The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1869-08-14 00:00:00

TTTE STOURBRIT)GE .OB§tII,VER

ut ever enlightening the world as to the real ground of
dispute
The parties were, according to some accounts, unknown
to each other even by name. The offence, if such
it must be zalleti, wa, given us for back as the middle
of June, at the time if the general elections The
dispute was carried is for several weeks, 1 urine which
the two adversarie. had leisure to become aware of
the violent political hatred Vost ought to exhit between
them it Ile Ca...gnat, chergtd SI, Fbmrens with
being "a mad Rumbhnoi," while he avowed himself "a
mad Bonapartist " Of mauve such conflicting insanity could
it contome to animist. M. de Casi•aanac sent his Chat'
longs to M. F caress at • time in which the
tatter was a m tamer at St Peb.gie On his release
from durance NI. Flourens returned the civility to Id de
Cansagnac, who asked for the respite of • few olio., or hours.
on the plea if illness M. Pisces indulged some hitter
sneers shoat his adversary's iudisposition an epidemic pre-
valent in Faris at this time of the year, and which haa its
origm in meets of heat, hut which, in some instances, is
traced to internal commotions not of a heroic nature. "As
M. de Cassagnac was a .ufferer from such • complaint," said
his challenger. "he would proceed no further, 1111111 was will'
hug to let the matter drop—en rester let " Whereupon the
journali.t fired up, and wrote a savage letter, In which he
aald that "ill as he was, and shivering with fever," he would
show M. Flourens he was as wanting in courage as
in good breeding, and that F-ourens was much
mistaken If lie fancied that, after accepting his chellenge,
C.11•1141,11C would allow Flouretts to slip through his fingers
on so flimsy a pretext. After this im,utation on the
bravery, NI lie Cassa4nac proceeds to compliment him on
" the honoured moue lie bears in the literary world, on
his reputation for a daring b Tdering ou foolh.diness, on
his exploits against the Turks in Crete, on his shill as a
drat-rate swordsman, tte." and, then, again. going hack
• the original charge, he Son, 'Vu have refused
lie, Sir, a few hours to taller my bodily suffer-
ings ; hilt I grant you as much time as you may
require Vi recover sour heart, which seems to he fainting
within you." And he concludes, "It is riot ink that I want
from y on, hut blood." And M. de Cassagtisea thirst for
Wood was, it is to be hoped, tally slatted. The tee anta-
gonists were hrtie;ht face to face on the green sward, and it.
Stares. left, the rteld bleeding from three wounds, one of
which is described as "very unions."
We rub our eyes as we read tile particulars of this transac-
tion, and especially the letter of 11 de Caseagnac, arid ask
ourselves whether the feelings and manners of which they are
the bides can, indeed. still prevail among a people at little
more than ten hours' distance from us. " You are a mail
Republican, I am a mad Bonapartist—an excellent reason
why our swords should be crossed in mortal combat."
Were all men of extreme parties to come to the same
determination, a chance might arise for temperate
men and rational opinions At all events, the sword
would easily open a short out, enabling a disputant, if not
to confute, at least to silence, his opponent. and blood would,
bey ond all queation, be a more efficient means of drowning
political passions than printer's ink. lin the one side stands
an Imperialist, on the other a aomocrat ; the latter is
carried off Is ith three bleediiiit wools; ergo, the C.ittle Of
the former is themes Im whose side Heaven itself hit/oleo and.
Such has been in all ages the ralionole of (teethe, ; such
it is still in France in this leiter part of the nineteenth cen
tory What Is above all things strange, however, Is the ex-
treme touchiness of all these pretax chevaliers on the subject
of their reputation for courage, and their extreme readiness
to question the courage of others. Cassagnac challenges
Flourens while the latter is Apo/loner. noireius renews the
challenge while Cessagnac is shivering with fever. They are
both patterns of vabiur : yet each of them seems by turns to
speculate on the other's cowardice. And, after all, what In
bravery, or what cowardice? They are both prowl of their
renown as keen swordsmen and crack shots. Each if them re-
lies on a proficiency in the use of his weapon which renders
him almost invulnerable. No doubt, °hoof them may find more
thee his match ; one of them inay fall • euctrri, to his over-
weening conceit. But each of them goes fur h strong in the
consciousness of his superiority. M. de cassava, reckons
upon his adversary's blood wits the confidence of a hunter
Felling the lion's skin before killing his lion, and NI.
Flourens is so sure of his advantage that he taunts his
opponent with a craven design to balk hint of it With such
a certainty of victory who will say that there was a pin to
choose, as to gallantry, between the two champions ?
"A man should have the courage of his opinioos ; he should
be ready to hack them with his life when M. reasons are of
110 avail.' BY all means but between Messrs. Flourens and
Cessagnsc there was only a question of courage, or rather of
skill • ith their weapons. anti the rolution of the queslon
was sought with mutual rt -olio. on each other'.
bravery. Whatever be the Some of the comhat, we
tio art bwieve thst •'in ill 11 inapartism " will have
gabled much ground, to that "mad Republicanism"
will feel greatly disposed to give up the contest The really
vanquiF tied in this ignoble stri•e are Reason ,111,1
Cisilisat non
and France—which rugs so widely in advance of other
mition. In most things, yet tolerates and almost countenances
a practice which many of her neighbours cannier as no
I.liger in keeping with tlm ideas of the present age
Even in Fetnice, a country which lots during these
last 80 years g.me through so appalling a succession
of violent changes, it may be proved Vat a rage
for duelling might always be talc, n as a symptom of the
proatration of the paid ic 111111li, of a decline ii the ascendency
of free opinion If better days are now In store for France,
lithe Eloper, v Ntpoleon is really bent on opening a fair
fl.dd for politic,' contests, we shall look forward to the
gradual and perhaps fl.oil discontinuance of thtoe appeals to
the sword, which only escape being ridiculous when they are
absolutely atrocious.

