Gentlemen Riders 



him was unusually long. Frantic with rage, he rushed at the 

 Captain, who gave him one with his right, with which any 

 pugilistic expert would have been delighted, and had it been 

 delivered within a twenty-four foot ring, would have recorded 

 that it had been received with cheers. The parties were then 

 separated, and the meeting adjourned till the next day. Of 

 course the Frenchman breathed nothing but fire, and the blood 

 of the gentleman ' rider ' would alone wash out the stains his 

 honour had received. 



" The English to a man were of a different opinion. They 

 applauded Captain Hunt's spirit, and said it served his 

 antagonist quite right, and recommended him to do it again in 

 every similar instance, as it would soon put a stop to the 

 nuisance. The Frenchman, however, was not so easily got 

 rid of, and he challenged the gallant Captain, naming swords 

 as the weapon with which he wished the affair decided. This 

 prospect the Captain respectfully declined, and said with great 

 truth, he did not see why, after being insulted, he should stand 

 a chance of a foot and a half of cold steel being slipped through 

 him like a skewer, and for a performance of one of the favourite 

 arts of the common Britisher he had no desire. He placed 

 himself, however, in the hands of the stewards, and said, if they 

 thought he ought to go out with M. Thomas, he would do so, 

 with pistols. The Court then adjourned, and their retirement 

 was of some benefit to the restaurant, for no end of seltzers and 

 brandy were ordered to discuss the matter over. The stewards 

 took as long to consider the matter as Lord Westmoreland and 

 Mr. Payne did the Claxton case, and returned with the award 

 that Captain Hunt must go out, but he should be allowed the 

 use of pistols. In giving this decision they admitted it was 

 inconvenient he was married, but as he was a resident in Paris, 

 it would save him a good deal of annoyance for the future, 



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