He wandered about the streets and the more he thought of his dismissal, the deeper became his wrath and he concluded that he had been insulted.

A few more measures of wine, partaken of at the cafe, determined him to wipe the insult out in blood.
Having made up his mind to write Boyton a challenge, he entered a hotel with an air of great importance, and called to a waiter in a voice that could be heard all over the place: "Waiter; a pen, ink and paper.

I wish to write to Captain Paul Boyton." The materials were given him and the following is a verbatim copy of the challenge sent by the accomplished English scholar to Paul: [Image of obviously illegible gibberish] Next morning Boyton returned to Florence and that evening while entertaining some friends in his room, one of the guests looked out at the window and remarked how much higher the river was than it had been when he started for Pisa.

Some of the guests advanced the opinion that it would be impossible for him to go into the river while it was in such a flood.

Paul, overhearing them, said: "Ladies and gentlemen, if you will step out on the porch and wait a few moments, I will enter the river and paddle through the city in order to show you that I am equally as safe in such water as I would be were it as smooth as glass." While he was preparing for this short trip, the news spread over the city like wildfire and by the time he was ready, people lined either shore.