The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1882-05-21

Every attempted revival OF the code duello
seems to result in worse and worse ahsurdi-
ties and incongruitics And this is ccr-
taiuly not a thing to I've regretted. At its
best estate the code put the life of the wor-
thjesl man in the commonwealth utterly at
the mercy of the bully aud the swash
lucklcr-rohhrd us of Hamilton at the
hand or Burr, Cilley at the hand Of a
Graves. Founded ON immortality and q de-
fan,c Of the laws Of God, it could only bear
fruit in evil, notwithstanding the sophstry
of lis promoters about Z" honah, ~" rcspon-
sibility," and the like. The code was
simply survival Of barbarsm, and it is rs
much ont Of place in the broad light of the
Nineteenth Century as would I've coat of
war paint or the habit of capturing brides
with bluigeon. When every man carried
weapons of some sort, 1t was as natural to
fly to them for revenge as it is for two row.
dies TO come to listicuns at the present day
on triilng provocation. But it may easily
happen now that gentleman Of the class
likely to I've challenged, or bound to- chal-
lenge 10y the "code," never seriously ham
died pistol, much less a sword, in his life.
Then we have such farces as duels more
dangerous to the bystanders than the prin-
cipals, attempts TO discharge firearms at
half.cuck, and all the features SO cuttingly
satirized hy Sheridan in "The Rivals "a
work whose moral effect upon duelling has
never been sufficiently recognized.
Turnbul calls Louhat q hlackguard and
sticks to it. Consequently he is bound to
allow said Loubat to go out and attempt to
perforate his, said Turnhulps, body with a
leaden bullet, unless he can sooner perforate
said Loubat's body, in time to prevent him.
This is duelists' paradoN--that after pro
nouncing man "unit to he admitted to any
"gcntleman's house," you must give him
the highest assurance that you consider Him
your equal, hy engaging with himin mutual
combat. Then, whether you kill Cassie, or
Cassie kills you, or each do kill the other
the original controversy is left Just where il
was before-for of course hy no rule of logi'
can it be held because you have killed mai
that you have established any truth abou
his moral character, still less when he hap
pens to kill you, though that might perhap
make him a murderer as well as a black
guard. But it is held sufficient that in SOM
way mysterious Moloch called honah
is satisfied, even though nothing be wounded
by the whistling bullets but the buNom at
mOsphere.
The Union Club of New York does no
seem free of corporate responsibility in thi
t Loubat-Turnbull folly-frst, by an un.clul
like way of spreading the scandal (unles.
perhaps, it was done by the waters) an
. then by gravely fomentng discord, and a
most egging the parties on to fight If thes
4 club-men thought their body would los
a prestige, or have reflection cast upon Il
a united honah' by an absence of blooc
II combs and their Union Club nursery
i arrant snobbery, which had better so out
existence.
>. We observe by the concluding article
+ Coibmn'S United Ssrrise Ndgu=ns on due
J.. " ling Days in the Army" that it has be,
II nearly thirty years since Army officers ha'
III fought duel in England-one Hawkey,
40 40 lieutenant of marines, having, in ls4j, chi
~ alrously assassinated in this manner NJ
to Seton, of the Eleventh IInssars, youl
" y, fellow in the twenties with wife and lit
/. child to mourn him. But, doubtless, We a
ID to believe that Englishmen, and especial
n, n, the officers of Her Maiesty's service, are
", as courageous and endowed with as high
a. sense of honor as the Anglomaniac cads
:! the Union Cluh