It was outrageous that a man should be able to avoid the consequences of his acts in such a dark and tortuous manner. </p> <p> Of a happy-go-lucky disposition, of a temperament more pugnacious than military, Lieut. Feraud had been content to give and receive blows for sheer love of armed strife, and without much thought of advancement; but now an urgent desire to get on sprang up in his breast. This fighter by vocation resolved in his mind to seize showy occasions and to court the favourable opinion of his chiefs like a mere worldling. He knew he was as brave as any one, and never doubted his personal charm. Nevertheless, neither the bravery nor the charm seemed to work very swiftly. Lieut. Feraud&rsquo;s engaging, careless truculence of a beau sabreur underwent a change. He began to make bitter allusions to &ldquo;clever fellows who stick at nothing to get on.&rdquo; The army was full of them, he would say; you had only to look round. But all the time he had in view one person only, his adversary, D&rsquo;Hubert. Once he confided to an appreciative friend: &ldquo;You see, I don&rsquo;t know how to fawn on the right sort of people. It isn&rsquo;t in my character.&rdquo; </p> <p> He did not get his step till a week after Austerlitz. The Light Cavalry of the Grand Army had its hands very full of interesting work for a little while. Directly the pressure of professional occupation had been eased Captain Feraud took measures to arrange a meeting without loss of time. &ldquo;I know my bird,&rdquo; he observed, grimly. &ldquo;If I don&rsquo;t look sharp he will take care to get himself promoted over the heads of a dozen better men than himself. He&rsquo;s got the knack for that sort of thing.&rdquo; </p> <p> This duel was fought in Silesia. If not fought to a finish, it was, at any rate, fought to a standstill. The weapon was the cavalry sabre, and the skill, the science, the vigour, and the determination displayed by the adversaries compelled the admiration of the beholders. It became the subject of talk on both shores of the Danube, and as far as the garrisons of Gratz and Laybach. They crossed blades seven times. Both had many cuts which bled profusely. Both refused to have the combat stopped, time after time, with what appeared the most deadly animosity. This appearance was caused on the part of Captain D&rsquo;Hubert by a rational desire to be done once for all with this worry; on the part of Captain Feraud by a tremendous exaltation of his pugnacious instincts and the incitement of wounded vanity. At last, dishevelled, their shirts in rags, covered with gore and hardly able to stand, they were led away forcibly by their marvelling and horrified seconds. Later on, besieged by comrades avid of