'It is exactly because Fitzgerald IS such an accomplished shot,'said he,'that Ibecome liable to the most injurious and intolerable suspicions if I submit to anything from him which could be construed into an affront;and for that reason Fitzgerald is the very last man to whom Iwould concede an inch in a case of honour.'
'I do not require you to make any,the slightest sacrifice of what you term your honour,'I replied;'but if you have actually written a challenge to Fitzgerald,as I suspect you have done,I conjure you to reconsider the matter before you despatch it.From all that I have heard you say,Fitzgerald has more to complain of in the altercation which has taken place than you.You owe it to your only surviving parent not to thrust yourself thus wantonly upon--I will say it,the most appalling danger.Nobody,my dear O'Connor,can have a doubt of your courage;and if at any time,which God forbid,you shall be called upon thus to risk your life,you should have it in your power to enter the field under the consciousness that you have acted throughout temperately and like a man,and not,as Ifear you now would do,having rashly and most causelessly endangered your own life and that of your friend.'
'I believe,Purcell,your are right,'said he.'I believe I HAVE viewed the matter in too decided a light;my note,I think,scarcely allows him an honourable alternative,and that is certainly going a step too far--further than I intended.Mr.
M'Donough,I'll thank you to hand me the note.'
He broke the seal,and,casting his eye hastily over it,he continued:
'It is,indeed,a monument of folly.I
am very glad,Purcell,you happened to come in,otherwise it would have reached its destination by this time.'
He threw it into the fire;and,after a moment's pause,resumed:
'You must not mistake me,however.
I am perfectly satisfied as to the propriety,nay,the necessity,of communicating with Fitzgerald.The difficulty is in what tone I should address him.I cannot say that the man directly affronted me--I cannot recollect any one expression which I could lay hold upon as offensive--but his language was ambiguous,and admitted frequently of the most insulting construction,and his manner throughout was insupportably domineering.I know it impressed me with the idea that he presumed upon his reputation as a DEAD SHOT,and that would be utterly unendurable'
'I would now recommend,as I have already done,'said M'Donough,'that if you write to Fitzgerald,it should be in such a strain as to leave him at perfect liberty,without a compromise of honour,in a friendly way,to satisfy your doubts as to his conduct.'
I seconded the proposal warmly,and O'Connor,in a few minutes,finished a note,which he desired us to read.It was to this effect:
'O'Connor,of Castle Connor,feeling that some expressions employed by Mr.
Fitzgerald upon last night,admitted of a construction offensive to him,and injurious to his character,requests to know whether Mr.Fitzgerald intended to convey such a meaning.
'Castle Connor,Thursday morning.'
This note was consigned to the care of Mr.M'Donough,who forthwith departed to execute his mission.The sound of his horse's hoofs,as he rode rapidly away,struck heavily at my heart;but I found some satisfaction in the reflection that M'Donough appeared as averse from extreme measures as I was myself,for Iwell knew,with respect to the final result of the affair,that as much depended upon the tone adopted by the SECOND,as upon the nature of the written communication.
I have seldom passed a more anxious hour than that which intervened between the departure and the return of that gentleman.Every instant I imagined I heard the tramp of a horse approaching,and every time that a door opened I fancied it was to give entrance to the eagerly expected courier.At length I did hear the hollow and rapid tread of a horse's hoof upon the avenue.It approached--it stopped--a hurried step traversed the hall--the room door opened,and M'Donough entered.
'You have made great haste,'said O'Connor;'did you find him at home?'
'I did,'replied M'Donough,'and made the greater haste as Fitzgerald did not let me know the contents of his reply.'
At the same time he handed a note to O'Connor,who instantly broke the seal.
The words were as follow:
'Mr.Fitzgerald regrets that anything which has fallen from him should have appeared to Mr.O'Connor to be intended to convey a reflection upon his honour (none such having been meant),and begs leave to disavow any wish to quarrel unnecessarily with Mr.O'Connor.
'T--Inn,Thursday morning.'
I cannot describe how much I felt relieved on reading the above communication.
I took O'Connor's hand and pressed it warmly,but my emotions were deeper and stronger than I cared to show,for Iwas convinced that he had escaped a most imminent danger.Nobody whose notions upon the subject are derived from the duelling of modern times,in which matters are conducted without any very sanguinary determination upon either side,and with equal want of skill and coolness by both parties,can form a just estimate of the danger incurred by one who ventured to encounter a duellist of the old school.