those days, for the honour of Tipperary, an apology for 

 the offence by the aggressor was declined. A meeting, 

 then, was necessarily the consequence ; and our hero, 

 having placed his honour in the hands of an officer of the 

 Guards with whom he became intimate at Melton, was 

 himself, the next morning, placed in array to his 

 antagonist at the distance of twelve paces. On the word 

 " Fire " being given, the Irishman fired in the air ; and 

 as was evident to both seconds the pistol of his opponent 

 having been so pointed as to render it impossible the ball 

 could take effect, it was, of course, a bloodless affair. 



" Now, Mr. Eaby," said the Irishman, " I am ready 

 to take your hand, and declare, upon the honour of a 

 gentleman, that I regret having given you offence." 

 Anger, like the bee, says Seneca, should sting but once. 

 Our hero took his hand and pressed it, adding, emphati- 

 cally, these words : 



" My good fellow, let us think no more of what has 

 happened ; you have done and said all that I could 

 desire." 



The conduct of Frank Eaby was highly approved of 

 on this occasion, having shown himself to be a man of 

 courage, tempered with humanity, which, after all, is the 

 only true courage, 1 as possessing that nice sensibility of 

 honour which weighs the insult, rather than the injury ; 

 willing to accept of the slightest atonement for either, 

 and totally incapable of revenge. The situation, however, 

 in which he had placed himself (for his antagonist was a 

 first-rate shot), without the effort to defend himself, and 

 of course ignorant of the intentions of his opponent, 

 became a subject of admiration amongst his associates ; 

 and on the arrival of Hargrave, a few days afterwards on 

 a visit to him, the following conversation took place, on 

 their road to meet the hounds : 



"I have heard a good deal said," observed Hargrave, 

 " on the subject of your affair with the Irishman : the 

 Melton men at least many of them think you let him 

 off too cheaply ; that is to say, you, who were the 

 aggrieved, ran the risk of being punished, without the 

 chance of punishing the aggressor." 



" No punishment which he could have inflicted upon 

 me," replied Frank Eaby, " would have been equal to 



1 The Greeks used the word Apir* to express both what we call 

 valour and virtue. 



