Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-01-04
DHai:ng In France.

feature Of Partisan life that it Certainly merits
chapter in the anecdota history OF the modern
Athens. Before speaking Of the duel between
civilians. the duel of the world of fashion. let
the say that in the army dueiing is obligatory.
Two privates have misunderstandinr:cxchan
two or three sharp words Immediately their
corporal inflicts upon them two or three days'
Imprisonment, and the following morning they
are let out, each accompanied by his seconds.
TO fight until one wounds the other and honor is
satisfied. Stripped to the skin. with the OK
ception only of shoes and trousers. they are
compelled to skewer each other. nevery regi-
ment there are at least 80 duels wear and
not infrequently they end tragically in CAGES
out of 10 these dues are absurd. The officers
themselves admit them to be absurd but they
say that without the duel it would be inn
possible to maintain discipline and dignity in
the army. The duel is a necessary evil If il
were not for the prospect of that pointed rainier
before them the soldiers would beat and kicl,
each other to death. Two men who were half
Joking in their quarrel or who do not bear each
other the slightest ll-wiil, are forced to fight
simply to hold the others in respect, and to awe
them by an infleXible rule.
Among civilians dueling is defended on the
ground that generally it compensates for the
insuiiicency of legal justice. This is of course
a matter of opinion. am not discussing: am
simply explaining the French point of view and
accounting for phenomenon which we Anglo
SaXonS are inclined to look upon as a relic of
barbarsm. The duel. it will be objected, does
not give the offended party the means of repair
inc the wrong that has been done him. Mate
rally, no. morally. yes. Opinion has ordained
that the single fact of the combat washes away
the offence Evidently. if man were thrstin9
for vengeance, assassination would be a s,lrer
means; but precisely the equality Of the danger
and the loyalty of the combat. give to the duel
color of chivalry which prevents all but the most
plejudced minds from cOnfOunding il with a
criminal man9uvre. The present French legis-
! lati0n has no special law against dueling; the
duelist can only be prosecuted as a murderer
! The consequence is that the authorities rarely
or never interfere. Opinion has sanctioned
dueling. and, in spite of the edicts of Henry ",
of Rchelieu, of Louis XIV. in spite of the elo-
quent protestation of Jean JacqueZ Rousseau,
and OF the philosophers of the 18th centtry it
continues to be in France an important social
institution.
Just now there is kind ofepidemc of duels
Every day in the week there are meetings in the
woods in the envrOns OF Paris. The combat
ants 10 longer cross the frontier as of old. In
the nrst place, the journey to the Belgian Ger
man or Spanish frontier is costly: in the second
place, Parisisian wit has given it out that if
the cOmbatants cross the frontier it is because
they count on the engagement being interrupted
by the gendarmes Thanks to the liberation of
the police, engagements may safely take place
around Paris. and not long ago more than 200
persons witnessed famous duel between two
fencing masters. POnS of Paris and the Baron de
San de Mu'ato of Naples. This duel took place
on the race course at NeSinet. In point OF fact
most OF these encounters are not very serious
| affairs. The Journalists often fight to get them
selves and their journal talked about; the young
bucks fight to get their names up, as they say in
| Great Britain. For the benefit of duestS of
this class an ingenious formula has been invent
! ed. An official report Of every duel is forward
| ed to all the newspapers and signed by the sec
onds. In this it is stated that after combat of
such and such duration one Of the antagonists
| received scratch on the hand. and the seconds,
! considering that the wound rendered the
! chances unequal. felt themselves called upon to
| terminate the encounter, and declared honor to
| be satisfied
Nevertheless, the frequency Of duels, from
| whatever motives, has had the effect of causing
large part OF the population of France to fire.
quent the fencing rooms, for the fashion set by
| Paris is followed in the provinces. and the pro
vinclai Journals also have their standing head
| line. '''Dues," like their Partisan models A
| new journal called Il Esc,'i1ne. has been founded
| under high patronage to meet this new want of
| French society. and have before me a splendid
volume. called The Men of the Sword in
when Il Partisan expert iii matters of fencing
| the Baron de Na,X. has analyZed the style, the
| form and the performance OF the most famous
contemporary SwOrdSmen. In short, every man
who respects himself. every young fellow VINO
| pretends to be at all stylish, must pass an hour
or two every day in the iencing-room under the
| orders OF his trainer. The fencing-room is
opinion OF society under the third republic is
that the duel preserves honor, reputation and
| dignity.
| The fencing rooms of Paris are to be counted
by the score, and the profession of fencing
| master is held in high honor The most cele-
| brated of the guild is Vigeant the gentleman
master, as lie is called by the Anglo-maniacs.
| Figeant is a handsome young fellow who affects
| the airs OF Achilles in his sulking moods He is
| very tOuchy. reserved and capricious. Some say
| q i'm q h9n fiS,,ypn rtp lnnti in
| the second story at 81 Rue de Renncs. You ring
| and the door is opened by fine. muscular man.
| whom you at once recognize as a provost of the
! profession. He Introduces you into the cabinet
OF the master: On the chimney-plece is 18th
| century wood engraving representing ST. Mich
| ael, the patron saint OF fcncers. By the side of
| this picture is another of Don QuXote, sword in
| hand. gravey studying in some book of chivalry
| thruSts that are no longer secret. In the COR
| ners are rapiers Of all kinds; on the walls en-
| cravings of fencing scenes; a fuil-length pOr-
| trait of the master by Carolos Duran; right and
| left two bookcases containing a unique cOllec-
| ton of everything that has been written on
fencing for the last 800 years; in the middle a
table covered with books. an inkStand, a pen
| and raper. 1t is here that Vigeant gives con-
| situations on his art
Next in reputation to Vigeant is Merignac
who rarely exhibits his skill in public. Then
| after these two stars follow the lesser celebri-
| ties, Mimiague. ROuleau the brothers Robert,
| Cain and Gatechair Cor SpOililesh), two pre-
| destined names. Peerin. Lantieri, and others
+! Furthermore, the mlliOnaires have their private
| fencing rooms one of the most splendid of
which is that of NJ Edmond Dollfus. in his man.
sion in the Rue PresbOurg. where an assault at
| arms took place last Sunday in presence of the
elite Of Partisan high life nj. DOllfus is also
president of the Fencing club
French Census Taking.
On Sunday, December Is. the mayors of the
different districts and communes of France will
request the inhabitants to answer a number of
| indscreet questions rendered necessary by the
taking Of the census. This operation will be
performed on the same day all over France. The
emissaries of the mayors will deposit the neces-
sary fOrmul9i in the hands of the concierge or OF
the principal tenant, who will distribute them
| to the inhabitants of the house The agent of
| the mayor will then collect them. The operation
will be threefoid. There will be a personal b,4-
| eti,.. household bulletin and a hOusc-steet.
| The personal bulletin will contain the following
| questions: Name; sex; age; birthplace
| nationality; married. single, widOwer; profess
sion, trade permanent resident or traveller.
Each inhabitant. even children just born, will
| have personal bulletin. and the chief of the
| household will copy into the household bulletin