The southern press., 1851-04-05
From Leigh Huai's Journal
DueIltng Two Hundred and Fifty ears
ARO

| BY THOMAS CARLYLE.
Peace here, if possible; skins were not made
for mere Sitting and slashng You that are
for war, cannot you 60 abroad, and fight the
Papist Spaniards! Over in the Netherlands
there is always fighting enough. You that are
OF ruffiing humor, gather your trucuent ruliians
together make yourselves colonies over them
go to the Netherlands, and fight your bellyfu
Which accordingly many do, earning death
less war.laurels for the moment; and have done,
and will continne doing, in those generations.
Our gallant Veres Earl of Oxford, and the
others, it has long been their way; gallant Cecil,
to be called Earl of Wimbledon; gallant Sir
John Burroughs, gallant Sir Hatton Cheek--t
is still their way. Deathess military renowns
are gathered there in this manner; deathless for
the moment Did not Ben Jonson, in his young
hard days, bear arms very manfuly AS a private
soldado there! Ben, who now writes learned
plays and court-masks Us Poet Laureate, served
manfully with pike and sword there, for his groat
day. with ratons. And once, when Spanish
soldier came strutting forward between the lines,
hourishing his weapon, and defying all persons
in general--Ben stepped forth, as hear fenced
that braggart Spanard, since no other would do
it; and ended by soon Sitting him in two, and
so silencing him Ben's war-tuck, to judge by
the flourish of his pen, must have had very
dangerous stroke in it,
"Swashbuckler age" we said but the express
sion was incorrect, except as figure Bucklers
went out fifty years ago, 9about the twentieth of
Queen Elizabeth" !" men do not swash with them,
or fight in that way. Iron armor has mostly gone
out, except in mere pictures of soldiers King
James said, it was an excellent invention; you
could get no harm, and neither could you do any
in it. Bucklers, either for horse or foot, are
quite gone Yet old Dir. Stowe, good chroni-
cler can recollect when every gentleman had his
buckler; and at length every serving man and
city dandy Smithfeld- waste field, full
of puddles in wet weather,-was in those days
full of buckler ducls, every Sunday and holiday
in the dry season; and was called Ruffian's Rig,
or some such name.
A man, in those days, bought his buckler, of
gilt leather and wood, at the haberdasher's
"hung it over his back, by strap fastened to
the pomme of his sword in front" Elegant
men showed what taste, or sense of poetic beauty
was in them by the fashion Of their buckler.-
With Spanish beaver, with starched ruff, and ele-
CANT Spanish cloak, with elegant buckler hang
ing at his back, a man, if his moustachios and
boots were in good ORDER stepped forth with
some satisfaction. Full of strange oaths, and
bearded lie the pa-d decidedly trucuent-
looking figure. Jostle him in the street tho
roughfares, accidentally splash his boots as you
pass-by heaven the buckler gets upon his arm,
the sword flashes in his fist with oaths enough
and you too being ready, there is a noise !
CIink, clank, death and fury all persons gather
| ing round, and new quarrels springing from this
one! And Dogberry comes up with the town
guard? And the shopkeepers hastily close their
shops? Nay it is hardly necessary, says Mr.
Howe; these buckler fights amount only to
noise, for most part the jingle Of iron against
tin and painted leather. Ruflng swashers
struttng along with big oaths and whiskers, de-
light to pick quarrel but the rule is you dc
not thrust, you do not strike below the waist
and it was oftenest dry duel-mere noise, as o.
working tin-smiths, with profane swearing!-
Empty vaporing bullyrooks and braggarts, they
cucumber the thoroughfares mainly. Dogberry
and Verges ought to apprehend them. have
seen in Smithfeld, on dry holiday, thirty O
them on side," fighting and hammering as j
for life and was not at the pains to look a
them, the blockheads; their noise as the mere
beating of old kettles to me!
The truth is, serving men themselves and city
apprentices had got reckless, and the duels, M
death following, ceased to be sublime. Abou
fifty years ago, serious men took to fighting will
rapiers, and The buckler fell away. HOLES, il
Sherwood, as we saw, fought with rapier and h,
soon spoiled Markham. Rapier and dagger es
pecially; that is more silent duel, but terri
bly, serious one Perhaps the reader will like Il
take view of one such serious duel in thos,
DAYS. and herewith close this desultory chapter
1t was at the siege of Juliers, in the Neither
lands wars, of the year 1909; we give the date
for wars are perpetual, or nearly so, in tn
Netherlands. AT one of the storm parties of tn
siege of Juliers, the gallant Sir IIatton Cheel
above alluded to, superior officer of the Eng
lish force which fights there under my Lor
:, Cecil, that shall be Wimbledon; the gallant S
Hatton, | say, being of hot temper, superior oft
Ger, and the service storm-party on some ba;
ton or demilune, speaks sharp word of con
mand to Sir Thomas Dutton, who also is prol
ably of hot temper in this hot moment. Shar
word of command to Dutton and the move
ment not proceeding rightly, sharp word of re
buke TO which Dutton, with kindled voice
answers something sharp is answered still NOR
sharply with voice high flaming ;--whcreat Dut
ton suddenly holds in ; says merely, "IIe is un
der military duty here, but perhaps will not al
ways be So" and rushing forward, does hi
order silently, the best the can. His orde
done, Dutton straightwy lays down his com
mission; packs up, that night, and returns tt
England.
Sir Hatton Cheek prosecutes his work at tht
of Juliers, triumphant over all the bastions, an6
half moons there; but hears witha that Duttor
is at home ir England, defamng him as a chol
eric tyrant and so forth. Dreadful news, which
brings some hillary attack on the gallant man
and reduces him TO bed of sickness. Hardly
recovered he dispatches message TO Dutton
that he shall request to have the pleasure of his
company, with arms and seconds ready, on some
neutral ground,-Calais sands for instance,--at
an early day, if convenient. Convenient yes
as dinner to the hungry answers Dutton; and
time, place, and circumstances are rapidly enough
agreed upon.
And so on Calais sands, on winter morning
Of the year 1909, this is what we sec most au-
thentcally, through the lapse of dim Time. Two
gentlemen strpt to the shirt and waistband in
two hands of each raper and dagger clutched
their looks sufficiently serious The seconds
having stript, equipt, and fairly overhauled and
,,,ct Oh 81, e., 4 l.