

butyoumusttrytooverlookthat，becauseIhaveneverhadanyexperienceofsuchaswellduelasthisbefore。

IhavehadagooddealtodowithduelsonthePacificcoast，butIseenowthattheywerecrudeaffairs。Ahearse——sho!

weusedtoleavetheelectedlyingaroundloose，andletanybodycordthemupandcartthemoffthatwantedto。

Haveyouanythingfurthertosuggest?"

"Nothing，exceptthattheheadundertakersshallridetogether，asisusual。Thesubordinatesandmuteswillgoonfoot，asisalsousual。Iwillseeyouateighto"clockinthemorning，andwewillthenarrangetheorderoftheprocession。Ihavethehonortobidyouagoodday。"

Ireturnedtomyclient，whosaid，"Verywell；

atwhathouristheengagementtobegin?"

"Halfpastnine。"

"Verygoodindeed。；Haveyousentthefacttothenewspapers?"

"SIR!Ifafterourlongandintimatefriendshipyoucanforamomentdeemmecapableofsobaseatreachery——"

"Tut，tut!Whatwordsarethese，mydearfriend?HaveI

woundedyou?Ah，forgiveme；Iamoverloadingyouwithlabor。

Thereforegoonwiththeotherdetails，anddropthisonefromyourlist。Thebloody-mindedFourtouwillbesuretoattendtoit。OrImyself——yes，tomakecertain，Iwilldropanotetomyjournalisticfriend，M。Noir——"

"Oh，cometothinkofit，youmaysaveyourselfthetrouble；