The Penn's Grove record., 1882-01-28
Daily Duels.
Meetings Every Day in the Week Of Fight
ing F~renohmen.

Meetings Every Day in the Week Of Fight
ing renohmen.
just now, says a Paris letter to tine
New York SIM, there is a kind of cpl
demic OF duets. Every day in the
week, there aie meetings in the woods
in the outskirts Of Paris. The com
batants no longer cross the frontiers as
Of old. In the fret place the journey
to the Belgian, GerIaan, or Spauish
frontier is costly in the second place,
a Partisan wit has given out that if
the cOmbatauts cross the frontier, il is
because they count on the engagement
being INTERRUPTED by the gendarmes.
Thanks to the liberation of the po-
lice, engagements may safely take
place aronnd Paris, and not long ago,
more than two hundred persons wit
messed a famous duel, between two
fencing masters, P0us. of Paris, and
The Baron de San de Muiato, If Ma
pies. This duel took place in the race
course at Nesiner.
In point of fact, most of these II
counters are not very serious affairs.
The journalists often fight to get
themsel-es aud their journals talked
ABOUT the young bucks fight to get
their names up, IS they say il Great
Britain. For the benefit ofdueIists of
this class an ingenious formula has
been invented. An official report of
every duel ~ forwarded TO all the
newspapers, and signed by the sec
onds. In this it is stated that, after a
combat OF such and such duration,
one Of the antagonists received a
scratch on the hand, and the seconds,
considering that the wound rendered
the chances unequal, felt themselves
called upon to terminate the encoun-
ter, and declared honor TO be s.. tie
fed"
Nevertheless, the frequency of duels
from whatever motives, has had the
effect of causing a large part Of the
population of France to frequent the
fencing-rooms for the fashion set by
Paris is followed in the provinces, and
the provincial journals also have their
standing headline, "Duels,n like
their Partisan models. A new journal,
called LEscrine, has been founded
upon high patronage, to meet this
new want of French society, and |
have before me q splendid volume,
called ''The Man of the Sword in
which IA Partisan expert in matters Of
fencing, the Baron de Vaux, has ana
lyzed the style, the fern, and the per.
formances of the most famous con
temporary swordsmen. In short
every man who respects himself,
every young fellow who pretends to
be at ali stylish, mast pass an hour OF
two every day, in the fencing-rooms,
under the orders Of his trainer. The
fencing-rJom is fashionable, and pub
lie OF inion, OF rather the opinion of
society, under the third republic, is
tnat tae duel preserves honor, reputa-
ton aad dignity.
The fencing-rooms Of Paris are to be
counted by the score, anu the profes-
sion Of fer cing-master is held high in
honor. The most celebrated of the
guild is Vigeant, the gentleman mas
ter, a he is called by the AnglO-ma
macs. Vigeant is a handsome young
fellow, who affects the airs of Achilles
In his sllking moods. He is very
touchy, reserved and capricious.
Some say he poses. He lives in a
handsome apartment, in the second
story, at No. 81 Rue de Rennes. You
ring, and the door is opened by a fine,
muse, man, whom you at once
recognize as a provost Of theprofession.
H~eintr0duces you into the cabinet of
the master.
On the chinIney-p piece, is a severn
teenth-century wood engraving, rep
resenting st. Michael, tine patron saint
If fencers. BY the side OF this picture
is another, of Don Quixote, sword in
hand, g~rsvely studying, in some book
u Ni4tNdiil tNihHtN VIZ / hO AphSSi
secret. In the corners, are rapiers of
all kinds; on The walls, e%ngravings of
fencing scenes d f%uii-leDgth portrait
of the master, by CeroIus Duran right
and left, two bookcases, containing a
unique collection, of every thing that
has been written on feucing for the
last three huudsed years ; in the mid
die, a table covered with books, an
inkstand, a pen, and a rapier. 1t is
here that Vigeant gives consultations
on his art.
Next in reputation to Vigesnt is
Merignac, who rarely exhibits his
skill in public. Then, after these two
stars, follow the lesser celebrities,
Mmiague, Rouieau, the brothers
Robert, Cain aud G~atechair Tor Spoil
desh), two pledestined names, Pelle-
ria, Lantieri, and others. Further
more, the milliouaires have their pr,
vate fencing.rOOms, one of the most
splendid of which is that of NJ. Ed
mond Dollfus, in his mansiOnin the
Rue Presbourg, where an as sault at
arms took place, last sunday, in the
presence of the elite of Partisan high
life.
Dor,aSfic ErOnomu