THE LIFE OF A SPORTSMAN 



359 



what I should have suffered had I caused his death. I 

 would not have a man's blood lie at my door for any 

 consideration whatsoever. And as for a wish, on my part, 

 to inflict punishment on Fitzniaurice, nothing was further 

 from my mind. He is a good-hearted fellow a man of 

 licence, indeed, in his words and actions ; and I felt sorry 

 afterwards that I took umbrage at what he said." 



" But would not your honour have " 



" Honour ! " interrupted our hero ; " I think there is 

 too much stress laid upon this said thing called honour ; 

 it appears to be the darling attribute of the present age ; 

 but I think it has lost by its acquirements. It is a 

 picture of virtue, perhaps, finely drawn, but, in my 

 opinion, the lines are not just, and the colours are too 

 glaring. These bloody maxims of honour were unknown 

 to the ancients in the best 'of their times, and why should 

 not we, who boast of our refinement, be unable to live 

 correctly in society, unless under fear of being shot, or 

 compelled to shoot others 1 " 



" Pardon me," replied Hargrave ; " Antony challenged 

 Augustus ! " 



" He may have done so," said Raby, " but that does not 

 prove the custom ; and if it did, custom without reason 

 is but an ancient error. I know that there were duels 

 fought in old times, as between the Horatii and the 

 Curatii, and others of still more importance in the eyes 

 of the world ; but these duellists were public enemies, a 

 sort of fighting representatives chosen to decide the 

 controversies of their respective countries ; there was no 

 cutting of throats to decide private disputes. And as you 

 have mentioned the name of Augustus, what, may I ask, 

 was his answer to Antony on being challenged by him 

 after the battle of Actium 1 Why that, if he (Antony) 

 was tired of life, there were other ways of his ridding 

 himself of it, and he (Augustus) should not trouble 

 himself to be his executioner." 



" A capital answer," observed Hargrave. 



" Yes," rejoined our hero ; " and if some man of well- 

 established courage and conduct, in our day, were to 

 return a similar one to another who wished to cut his 

 throat for a mere lapsus linguw over a bottle of wine, or 

 .a hasty expression in the moment of argument, he would 

 deserve well of society. Then look closer into the system, 

 and observe the inconsistency of it. A man inflicts upon 



