It was a custom of the corps to quiz Puddock about his cookery; but Puddock, I suppose, did not hear his last night’s ‘receipt’ quoted, and he kept his eye upon his man, who had now got nearly within fencing distance of his adversary.  But at this critical moment, O’Flaherty, much to Puddock’s disgust, suddenly stopped, and got into the old stooping posture, making an appalling grimace in what looked like an endeavour to swallow, not only his under lip, but his chin also.  Uttering a quivering, groan, he continued to stoop nearer to the earth, on which he finally actually sat down and hugged his knees close to his chest, holding his breath all the time till he was perfectly purple, and rocking himself this way and that.

The whole procedure was a mystery to everybody except the guilty Puddock, who changed colour, and in manifest perturbation, skipped to his side.

’Bleth me—­bleth me—­my dear O’Flaherty, he’th very ill—­where ith the pain?’

‘Is it “farced pain,” Puddock, or “gammon pain?"’ asked Devereux, with much concern.

Puddock’s plump panic-stricken little face, and staring eye-balls, were approached close to the writhing features of his redoubted principal—­as I think I have seen honest Sancho Panza’s, in one of Tony Johannot’s sketches, to that of the prostrate Knight of the Rueful Countenance.

’I wish to Heaven I had thwallowed it myself—­it’th dreadful—­what ith to be—­are you eathier—­I think you’re eathier.’

I don’t think O’Flaherty heard him.  He only hugged his knees tighter, and slowly turned up his face, wrung into ten thousand horrid puckers, to the sky, till his chin stood as high as his forehead, with his teeth and eyes shut, and he uttered a sound like a half-stifled screech; and, indeed, looked very black and horrible.

Some of the spectators, rear-rank men, having but an imperfect view of the transaction, thought that O’Flaherty had been hideously run through the body by his solemn opponent, and swelled the general chorus of counsel and ejaculation, by all together advising cobwebs, brown-paper plugs, clergymen, brandy, and the like; but as none of these comforts were at hand, and nobody stirred, O’Flaherty was left to the resources of Nature.

Puddock threw his cocked hat upon the ground and stamped in a momentary frenzy.

‘He’th dying—­Devereux—­Cluffe—­he’th—­I tell you, he’th dying;’ and he was on the point of declaring himself O’Flaherty’s murderer, and surrendering himself as such into the hands of anybody who would accept the custody of his person, when the recollection of his official position as poor O’Flaherty’s second flashed upon him, and collecting with a grand effort, his wits and his graces—­

‘It’th totally impothible, gentlemen,’ he said, with his most ceremonious bow; ’conthidering the awful condition of my printhipal—­I—­I have reathon to fear—­in fact I know—­Dr. Thturk has theen him—­that he’th under the action of poithon—­and it’th quite impractithable, gentlemen, that thith affair of honour can protheed at prethent;’ and Puddock drew himself up peremptorily, and replaced his hat, which somebody had slipped into his hand, upon his round powdered head.