DEATH FOR A KISS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2894, 25 August 1909, Page 79

DEATH FOR A KISS.

SEQUEL TO A BALL. A strong stimulus will be administered to the agitation against duelling in Germany by the details of a recent fatal encounter between two officer?. The scene of the afFa.ii* was the tltat surround th>3 romantic castle iniin of Regenstein, to th© noi'th of Blantkenburg, in the Harz. Opposed to one another were Lieutenant Granier, of the 6l£t Infantry Regiment, afcationed at Thorn, who was the chal- ; lenger, and Lieutenant Zwitzers, of the 165 th Infantry Regiment, which is son«ed at Blankeniburg. The conditions •were the severest imaginable — namely, alternative pistol shots, with 30 seconds' aim, at 10 paces, till one of the two should be unable to continue the combat. Preparations of "a most elaborate nature had been made for the meeting. A couple of sections of isoldiere surrounded the ground to beep the curious at r distance. Two doctors were in attendance, and a ' locomotive, with an ambulance van attaohed, was kept waiting at Blankenburg station with steam up. ready to take either of the combatants who might be wounded to the hospial at H-alberetadt. Lieutenant Gi'anier, as the injured party and challenger, opened the duel, j

He had half a minute in which to sboot down a man standing motionless only 10 paces Irom (him. Apparently ' he aimed witih extreme care at his adversary's head, but the bullet failed) to hit its mark, though only very narrowly. It was now Lieutenant Zwitzers's turn. He presented and pulled the trigger, but tihe pktol missed fire. According to the rules of the game, however, this counted as a shot, so tihe duellists took fresh weapons from the hands of their seconds and began again. This time Lieutenaint Granier aimed) better. Lieutenant Zwitzers was hit in tJhe right cbast, and aft once fell in a heap on the ground. The bullet had ' passed through a lung, and* lodged! in one of the vertebra. The wounded man was carried to the attendant train amd conveyed to Halberstadt, where he expired a day and a-thaif later in the arms of his heart-broken' wife, a young woman, who is shortly expecting to become a mother for the second, time. And 1 the crime, which has thus been expiated witih. a youthful life and 4be happiness of a. family? According to the version, based on information which comes from connections of the deceased, it was nothing more serious than an afbteimpibed kiss. Or the Emperor's birthday I/ieuifcenianit Zwitzers attended a ball given, by. bis regiment in celebratiin^ of the occasion. As he batppened -io have been promoted from suib-lieuib&nainit on the same dtay he had a double cause for indulging in a jollification. He ap-peivs to bare dbrank rather more than was veiEdstent with a severe regard for social punctilio, and when th* party broke up was in a coinditbon of somewhat boisb9roub hilarity. Among the guests was a young lady affianced to Lieutenant Granier, and the duly of seeing her> home fell to Lieutenant Zwitzers. On the way, under tbe inflwenoe <Jf liquor which he had swallowed, be so far forgot the obligations incumbent on an officer, a gentleman, aad an escort as to* attempt to (kiss his companion. She vigorously and successfully repelled his approaches. He then became -conscious of the gravity" of his fault, and apologised- to the lady, who agreed to forgive it. They arranged on her parents' doorstep that nothing was to be said to anyone about the incident, and there the matter was left. • At Whitsuntide, however, Vt weeks later, Lieu-tenamt Granier tame to bhukenburg op leave^ and his fiancee,' for some reason or -other, -thbuglft'tu E<-?t, to tell him what • IkwU happened-^ -" Ihe. 'result was a" challenge and -lite *duel?'describedi abover Previously the matter thad become before one of I-mse, curious bodi'2« knowin as Courts of Honour, and the condfiibmis of the encounter were sanctioned by this tribunal. - Lie-.rby.iant Zwritzers was asked by the- court if the yoiMiig, woman had done -anything t</ trad up to -has - linidiscretion, it * bain.se added that she denied having; given ■ him the least encouragement. To this he replied, "If %he lady says ithat, then it is so." The above account appears to be based chiefly upon Lieutenant Zwitzers's farewell letter to -his wife, written 'on tbe eve of the duel.