"Exactly so: I have no right to expose myself to death. Six years ago I
received a slap in the face, and my enemy still lives."

My curiosity was greatly excited.

"Did you not fight with him?" I asked. "Circumstances probably separated
you."

"I did fight with him," replied Silvio; "and here is a souvenir of our
duel."

Silvio rose and took from a cardboard box a red cap with a gold tassel
and embroidery (what the French call a bonnet de police); he put it on--
a bullet had passed through it about an inch above the forehead.

"You know," continued Silvio, "that I served in one of the Hussar
regiments. My character is well known to you: I am accustomed to taking
the lead. From my youth this has been my passion. In our time
dissoluteness was the fashion, and I was the most outrageous man in the
army. We used to boast of our drunkenness; I beat in a drinking bout the
famous Bourtsoff [Footnote: A cavalry officer, notorious for his drunken
escapades], of whom Denis Davidoff [Footnote: A military poet who
flourished in the reign of Alexander I] has sung. Duels in our regiment
were constantly taking place, and in all of them I was either second or
principal. My comrades adored me, while the regimental commanders, who
were constantly being changed, looked upon me as a necessary evil.

"I was calmly enjoying my reputation, when a young man belonging to a
wealthy and distinguished family--I will not mention his name--joined
our regiment. Never in my life have I met with such a fortunate fellow!