The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-04-30
DURLLMG IN FRANCE.
A Draconian Law Against Fight
ing Under the Code.
French Swordsmen and Fencing Masters
The Noble Art Of Self Defenos---Anec-
dotes Of Noted Oombatants.

duelling. which proposes to rank homicide In
single combat with murder pure and simple, and
duelllng wounds, even OF the slightest kind. with
injuries indicted with intent to MURDERS In fact
duelling. instead OF being as It has hitherto been,
misdemcanor punishable with fine and short i'm
prisonmcnf. would become. under this new act, q
felony OF grave order The bill derives its chief
significance from the fact that the government
supports 1T. and recent trial. III which Ron-
manian Prince was sentenced 10 four years. I'M
prlsonment Slor killing another Roumanian, the
SECONDS all reaping two years apiece, proves q
newborn determination on the part OF the author-
ties to cope with the swash-puckllng mania. they
with not cope with 1t successfully Tor any long
time. however, for
THE YREScHxAN n A puELLNd ANIMAL;
and there Ia no particular reason why he should
not remain SO. for he seldom hurts any one by his
passion for sword.play. OF the countless duols
that have taken place IN France during the last
quarter OF century but half q dozen are known
to have terminated fatally. and In three OF these
foreigners were concerned. Two Freuchmon
placed opposite one another In their shirt sleeves
aud with weapon OF offence IN their nsts do not
aim at determination; each wants to draw from
the other blood enough where with 10 sign himself
acertncate OF valor, and no more. In England
duelng was abolished some forty years ago, be.
cause, among cold-headed people, 1t was grim
AFFAIR, fought out with pistols and resulting always
In o smashed limb or lost life. Penal acts and
social osrracism went to work the practice, and
when 1t became known that man who had fought
more tban one duel would be blackballed at every
decent club then lighting fell into disrepute and
rapidly died out. But 1t did so chiefly because
vanity Is not the dominant quality of Engishmen.
Englishmen are proud and seifsatisned, but their
dissatisfaction is OF that thick-skinncd sort that
renders calious. Give an Englishman to under
stand that you think him n fool and he will think
you one for your opinion; at all events his being
fool In your eyes VIII hot make him one In his own
and he will simply shun you as o dull, unappre-
ciative dog. But cali Frcnchman bad name
and his vanity VIII bleed to the gu ok. Here you
Will have insulted man who lives only for out
ward show, and to whom the opinion OF Others Is
consequently everything. he WITH have no peace
until he has established his superiority over you in
some way or shed his blood in the attempt, in
which last case you VIII be at least forced to ad.
mire his pluck. One day Frenchu1an, going into
Gaze, ordered cup OF coffee and q roll for break
fast. Said q second Trenchman, who sat at q
neighboring table, THAT'S o sorry meal" The
first Frenchman colored up to the roots OF his
hair and asked TOR an explanation, which the
second one gave by stolidy repeating his nrss re.
mark. Thereupon the two went out and fought to
the discontinue OF the insulter, who received
on the ground no looked up grave
ly, and, with infinite conviction, said, ~
hold to my opinion that q cup or coffee anu q roll
make sorry meal" Both being French neither
would relent jot, and they probably esteemed
each other IN secret from that duy. An English.
man would have charltaby supposed that the
critic OF his sorry meal had been drinking, and,
like Dogberry when he met thief, he would have
made an ircn handed attempt to put down duel.
ling. and actually succeeded Tor time, but only BY
the a seuro and Sna 81
ville-Montmorency. At about the same date Gus.
tavus .Adolphus. who took many waif from
Rtchelteu, set his face against duetng IN the
Swedish army, and nit upon q novel expedient for
enforcing his veto. TWO OF his officers, named
0'' capan ana OK On '0q the
ground, and with them a mysterious man
apd sad rne King does not WISH to prev es y"Sr
settling your little AFFAIRS OF honor as you please,
but o. tas same time ne desires his laws to %
head on the spot whichever OF you two gentlemen
kills the other" This threw slight cold over the
OF lighting after this that Peter the Great reor-
ganizlng his Muscovite army. fifty years later.
launched an edict precisely similar 10 Gustavus
Adolphus' He, too, thus managed 10 keep his OIL
GERS ut pence, except, inueed. on one memorable
Two OF his best generals, fol out. The quarrel
too bitter Tor reconciliation, but neither oil the
Princes wanted to be hanged ttnere were hang
each OF them to stand In an emDrasure, under the
heavy fire OF bcAeging orces and 10 remain lmniov
able TILL one OF them dropped. 1T was DOigOrOuki
wac dropped--or rather went to pieces ior a can
non ball cut INN In two-and thereupon lass coolly
1 oaen uass ns rsna 81
been either held or planned. and among them OF
CAGLIosrRo's DUEL.
CagliOstro having called certain court physi.
clan quack tnat worthy dubbed up and sent nim
q challenge to fight with Tolls. But Cagliostro
went after the man and remarked. blandly, II am
ODQOn that. Delnv neither Oh SOiuierS
should Keep to the weapons or our craft. Here rs
poisoned pill which suggest You shall swallow,
white on my side will CUP down one Of your
making. Each OF us will be at liberty to take an
tldotes If we can find any, and the one who comes
ner." me court doctor thought prudent to de.
cline this mode OF warfare and so the quarrel ter
minated. A duel very similar TO this Was proposed
IN more recent times and on the American side or
the Atlantic 1t may BIO termed tne Kentucky
duel and was thus:-A gentleman . q owensburg,
paid to his sister by one Mr.. sprlgut, requested
The latter to make himself scarce, and on mis- de-
.! friends in the usual. way. Mr.. Sprignt
had 10 wish to Kill the brother OF the
girl he loved mucn less to be Killed BY him. Never
tnelcss he accepted the challenge ana came into
the field. But instead OF bringing with him pistol
case. he arrived Win basket, ia which lay neatly
assorted III two lots some raw cucumbers aud
some unrlpe apples. 1t happened that the cholera
was then raging acrcely at Owcnsburg, and Mr..
two lots Will come to a safer death than by shoot
ing. Let's sit down. both OF us, like men, and clear
Veil loss n AZ 10 Who shall eat NE wnoe easse
1ulv Like CagIiostro's medical Iiend, Mr.. Tracy.
o.Owcnsburg, preferred laying his luminosity aside,
and lii the end submitted with good grace enough
10 having Mr. Spright for brotncr-lnaw. All
this brings back III roundabout to French duel
ling, and 10 the extraordinary number OF men who
have acquired a reputaton--and q glorious one
IN la Bec Franccn by running or riddng their
contemporaries through the body. There Is no
country where more can be heard about
DWELLING AS a FINE ART.
From the DAYS OF the knights Grant, who tilted
al one another with lances on the first convenient
pretext, down 10 those OF NJ. Paul de CGssagnac,
editor OF the Pays and The first reputcd SWORDS.
lnap OF these our times, Frenchmen nave raised
the art OF attack aud se.deIence TO the heignt OF
national institution. IL was only ten days ago
That u notaDe fencing joust took place III one OF
the large gymnastIc rooms oil Paris, ana drew
crowd OF spectators, who would have been
strangely panied at the suggestion that duciling
could ever die out. 1hev look upon ir, they say,
rs q preservaLlve TO fine manners, an incentive tn
courtesy and mutual lorhearancc. II You let them
talk much. they would persuade you tnat It. was a