’Iamthegentlemanyouname，’saidO’Connor；’andasyouappearimpatient，wehadbetterproceedtoyourcommissionwithoutdelay。’
’Then，Mr。O’Connor，youwillpleasetoreadthatnote，’saidthecaptain，placingasealedpaperinhishand。
O’Connorreaditthrough，andthenobserved：
’Thisisveryextraordinaryindeed。
Thisnoteappearstomeperfectlyunaccountable。’
’Youareveryyoung，Mr。O’Connor，’
saidthecaptain，withvulgarfamiliarity；
’but，withoutmuchexperienceinthesematters，Ithinkyoumighthaveanticipatedsomethinglikethis。Youknowtheoldsaying，“Secondthoughtsarebest；“andsotheyareliketoprove，byG——!’
’Youwillhavenoobjection，CaptainM’Creagh，onthepartofyourfriend，tomyreadingthisnotetothesegentlemen；
theyarebothconfidentialfriendsofmine，andoneofthemhasalreadyactedformeinthisbusiness。’
’Icanhavenoobjection，’repliedthecaptain，’toyourdoingwhatyoupleasewithyourown。IhavenothingmoretodowiththatnoteonceIputitsafeintoyourhand；andwhenthatisoncedone，itisallonetome，ifyoureadittohalftheworld——that’sYOURconcern，andnoaffairofmine。’
O’Connorthenreadthefollowing：
’Mr。Fitzgeraldbegsleavetostate，thatuponre-perusingMr。O’Connor’scommunicationofthismorningcarefully，withanexperiencedfriend，heisforcedtoconsiderhimselfaschallenged。Hisfriend，CaptainM’Creagh，hasbeenempoweredbyhimtomakeallthenecessaryarrangements。
’T——Inn，Thursday。’
IcanhardlydescribetheastonishmentwithwhichIheardthisnote。Iturnedtothecaptain，andsaid：
’Surely，sir，thereissomemistakeinallthis？’
’Nottheslightest，I’llassureyou，sir。’
saidhe，coolly；’thecaseisaveryclearone，andIthinkmyfriendhasprettywellmadeuphisminduponit。MayI
requestyouranswer？’hecontinued，turningtoO’Connor；’timeisprecious，youknow。’
O’Connorexpressedhiswillingnesstocomplywiththesuggestion，andinafewminuteshadfoldedanddirectedthefollowingrejoinder：
’Mr。O’ConnorhavingreceivedasatisfactoryexplanationfromMr。
Fitzgerald，ofthelanguageusedbythatgentleman，feelsthattherenolongerexistsanygroundsformisunderstanding，andwishesfurthertostate，thatthenoteofwhichMr。Fitzgeraldspeakswasnotintendedasachallenge。’
Withthisnotethecaptaindeparted；andaswedidnotdoubtthatthemessagewhichhehaddeliveredhadbeensuggestedbysomeunintentionalmisconstructionofO’Connor’sfirstbillet，wefeltassuredthattheconclusionofhislastnotewouldsetthematteratrest。Inthisbelief，however，weweremistaken；beforewehadleftthetable，andinanincrediblyshorttime，thecaptainreturned。Heenteredtheroomwithacountenanceevidentlytaskedtoavoidexpressingthesatisfactionwhichaconsciousnessofthenatureofhismissionhadconferred；butinspiteofallhiseffortstolookgravelyunconcerned，therewasatwinkleinthesmallgreyeye，andanalmostimperceptiblemotioninthecornerofthemouth，whichsufficientlybetrayedhisinternalglee，asheplacedanoteinthehandofO’Connor。Astheyoungmancasthiseyeoverit，hecoloureddeeply，andturningtoM’Donough，hesaid：
’Youwillhavethegoodnesstomakeallthenecessaryarrangementsforameeting。
SomethinghasoccurredtorenderonebetweenmeandMr。Fitzgeraldinevitable。Understandmeliterally，whenIsaythatitisnowtotallyimpossiblethatthisaffairshouldbeamicablyarranged。
Youwillhavethegoodness，M’Donough，toletmeknowassoonasalltheparticularsarearranged。Purcell，’hecontinued，’willyouhavethekindnesstoaccompanyme？’andhavingbowedtoM’Creagh，welefttheroom。
AsIclosedthedoorafterme，Iheardthecaptainlaugh，andthoughtIcoulddistinguishthewords——’By——IknewFitzgeraldwouldbringhimtohiswayofthinkingbeforehestopped。’
IfollowedO’Connorintohisstudy，andonentering，thedoorbeingclosed，heshowedmethecommunicationwhichhaddeterminedhimuponhostilities。Itslanguagewasgrosslyimpertinent，anditconcludedbyactuallythreateningto’POST’
