Daily American telegraph., 1852-11-02

Closes round thee calm and clear;
And, till called from earth to heaven,
"Trust in God and persevere"
Social Manners or the Last Century In
England.
We make the following extract from an inter-
esting paper on this subject, by Mr.. Doran, in
the Gentlemans Magazine:
''Any one who will take the trouble to 60 care
fully through the columns of the Daily Post or
Journal of the years 1924, S, 6, and 7, will find
therein scattered yet ample proofs that dissolute-
ness and the sword were inseparable, drink lend
ing ferceness to both. We find an illustration Of
this earlier than either of the periods named above
In 1716, for instance, Lord Mohun and Captain
Hall forcibly carried off Mrs. Bracegirdle, the
actress, at the point of the sword. They were
obliged, however, to surrender their prey; but
they lay in wait for Will Montford, the player,
who was supposed to be an admirer of the ladys,
and of whom Hall was jealous, and barbarously
murdered him in the streets. The ''watch' had
timidly offered to interfere, but the Peer and his
companions had driven them away, and then
gaily proceeded to the consummation of deed
for which n triply-blind justice subsequently re-
fused to exact retribution. 1t was this Mohun
who afterward fought the butchering duel in
Hyde Park, with the Duke of Hamilton. He
spent the previous night lat the bagnio" with his
second, Major General Mccarthy, and he left it,
as The Postboy remarks, ''seized with fear and
trembling" "The dog, Mohun," says Swift,
''was killed on the spot; but while the Duke was
over him. Mohun 10y. MCarty) shortened his
sword, and stabbed him in the shoulder to the
heart" Mccarthy, like Hall, was speciecs of
''bully' in the lords pay, and the mortal wound
given TO the Duke was believed to have been de-
liyered by his hand. The parties lay the
ground rolling over and hacking at each other
like savages. These antagonists fought for a
poor reason-some miserable question Of law
but the general gallants of the day were well
content to fight for no reason at all
Thus Pulwood, the lawyer, in 1920, while
standing, as was the custom of the pit, to
Mrs Oldfelds Scornfm Lady, demonstrated with
Beau Fielding for pushing against him. "Orlando
the Fair" straightway clapped his hand to his
sword and the pugnacious lawyer, determined
not to be behindhand, drew his blade and passed
it into the body of the beau. While the latter
who was a mature gentleman of some half Gen.
tury old, was exhibiting his wound in order to
excite the sympathy which he did not get from
the laughing ladies, Fulwood, flushed by victory,
hastened to the play house in Lncoln's Inn Fields,
where he picked q quarrel with Capt. Cusack,
who was better swordsman than Orlando, and
who stopped the lawyers triumphs by straight
way Staying him. Night was made hideous by
the encounters Of these amateur swordsmen on
the darkened highways. In one Of the numbers
of the Daily Post, for 1926, find it recorded
that bevy ofdrunken gallants, having descended
from a hackney-coach in Piccadilly, Of course
quarreled with the coachman, whom they bilked,
and, because he demonstrated, stabbed bis poor
patient horses. The courageous young gentle
men then entered public house for the enter
tainment Of very equivocal company, wherein
they not only assaulted with their swords the
other gallants whom they found therein, but also
tl,n Al H. q. tpft thnf fra tha
mistress Of the mansion filings herself at the feet
of the assailauts beseeching them not to ruin her
reputation, and bring discredit upon an estab-
ment noted for its safety and secrecy! The
sword clubs were suppressed by royal proclama-
ton in l724. Some say that they had been de-
nounced as unlawful three years previously.
However this may be, the object Of the procla-
nation was to Danish from civilized society the
presence of the sword itself, in order thereby to
check the practice of duelling, which was at that
period exercised exclusively by means Of the
sword.
The law became stringent and judges merciless
upon this point. This was made sufficiently clear,
in 1926, when Major 0neby killed Mr.. Cover in
a duel with swords fought in tavern, after
dispute over n game at hazard The parties had
fought in a room alone The Major, who had
been both the aggressor and the challenger, NOR
tally wounded MIR. Cover, who, however, de-
claTed that he had fallen In fair combat. "A jury,
nevertheless, found 0neby guilty of murder; the
Judges acquiesced in the verdict and the Major
only escaped execution by committing suicide
The law had not long to wait before other OF
tenders were summoned for too freely using the
sword. On night in November l72I, Savage,
the poet with two companions, named gregory
and Merchant, entered coffee-house near Char-
ing Cross. Merchant insulted the company,
quarrel ensued, swords were arawn' anu MT.
Sinclair was slain, by a thrust II IS SAID, (but
not proved, J from the sword of Savage The re
suit Of the trial that followed is well known The
verdict Of ou,ity Of murder against Savage and
Gregory. and Of mdRstdughter against Merchant,
who was the most culpable party,) was exacted
Nv the Judge evidently under pressure Of the
nyoclamation against swords Merchant was
once burned in the hand in open court, fined,
compelled to give security for future good beha-
viour and discharged.
His associates had narrow escape OF the ig-
nominious death for which they were ass duously
prepared by DR.. Young, who was not then
known for his Night Thoughts" but who was
at the time establishing reputation by the pub
lcation Of those satires which so faithfully por-
tray the social crimes and errors Of the day.
Johnson's life ofSavage doesnot state Merchants
"a ~. laA kA.4.a