Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1851-07-10
[PROPRIETORS.
From Leigh Hunts Jou,,sai
DucIiing Two Hundred aud Fifty
Years Ago.

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that are for war, cannot you go abroad,
and fight the Papist Spaniardsl Over in
the Netherlands there is always fighting
enough. You that are Of rutIiing humor,
gather your truculent ruiEans together;
make yourselves colonels over them; 90 to
the Netherlands, and fight your bellyful
Which accordingly many do, earning
deathless war-laurels for the moment; and
have done, and willcontinue 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 Hatton Cheek.
it is still their way, Deathless military
rcnowns are gathered there in this manner;
deathless for the moment Did not Ben
johnson, in his young hard days, bear
arms very manfully as private soldado
there! Ben, who now writes learned PLAYS
and cour; masks as Poet Laurcate, served
manfully with pike and sword there, for
his groat day with ra,ions. And once
when Spanish soldier came strutting for
ward between the lines, Hourishing his
weapon, and deiying all persons in general
Ben slept forth, as hear; fenced tha,
braggart Spaniard, since no other would
do II; and ended by soon Sitting him in
two, and SO silenc;ng him! Bcn's war-tuca,
to judge by the flourish of his pen, must
have had very dangerous stroke in it.
"Swashbucklcr age" we said; but the
exprcssionwa asincorrect, except as n figure.
Bucklers went out fifty years ago. 'about
the twentieth of Queen Elizabeth;" men
do not now swash with them, or fight in
that way. Iron armor has mostly gone
out, except in mere pictures OF soldiers;
King james said, 1t was an excellent in
vention; you could get no harm. and neither
could you do any IN it. Bucklers, either
tor horse or foot. are quite gone. Yet old
MIR. Stowe, good chroniclcr, can recolcct
when every gentleman had his bucklcr;
and at length every serving man and city
dandy. Smithfcld-still a waste field,
full Of puddlcs in wet weather,-was in
those days full of buckler duels, every
Sunday and holiday in the dry seasons;
and was called Ruiiian's Rig. OF some such
name.
A man, in those days, bought his buck.
Ter, Of gilt leather aud wood, at the habcr,
dasher's; chung IT overhis back, by strap
fastened to the pommel 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 Span.
ish beaver. with starchcd ruff, and elegan,
Spanish cloak with elegant bucklcr hang
ing at his back, a man, if his moustachios
and boots wcrein good order, stepped forth
with some satisfaction. Full Of strange
oaths, and bearded like the pard; a decided
ly truculent-looking figure, .Jostle him in
the hcstrcctthoroughiares, accidentally splash
his boots as you pass-by heaven the buck
Ter gets upon his arm, the sw ord flashes in
his fist, with oaths enough; aud you too
being ready, there Is noise! Cliuk, clank,
death and iury;all persons gatheringround,
and new quarrcls sprlnging from this one!
And Dogberry comes up with the town
guards And the shopkeepcrs hastily close
their shopsl Nay, it is hardly necessary
says Mr.. Howe these buckler fights a.
mount onlytonoisc, tormost part; the jingle
OF IRON against tin and painted lca,hcr.-.-
Ruilllng swashers strutting along with big
oaths and whiskcrs, delight to pick a
quarrel; but the rule is you DO not thrust,
you do not strike below tie waist; and il
was olienest a dry duel--merc noise, as Of
working tinsmiths, with profane swearing!
Empty vaporing bullyrooks and braggarts,
they cucumber the thoroughfarcs mainly.
DoSberry and Verges ought to apprehcnd
them. have seen, in Smithfeld, on dry
holiday, "thiry of them on a side" fight
ing and hammering as If for life; and was
not at the pains to look at them, the block
heads; 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, no death follow ing, ceased to
be sublime. About fifty years ago, serious
men took TO fighting with rapiers. and the
buckler fell away. HOLES, in Sherwood,
as we saw, fought with rapicr, and he
soon spoiled Markham. Rapicr and dag
ger especially; that is a more silent duel,
but terribly serious one! Perhaps the
reader will like to take view Of one such
serious duel in those days, anI herewith
close this desutory chapter.
1t was at the siege Of Julicrs in the Ne
,herand wars, of the year 1909; we give
the date, for wars are perpetual, or nearly
SO, IN the Netherlands. AT one of the
storm parties Of the siege Of Juliers, The
gallant Sir Hatton Check, above alluded
TO, superior officer Of tie English force
which tights there under my Lord Cecil,
that shall be Wimbledon; the gallant Sir
Hatton, ] say, being Of hot temper, supe-
rior officer, and the service a storm-party
on some bastlon or denilunc, speaks sharp
word Of command to Sir Thomas Dut.
ton, who also is probably of hot temper in
this hot moment. Sharp word Of com
mand to Dutton; and the movement not
proceeding rightly, sharp word of rcbuke.
To which Dutton, with kindled voice, an
swers something sharp; is answered still
more sharply with voice high Aaming;--
whcreat Dutton suddenly hold in; says
merely, "He is under military duty here,
but perhaps will not always be so;" and
rushing forward, does his order silently,
the best he can. His order done, Dutton
straightway lays down his commission;
packs up, that night, and returns to Eng
land.
SIR Hatton Check prosccutcs his work
at the siege Of Juliers; gaIIantly assists at
the taking Of Julicrs, triumphant over all
the bastions, and halfmoons there: but
hears withal that Dutton is at home in
England, defaming him as choleric 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 Dut-
ton, That he shall request to have the
pleasure OF his company, with arms and
seconds ready, on some neutral ground -
CaiaIs sands tor instancc,--at an early day,
ii convenient. Convenient; yes, as dinner