• P

clear that he had no defence whatever to make to it.
He went on to argue that so long as a section of the
British public supported a publication which furnished
therm with topics of scandal, and information relating
to the private aft Ors of persons in a high position, a
journal like the Queen's Messeng, r was certain to suc-
ceed. The defendant, therefore, bad lost a good en-
gagement, and was entitled to substantial damages.
The learned judge, io summing up, ref erreda to the
last observations of Mr. Day, and said that although a
p rti ru of the public might have a taste for scurtilius
matters such a. those referred to, it ought at the same
time to he borne in mind that a publisher of such
matters placed himself in considerable peril, and he did
. not think the plaintiff was entitled to ask for damages
for what he might have obtained at some future time.
With rtgand to the other portion of the claim, the
plaint if was, of course, entitled to a verdict.
The jury, after a short deliberation, returned a
verdict for the plaintiff, damages, 4:67 14a, that being
the actual account to which he was entitled at the
period of his dismissal.
Upon the application of Mr. Day, the learned judge
ordered immediate execution.

AN OPIUM EATER IN THE
WITNESS-BOX.
An opium eater was recently being examined in the
Bombay Iligh Court (says the Ranbay Gazette). At
shout four o'clock his powers of endurance seemed to
fail his, and he told the chief justice, who was on the
bench, that he win; an opium eater, and wished to get
away to eat his daily ipod.
The Chief Justice : Unless I am satisfied that it is
dangerous to his health not to eat it at this time, I will
nit allow him to do so. If a medical man cones and
tells me it is dangerous to his health that he remains
hero he may go, but not otherwise.
Mr. Marriott (who was examining the witness):
I believe the want of it produces very great prostra-
tion.
th., Advocate General (who was to crossiexamine):
It insy affect his evidence. (A laugh).
, The Chief Justice : Tell him that other witnesses
may suffer here from the want of something they wish
to take at certain hours. If he gets any medicil evi-
dence that it is dangerous to his health twill allow him
to go.
Mr. Pigot (with Mr. Marriott) : He can do without
it for an hour. surely.
The Chief Justice : Yes, I think so ; go on.
The witn.tis was here supplied with a chair, and went
on with his evidence for a time, hut afterwards, in reply
to a question, witness said: I don't know. Its my
tints, of eating opium, and lam not in my senses now
I feel giddy. I don't know what lam abffit now. I •
know that opium-eaters eat at regular times, and they
never fail to take it.
The Chief Justice: Well, but other people never
fail to take other things at regular times, and still we
don't allow them.
In reply to the Court, the interpreter stated that
the witness had hitherto been answering very well, a- bd
so the examination proceeded. Then at thee inimencei
went of the cross-examination, the Advocate-General
piled up the agony on the luckless witness by asking
him if all the evidence he had given was part of the
result of his dreams after eating opium—to which wit-
!Wes replied that the cause of his present physical diffi-
culty was, not opium, but the want of it.

-. -a

successive Sundays, or, for &small bribe, haa read them
over three times n a single Sunday. But the licence I
for irregular marriages is still so great that a man and
woman may be joined in wedlock if they mutually
promise in writing to marry, and if they afterwards
live together. Or two people may be legally united
merely by certifying, in the presence of witnessea,
that they take each other for man and wife.
• Such a state of things, we repeat, is a reproach to
the public intelli4ence ; aud. now that Parliament
possesses the report of the Royal Commission which
was appointed to investigate the subject% the perpetua-
tion of the scandal will admit of no excuse. Mr.
Bruce declines to pive a distinct pledge that the
Government will introduce a bill on the subject next
year; and, with the amount of unavoidable work
which lies before the Ministry, such reticence may be
prudent ; but a reform of the marriage laws will
speedily be deemed imperative.