Part 25 (2/2)
”You're right, Frank; I can scarcely sit quietly by and hear that man talk. I suppose he sees that I dislike him, for there is something in his manner to me which is almost offensive; really at times I fancy he wishes to pick a quarrel with me.”
”Not unlikely,” said I; ”he has the reputation of being a dead shot with the pistol, and on the strength of it he presumes to bully every one.”
”He had better not go too far with me,” returned -162--Oaklands, with flas.h.i.+ng eyes; ”men are not to be frightened like children; such a character as that is a public nuisance.”
”He will not be there to-night, I am glad to say,” replied I, ”for I met him yesterday when I was walking with Lawless, and he said he was engaged to Wentworth this evening; but, my dear Harry, for Heaven's sake avoid any quarrel with this man; should you not do so, you will only be hazarding your life unnecessarily, and it can lead to no good result.”
”My dear fellow, do I ever quarrel with anybody? there is nothing worth the trouble of quarrelling about in this world; besides, it would be an immense fatigue to be shot,” observed Harry, smiling.
”I have no great faith in your pacific sensations, for they are nothing more,” rejoined I; ”your indolence always fails you where it might be of use in subduing (forgive me for using the term) your fiery temper; besides, in allowing a man of this kind to quarrel with you, you give him just the opportunity he wants; in fact you are completely playing his game.”
”Well, I can't see that exactly; suppose the worst comes to the worst, and you are obliged to fight him, he stands nearly as good a chance of being killed as you do.”
”Excuse me, he does nothing of the kind; going out with a professed duellist is like playing cards with a skilful gambler; the chances are very greatly in his favour: in the first place, nine men out of ten would lose their nerve entirely when stationed opposite the pistol of a dead shot; then again, there are a thousand apparent trifles of which the initiated are aware, and which make the greatest difference, such as securing a proper position with regard to the sun, taking care that your figure is not in a direct line with any upright object, a tree or post for instance, and lots of other things of a like nature which we know nothing about, all of which he is certain to contrive to have arranged favourably for himself, and disadvantageously for his opponent. Then, having as it were trained himself for the occasion, he is perfectly cool and collected, and ready to avail himself of every circ.u.mstance he might turn to his advantage--a moment's hesitation in pulling the trigger when the signal is given, and he fires first--many a man has received his death-wound before now ere he had discharged his own pistol.”
”My dear boy,” said Harry, ”you really are exciting and alarming yourself very unnecessarily; I am not going to quarrel with Wilford or anybody else; I detest -163--active exertion of every kind, and consider duelling as a fas.h.i.+onable compound of iniquity, containing equal parts of murder and suicide--and we'll go to Lawless's this evening, that I'm determined upon--and--let me see--I've got James's new novel in my pocket. I shall not disturb you if I stay here, shall I? I'm not going to talk.”
Then, without waiting for an answer, he stretched himself' at full length on (and beyond) the sofa, and was soon buried in the pages of that best of followers in the footsteps of the mighty Wizard of the North--Walter Scott--leaving me to the somewhat less agreeable task of reading mathematics.
CHAPTER XXI -- THE WINE-PARTY
”This night I hold an old-accustomed feast, Whereto I have invited many a guest, Such as I love.”
”A fair a.s.sembly, whither should they come?
Servant.--Up-----!
Romeo.--Whither?
Servant.--To supper.”
--_Shakspeare_.
”All is not false that seems at first a lie.”
--_Southey_.
”Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?
I do bite my thumb, sir!
Do you quarrel, sir?
Quarrel, sir! No, sir!
If you do, sir, I am for you.”
--_Shakspeare_.
LET the reader imagine a long table covered with the remains of an excellent dessert, interspersed with a mult.i.tude of bottles of all shapes and sizes, containing every variety of wine that money could procure, or palate desire; whilst in the centre stood a glorious old china bowl of punch, which the guests were discussing in tumblers--wine-gla.s.ses having been unanimously voted much too slow.
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