HOW far Jim Spedwick would have carried the castigation of his rival it is difficult to say; he felt that he had a heavy score to wipe off, and he was aroused to a pitch of temper which made self-restraint very difficult. But when the astonishment, which the sudden attack caused the country people, had passed off, Jim was seized and forcibly held back. His self- possession almost immediately returned, and throwing down the whip, which had been broken by the force of the blows, he said—
“That man has sought to ruin me in this my native town, and when I demanded the satisfaction I was entitled to, he added insult to insult. I have, therefore, publicly whipped him, and I as publicly accuse him of having wilfully lied in order to bring discredit upon me.”
Mr. Pym did not show to any advantag
