New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-06-09
Tile NEW.ORLEANS COMEDY

A duel, that is to say, hostile meeting,
with deadly weapons and an apparent deadly
purpose, ought to have something the nature
of a tragedy. Mankind should so regard it.
But mankind VIGOROUSLY do not. On the con-
trary, they look upon it as comedy, and ordi-
narily very cheap comedy. There is some
thing so deciously absurd in this medieval
method of settling disputes that, nOtwlthstand
ing it means deadly muzzles and hurting bull
let's. gaping wounds and direful death, the
suggestion of it nowadays brings nothing but
smile. Is it because in these later days
men have grown so frivolous and life so
cheap that the public hear only with lifted
eyebrow and the cynic's smile the report that
two of their fellow-men are about to submit
to the arbiUrament of the pistol the question
whether one of them is really BLACKBOARD or
the other liar for calling him sol Do we
think less of human life than formerly that
we should regard with such unbecoming lev
ity the pOnderous sOemnities with which men
propose to put their lives at hazard for what
they call their "honor"i Hardly. We may
find the answer nearer There are two reasons
other than the intrinsic absurdlty of the
medieval mode of settlement why the report
of an impending duel is treated with levity
instead of solemnity. One is that under the
rules by which this bloody business Is now
conducted nobody is ever killed and very
rarely anybody hit The second is a phlo-
sophie notion pervading the public mind that
whenever two men are found willing to go
out into the field and fire pistols at each other
in violation of law, upon the silly suppostion
that it will settle some dispute between them,
the community will sustain no loss if each
idiot pops the other over.
The only really serious feature of the bust
ness is the constantly recurring tendency
among civilized beings in an age of light and
reason to resort to savagery; not, it is true, to
absolute savagery, for that would imply kill
ing, but sort of pinchbeck imitation of
savagery, that only draws back from barbarism
at the point of personal peril This is the
serious puzzle for philosophers The latest
duel that has gently titiated languid public
interest was the one between two editors at
New-Orleans the other day. 1t differs from
other recent "hostile meetings" in two par
ticulars. First, it came off, which is quite un
usual second, one of the parties was hit.
which was phenomenal. Of course, both men
were "cool and determined" and both "ex-
hibited the utmost bravery; they always do
that. Never two fools looked into each Others
pistol muzzles without having that said of
them. And said usually in the tone and man.
ner Of the Dutch eulogist, who, standing over
the grave of his friend, trying in vain
to recall single virtue, at last in a fit of
desperation broke out with "Vell, he vos a
good schmoker y These two New-Orleans gen
uemen, Major E. a. Burke, State Treasurer
and Editor of The Tmes-Democrat and Mr..
Parker, Editor of The Pioayune, differed. No
need to go into the details of the difference
further than this: Parker intimated that Major
aud State Treasurer Burke was o triAe