"The little colonel, who had the leanness and redness of a boiled shrimp, now took up the talk, and this other idiot said: 'My friend the baron will, no doubt, postpone the pleasure of meeting monsieur; and now, as monsieur is no longer indisposed to satisfy our principal, and, as we understand it, declines to explain or apologize,--in fact, admits, by his inclination to meet our friend, what he seemed to deny,--may we have the honor to know when monsieur's seconds will wait on us? Here is my card.' "The little man was posing beautifully. I laid his card on the table and said, 'Be so good, gentlemen, as to understand that I have not retracted my statement, but that if the count insists, as you do, that I lie,--that, at least, is decent cause for a quarrel,--he can have it.' "The little man replied that the count could not do otherwise. "'Very good,' said I.--No, don't interrupt this charming story, Mr. Greville; let me go on. There is more of it and better. "My colonel then said, 'We shall expect to hear from you--and, by the way, I understand from monsieur's card that he is an American.' "I said, 'Yes; captain Second Infantry.' "'Ah, a soldier--really! In the army of the Confederation, I presume. We shall be enchanted to meet monsieur's friends.' "'What!' I said; 'does monsieur the colonel wish to insult me? I am of the North.' "'A thousand pardons!' "'No matter. You will hear from me shortly, or as soon as I am able to find gentlemen who will be my seconds.' This seemed to suit them until I remarked that, to save time, being the challenged party, I might as well say that my friends would insist on the rifle at thirty paces. "'But monsieur, that is unusual, barbarous!' said the little man. "'Indeed!' said I. 'Then suppose we say revolvers at twelve paces or less. I have no prejudices.' It seems that the baron had, for he said my new proposition was also unheard of, uncivilized. "Upon this I stood up and said: 'Gentlemen, you have insisted on manufacturing for me a quarrel with a man I never saw, and have suggested--indeed, said--that I, a soldier, am afraid and have lied to you. I accepted the situation thus forced on me, and in place of the wretched little knitting-needles with which you fight child duels in France, I propose to take it seriously.' "I saw the little man--the colonel--was beginning to fidget. As I stopped he said, 'Pardon me; I have not the honor fully to comprehend.' "'Indeed?' said I. 'So far I have hesitated to ascribe to gentlemen, to a soldier, any motive for your difficulty in accepting weapons which involve peril, and I thought that I had at last done so. I do not see how I can make myself more clear.' "'Sir,' said my little man, 'do I understand--' "I was at the end of the sweetest temper west of the Mississippi. I broke into English and said: 'You may understand what you damn please.'