126 LAWS OF HONOUR 



speak, and his second, taking up the pistol, insisted upon 

 revenging the death of his j)riiicipal, or sharing his fate ; 

 but to this my friend replied, he had no quarrel with 

 him, and having fully satisfied the laws of honour, he 

 should decline his invitation ; then he and his friend, 

 supposing the wound to be mortal, thought it best to 

 absent themselves, and, stepping into their chaise, the 

 postillion, who had orders to proceed across the country 

 to a post-town, on another road to London, mounted and 

 rode off. 



The wounded officer was removed from the field, and 

 was for more than a month in a precarious state ; the 

 ball, having lodged in the spine, could not be extracted. 

 However, he got well, shortly afterwards accompanied 

 his battalion to the Peninsula, and served during the 

 remainder of the war Avitli the ball in his back. 



My friend, after a month's absence, returned to his 

 reiriment, and the whole affair was soon for";otten. 



I shall conclude this long chapter Avitli recording a 

 description of the great comet that appeared about this 

 time — that is, in the year 1811 — which the comet of 1858 

 brought fresh to my mind. 



Living then at Portsmouth, I used frequently — indeed 

 most nights during the months of its appearance, that is, 

 September and October — to walk on the Platform, now 

 called the Saluting Battery, in company with the friend 

 I have before spoken of, to view this strange and brilliant 

 object. I have a perfect recollection of its ap|)earance 

 and position in the heavens, though I cannot state in 

 what constellation it was first seen. It was about 30 

 degrees above the horizon at nine o'clock, and from where 



