t in proportion, twice on his toes
within a few minutes; but as his tormentor made the most ample apologies
on both occasions, he felt fully disposed to endure the pain with as
much fortitude as possible, and to attribute the occurrence to accident;
when his little rustic beauty, who had more carefully watched and better
understood the manoeuvres of the neglected swain, whispered in his ear,
"A pointed insult, Sir." These words roused the blood of the son of Mars
in a moment; he watched the movements of his toe-treading foe, and, just
as he was coming down the middle a third time, to repeat the trick, he
jumped upon a chair, and from thence sprung on his enemy's back, and,
seizing his nose, he wrung it in so unmerciful a manner, as to compel
its proprietor to cry out most piteously for help. The parties were at
length separated by the master of the ceremonies, and a challenge was of
course the result; the gentleman whose nose had been thus scurvily
treated, in the presence of almost the whole town, being compelled
either to fight or to quit society.

Mortal combat having been appointed to take place the next morning, it
was arranged by the seconds that the principals were to be placed back
to back, and that from thence each party was to step six paces, and then
to fire together by signal.

Preliminaries being thus concerted, and the fatal morning having
arrived, the parties met punctually at the appointed spot, and were duly
ranged with their backs to each other. At this moment the contrast
between the courage of the two gentlemen was to the full as apparent as
the ludicrous disproportion in their size. When I was placing them on
the line drawn by me for their march, my little man, who possessed true
"pluck," and was as cool as a cucumber, observing the trepidation of his
opponent, whispered to me, just loud enough to be overheard, "Where
shall I hit him, Shipp? Shall I wing him?" On hearing this, the knees of
the six-foot Yorkshireman, which were already on the trot, broke into a
full gallop; and, when his second placed the pistol, duly primed and
loaded, into his hand, he seized it by the muzzle. This mistake, as I
always loved fair play, I rectified; and, at last, the word "March" was
given. Away went long-legs, getting over at least three yards of ground
at each stride; and, had we permitted him to proceed at this rate, the
one might as well have fired from the top of St. Paul's, and the other
from Table Mountain;