The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-01-26
{" HONAH, SIR"

"HONAH, SIR"
some Gossip About the "Code"-Dueiing
Modes of Different Countries.
[From the New York Times.l
The practice of dueling prevailed
among the Arabs and among the Asiatic
nations from quite an early date, and
savage tribes in all chimes have ever been
partial to it's existence and continuance.
The Cloths and Vandals, who overran the
Roman empire, brought the duel with
them, or, rather, would have done SO
had it not existed previously among the
successors of Romulus and Remus. Ii
they did not introduce it, they at all
events changed lbs character greatly by
drafting ON the idea of the combat the
notion that il vas solemn appeal by
ordeal of battle to the Almighty. Dur
ing the dark period of the worlds his
tory, known as the middle ages, duels
were very abundant, and were approved
as judicial ordeal by jurists and church
men. During this period, too, the duel
was among the cheerful expedients by
by which were ascertained the titles to
real and personal property. Other
means employed were the ordeals by IRE
and the treading on red-hot plowshares.
In the ordeal by battle each party was
permitted TO repre- sent the other by a
champion. The jousts and tournaments
Of the times were, in great measure,
merely duels between opposing cham
pions. Various attempts were m de at
times to break up the practice OF duel
ing, and Louis TX. and Philip the Fair
both framed laws against it. In the
fourteenth century, Louis X. restored
the ordeal by battle in civil cases, but
this was soon abolished. In 1886,
Jacques Legris denied crime, and,
though innocent of it, was condemned
to fight, and, being overcome, was
hanged. The perpetrator of the crime
afterward confessed his guilt, and the
incident created so profound an impress
sion that the duel as an ordeal was alto
gether abolished. In the time Of
Francis I, during the fifteenth century,
duellng was revived as means for the
redress of insults among naughty court
iers and others. Dueling in France,
however, reached its height under Louis
XIII. It's frequency diminished under
Louis XIV, but increased again under
the regency. The practice declined
during the revolutionary period, but
was afterward again revived. There
have even been duels between females
in France. In Spain the duel has -four
ished from time tn time. In Great
Britain. and especially in ireland, the
duel has also fourished. In the latter
country, indeed, the practice of dueling
was particularly favored until quite re-
Gently. On such occasions the populace
turned out en- masse to enjoy the spec
tacles. Attorneys in Ireland were in
those days about as much inclined to the
practice as it is all eyed were two men,
bers of the profession in this city re-
Gently, though no instance is recorded
where a difficulty arose about the spell
ing of a word. If an Irish attorney in
those times filed declaration and the
opposing attorney filed demurrer, the
former Immediately challenged the lat
ter. The reason of this was, that de-
murrer charges that the declaration Is
insufficient in law, and consequently that
the attorney who drew it did not know
what the law was. This being an impu-
tation upon the legal ability of the first
attorney, was an insult which could only
be wiped out by a hostile meeting on
the famous "ten-acre lot" in Phoenix
park at Dublin, which was the approved
dueling ground. In France the duel
still exists, but does not seem to -four
ish vigorously. The usual combatants
are newspaper editors. They fight gener
ally with swords, though pistols are
sometimes resorted to. In Germany,
among the students, the duel is as time
honored an institution as is lager beer.
The students are divided into chores or
cliques, which have each their favorite
swordsmen, and challenges are con-
stantly passing between the various rival
bodies. The duelist is wrapped from
head to foot in bandages which are i'm
pervious to any ordinary sword cut, but
the face is sometimes left unguarded.
In suchsa case cash across the face of
an adversary is triumph for the inflic-
tor, and the scar is ever afterward ex-
hibited by the sufferer as certificate of
bravery. Bismark carries q scar upon
his face which is said to have been in
flcted in this way. Under the ancient
system the combatants were
bound together by belt which encircled
the two. Each held in his right hand a
short understanding like the sheath
knife used by sailors at the present day
and they wrestled and stabbed each
other until one was put hors de- combat.
In Spain and Italy the people at present
are not much given to dueling, though
dead men, with knife wounds upon their
bodies, are occasionally discovered. In
this country dueling has not been es-
pecially favored, though there have been
quite a number of noted encounters,
with that between the two
serving men at Plymouth in 1924 The
first years of the republics history were
married as well as marked by several
iuels, the most prominent having been
hat between Alexander Hamilton and
Aaron Burr, in which the former was
killed. Andrew Jackson and Thomas IL.
Benton, each killed his man. Great ex-
was created by the duel in 1888,
between congressman Cilley and Graves,
n which the former was killed. Another
luel which aroused intense public feel
ng was the one between James Watson