him，incasehefurtherattempted’tobeOFF。’IcannotdescribetheagonyofindignationinwhichO’Connorwrithedunderthisinsult。Hesaidrepeatedlythat’hewasadegradedanddishohouredman，’
that’hewasdraggedintothefield，’that’therewasignominyintheverythoughtthatsuchalettershouldhavebeendirectedtohim。’ItwasinvainthatIreasonedagainstthisimpression；theconvictionthathehadbeendisgracedhadtakenpossessionofhismind。HesaidagainandagainthatnothingbuthisDEATHcouldremovethestainwhichhisindecisionhadcastuponthenameofhisfamily。I
hurriedtothehall，onhearingM’Donoughandthecaptainpassing，andreachedthedoorjustintimetohearthelattersay，ashemountedhishorse：
’Alltherestcanbearrangedonthespot；andsofarewell，Mr。M’Donough——
we’llmeetatPhilippi，youknow；’andwiththisclassicalallusion，whichwasaccompaniedwithagrinandabow，andprobablyservedmanysuchoccasions，thecaptaintookhisdeparture。
M’Donoughbrieflystatedthefewparticularswhichhadbeenarranged。Thepartiesweretomeetatthestand-house，intherace-ground，whichlayataboutanequaldistancebetweenCastleConnorandthetownofT。Thehourappointedwashalf-pastfiveonthenextmorning，atwhichtimethetwilightwouldbesufficientlyadvancedtoaffordadistinctview；
andtheweaponstobeemployedwerePISTOLS——M’Creaghhavingclaimed，onthepartofhisfriend，alltheadvantagesoftheCHALLENGEDparty，andhaving，consequently，insisteduponthechoiceof’TOOLS，’asheexpressedhimself；anditwasfurtherstipulatedthattheutmostsecrecyshouldbeobserved，asFitzgeraldwouldincurgreatriskfromtheviolenceofthepeasantry，incasetheaffairtookwind。
Theseconditionswere，ofcourse，agreeduponbyO’Connor，andM’Donoughleftthecastle，havingappointedfouro’clockuponthenextmorningasthehourofhisreturn，bywhichtimeitwouldbehisbusinesstoprovideeverythingnecessaryforthemeeting。Onhisdeparture，O’Connorrequestedmetoremainwithhimuponthatevening，sayingthat’hecouldnotbeartobealonewithhismother。’Itwastomeamostpainfulrequest，butatthesametimeonewhichI
couldnotthinkofrefusing。Ifelt，however，thatthedifficultyatleastofthetaskwhichIhadtoperformwouldbeinsomemeasuremitigatedbythearrivaloftworelationsofO’Connoruponthatevening。
’Itisveryfortunate，’saidO’Connor，whosethoughtshadbeenrunninguponthesamesubject，’thattheO’Gradyswillbewithusto-night；theirgaietyandgood-humourwillrelieveusfromaheavytask。Itrustthatnothingmayoccurtopreventtheircoming。’Ferventlyconcurringinthesamewish，IaccompaniedO’Connorintotheparlour，theretoawaitthearrivalofhismother。
GodgrantthatImayneverspendsuchanotherevening!TheO’GradysDIDcome，buttheirhighandnoisyspirits，sofarfromrelievingme，didbutgiveadditionalgloomtothedespondency，Imightsaythedespair，whichfilledmyheartwithmisery——
theterribleforebodingswhichIcouldnotforaninstantsilence，turnedtheirlaughterintodiscord，andseemedtomockthesmilesandjestsoftheunconsciousparty。WhenIturnedmyeyesuponthemother，I
thoughtIneverhadseenherlooksoproudlyandsolovinglyuponhersonbefore——itcutmetotheheart——oh，howcruellyIwasdeceivingher!Iwasahundredtimesontheverypointofstart-
ingup，and，atallhazards，declaringtoherhowmatterswere；butotherfeelingssubduedmybetteremotions。Oh，whatmonstersarewemadeofbythefashionsoftheworld!howareourkindlierandnoblerfeelingswarpedordestroyedbytheirbalefulinfluences!IfeltthatitwouldnotbeHONOURABLE，thatitwouldnotbeETIQUETTE，tobetrayO’Connor’ssecret。IsacrificedahigherandanoblerdutythanIhavesincebeencalledupontoperform，tothedastardlyfearofbearingtheunmeritedcensureofaworldfromwhichIwasabouttoretire。OFashion!thougaudyidol，whosefeetareredwiththebloodofhumansacrifice，wouldIhadalwaysfelttowardstheeasInowdo!
