"Mr. Moore begs to acknowledge the receipt of Mr. Whistler's letter of the 12th inst. In Mr. Moore's opinion Mr. Whistler's conduct grows daily more absurd."
"I hoped," explained Mr. Moore, "that Mr. Whistler's friends would intervene and persuade him of the strangeness of his action and the interpretation it would receive in England. But four days later I was flattered by the following communication:
"PARIS, le 15 Mars, 1895.
"MONSIEUR:
"A la réception de votre lettre (lettre d'ailleurs rendue publique dans la Pall Mall Gazette), M. Whistler nous a prié de vous demander soit une rétractation, soit une réparation par les armes.
"Nous vous prions donc de vouloir bien nous mettre en rapport avec deux de vos amis.
FRANCIS VIELÉ-GRIFFIN,
122 Rue de la Pompe. OCTAVE MIRBEAU, Carrière-sous-Passy, Seine-et-Oise."
Mr. Moore's interlocutor asked him if there was any fear of losing his interesting personality on account of Mr. Whistler's challenge.
To this Mr. Moore said: