Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1874-06-04
DUELS BETWEEN WOMEN.

ONE of the contributors to the Algeme5ne
F'dmjJteH-Zettuag has recently had the
curiosity to collect a number of the most
noted and best authenticated cases Of
dueling that have taken place between the
members of the gentler sex. From the
article we extract the following. The
writer says:
Duels between women, during the sew
enteenth and eighteenth centuries, were
by no means rare France, especially,
the land par excellence of chivalry, fur
nishes a long list of noteworthy eX-
amples.
The first case we shall cite was one
which grew out of the gallantries of the
famous Due de Richelieu. The Duke
was in the habit OF making his secretary
his confdant As it cost him no effort to
swear fidelity to Susanna to-day, Johanna
tomorrow, and the next day TO sacrifice
them both for Mariana, so, at the same
time, he Tor while amused himself at
the expense of the MarQuise de Nesle and
Madame dc Pohgnac. Each of them sup
posed, of course, that she was sole mis-
tress of his affections.
One morning as the Duke sat over his
coffee his secretary handed him, together
with other letters, two that had all the APP
pearance of5jHetS. d0uC. These His Grace
handed back to the secretary with the re-
quest that he would read them The first
one ran thus:
Mon CUES AMI: For three whole days have
not seen youl These long separations rob
istence of its value. When shall l see You againY
As ever, your
MARQUIsE DE NEsLE.
''Poor childn said the Duke, smiling
The secretary opened the other note and
read
It seems an age since I saw YOU A horrid
dream has made me restless. When shall l see
your Faithfully, your
CoMrEssE DE PoIIGNAc."
"What time is it?" asked the Duke,
after giving moment to reflection.
Eleven O'Clock, your Grace"
" Have we any appointments for this
afternoon?"
No, none"
every well, write to the two ladies that
| hope to have the pleasure of seeing them
at my villa this afternOon-theo one at two,
the other at four o'clock And let your
messenger go at once"
Unfortunately, the secretary inadvert-
emily asked both ladies to come at two
O'Clock. The consequence was that they
treated His Grace to one of the most stormy
and painful scenes that could well be
imagined.
The following morning Madame de Po-
lignac sent her rival summons to meet
her in single and deadly combat. The
Marquise de Nesle accepted the challenge
without hesitation, chose the pistol as the
weapon, and designated the Bots de
Boulogne, of course, as the place of meet
ing.
They were both punctual. The murder
Gus weapons were loaded, and the dis
lance measured off
Firen said Madame de Polignac to
her antagonist; " but take good care that
you do not miss me; if you do, you may
be sure | shall not miss you.n
The Marquise aimed and fired, but the
only damage she did was to shoot off two
or three little branches of bush that
CHANGED to be in her range
my indignation made nv hand I'M
steady said she, with frown.
Now it is my turn" cried Madame de
Polignac.
She took deliberate aim, and shot away
a diminutive piece of the Marquise's
right ear.
The Marquise fell to the ground as
though she had been shot through the
heart, crying out, Oh, | am wounded
Madame, pardon your
Madame de Saint-Belmont was a mas
culine sort of woman. Her husband,
while in the service of the Duke of Lor-
raine. fell on the field of honor. After
this event Madame determined to man.
age her own affairs, and especially to
look personally after her interests on her
landed estates, which were large. She
therefore spent much of her time IN the
saddle and indeed in the costume of the
contemporary dandy. 10 numberless
other adventures and caprices she
added that of insisting on fighting a
duel with young man who was enam-
ored OF her wit and bright eyes. She
rewarded his devotion by forbidding him
10 approach her; but love is sometimes
aeaf as well as blind In this instance it
IS possible that the cavalier put the SEEM
ing lnvulnerability of the lady down to
afectatlon Be that as it may, meeting