O’Connorwasnotdejected；onthecontrary，hejoinedwithloudandlivelyalacrityinthehilarityofthelittleparty；
butIcouldseeintheflushofhischeek，andintheunusualbrightnessofhiseye，alltheexcitementoffever——hewasmakinganeffortalmostbeyondhisstrength，buthesucceeded——andwhenhismotherrosetoleavetheroom，itwaswiththeimpressionthathersonwasthegayestandmostlight-heartedofthecompany。Twiceorthriceshehadrisenwiththeintentionofretiring，butO’Connor，withaneagernesswhichIalonecouldunderstand，hadpersuadedhertoremainuntiltheusualhourofherdeparturehadlongpassed；andwhenatlengthshearose，declaringthatshecouldnotpossiblystaylonger，Ialonecouldcomprehendthedesolatechangewhichpassedoverhismanner；andwhenIsawthempart，itwaswiththesickeningconvictionthatthosetwobeings，sodeartooneanother，soloved，socherished，shouldmeetnomore。
O’Connorbrieflyinformedhiscousinsofthepositioninwhichhewasplaced，requestingthematthesametimetoaccompanyhimtothefield，andthishavingbeensettled，weseparated，eachtohisownapartment。IhadwishedtositupwithO’Connor，whohadmatterstoarrangesufficienttoemployhimuntilthehourappointedforM’Donough’svisit；buthewouldnothearofit，andIwasforced，thoughsorelyagainstmywill，toleavehimwithoutacompanion。Iwenttomyroom，and，inastateofexcitementwhichIcannotdescribe，Ipacedforhoursupanddownitsnarrowprecincts。Icouldnot——
whocould？——analysethestrange，contradictory，torturingfeelingswhich，whileI
recoiledinshrinkinghorrorfromthescenewhichthemorningwastobring，yetforcedmetowishtheinterveningtimeannihilated；
eachhourthattheclocktoldseemedtovibrateandtinklethrougheverynerve；
myagitationwasdreadful；fancyconjureduptheformsofthosewhofilledmythoughtswithmorethanthevividnessofreality；thingsseemedtoglidethroughtheduskyshadowsoftheroom。IsawthedreadedformofFitzgerald——Iheardthehatedlaughofthecaptain——andagainthefeaturesofO’Connorwouldappearbeforeme，withghastlydistinctness，paleandwrithedindeath，thegoutsofgoreclottedinthemouth，andtheeye-ballsglaredandstaring。Scaredwiththevisionswhichseemedtothrongwithunceasingrapidityandvividness，Ithrewopenthewindowandlookedoutuponthequietscenearound。Iturnedmyeyesinthedirectionofthetown；aheavycloudwasloweringdarklyaboutit，andI，inimpiousfrenzy，prayedtoGodthatitmightburstinavengingfiresuponthemurderouswretchwholaybeneath。Atlength，sickandgiddywithexcessofexcitement，Ithrewmyselfuponthebedwithoutremovingmyclothes，andendeavouredtocomposemyselfsofarastoremainquietuntilthehourforourassemblingshouldarrive。
Afewminutesbeforefouro’clockIstolenoiselesslydownstairs，andmademywaytothesmallstudyalreadymentioned。A
candlewasburningwithin；and，whenI
openedthedoor，O’Connorwasreadingabook，which，onseeingme，hehastilyclosed，colouringslightlyashedidso。
Weexchangedacordialbutmournfulgreeting；andafteraslightpausehesaid，layinghishanduponthevolumewhichhehadshutamomentbefore：
’Purcell，Ifeelperfectlycalm，thoughI
cannotsaythatIhavemuchhopeastotheissueofthismorning’srencounter。I
shallavoidhalfthedanger。IfImustfall，IamdeterminedIshallnotgodowntothegravewithhisblooduponmyhands。IhaveresolvednottofireatFitzgerald——thatis，tofireinsuchadirectionastoassuremyselfagainsthittinghim。
DonotsayawordofthistotheO’Gradys。
Yourdoingsowouldonlyproducefruitlessaltercation；theycouldnotunderstandmymotives。IfeelconvincedthatIshallnotleavethefieldalive。IfImustdieto-
day，Ishallavoidanawfulaggravationofwretchedness。Purcell，’hecontinued，afteralittlespace，’IwassoweakastofeelalmostashamedofthemannerinwhichI
wasoccupiedasyouenteredtheroom。
Yes，_I——I_whowillbe，beforethisevening，acoldandlifelessclod，wasashamedtohavespentmylastmomentofreflectioninprayer。Godpardonme!Godpardonme!’herepeated。
Itookhishandandpressedit，butI