Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1875-08-02
DueIIing Prevented.
Il. WHITMORR,
Publisher and Proprietor.

A way in which duelling was prevented
in a French army at certain time is re-
corded. The officers OF the army we're
fighting each other continually or getting
up little quarrels with the officers of other
regiments. At last the War Office, wea-
ried out of patience, changed the COM
manding officer. A colonel was sent to
take charge, who said he would certainly
do away with such nonsense. A few DAYS
after his arrival, two of the officers came
to ask his permission to 90 out and fight.
To the amazenent Of everybody he gave
his consent; the officers went forth to
fight, they slightly wounded each other,
and honor was satisfied, as the phrase
goes upon these occasions. They we're
no sooner recovered than they received
an order to wait upon the colonel. you
have to 60 out and fight again to.mor-
row." he said; and as they looked at
him with questioning astonishment he
explained, When officers fight in the
regiment | have the honor to command
they kill. Go" The officers went out
again, and made right good holes in
each other, which it took them six
months to heal. The story is very hor-
rible. They were sent out again and
again, and at last they killed each other;
but henceforth forever in that regiment,
and good many besides, there was an
end Of dueling. The fate OF the young
men who were thus sacrificed to bring
about such result was sad, but they
brought it on themselves, inasmuch as,
being fully aware that this colonel was
sent to represS dueling, they chose al
most on his arrival to demand that he
should stultify himself and permit them
to have their own way. 1t is, we have
said, only on the condition OF the duel
being thoroughly in earnest and fight
to the death that it has rdison d etre
in modern society; and the history of
this French regiment proves that it
hourishes in modern days chiefly on the
credit of being innocuous. When the
duel comes really to mean death, and
not merely an exchange of shots, it
must be an event of the rarest occur
ence in refined society. We shall not
undertake to kill each other without the
most irresistible reasons, and if we can
settle our bargains without killing, we
may laugh at the code of honor which
insists on pistols, There is a comical
story told Of two Americans who settled
their quarrel in fashion which would
have made the hair on a Partisan fenc-
ing-master bristle with horror, but
which, nevertheless, had an inspiration
of common sense in it. They were both
in love with the same lady, and it became
necessary to their feelings that they
should fight for possession of her. One
of the two must clearly be put out of the
way. Yet why should they kill each
other2 They bore each other no malice;
each would be glad the other should
speed with some other fair one; they
only insisted upon being left in sole pos
session Of the lady in dispute The ques-
ton resolved itself to simple issue
which was the better shot2 And they
determined to settle this question by
shooting, not at each other, but at tree.
The tree was shot at; the inferior marks
man perforce admitted that he would
have been annihilated by his rival, and
agreed to leave the country. Here were
all the results of duel obtained without
its mock-heroics and without more trag-
egy than belongs to all remuneration.