The Brookhaven leader., 1884-03-06
Female DuelistS.

Ii women, as a general thing, do not
countenancc, and have never counte-
nanced, modern dueling, and are natur-
ally aver e to all systems of individual
combat-for varied and sometimes he
roc reasons-still they have their wo-
manly sympathies at play, either upon
one side or the other, in all encounters
and controversies where they may be
interested. however trivial or ma; eStic
the difficulty or its cause. During the
existence of judicial dueling in Euro
peau countries ladies OF rank Wee
always to be found among the respecta-
be spectators and there have been in
stances of the presence of women upon
hostile fields since the prohibition OF
judicial ducls, particularly in Italy and
France. There are also records of hos
tile encounters bctw, en- women con
spicuous among which was the duel
with pistols between Lady de Nesle and
the Countess of Polignac, in 1921, in
the gardens of Versailles (France).
The ladies had indulged in most dis
graceful quarrel two evenings before,
at a grand fete at the palace, over the
Duo de Richeieu the wondrous char
acter in the history of France during
which Lady de Nesle, losing al control
of herself, had sprung like tigress up
on her rival, and attempted to tear
neck. Failing in this. however, she
>natched the blush roses from their nest
in the snowy bosom and flung them in
the face of her rival. Up to this time,
>ays some English writer, the Countess,
of Polignac had kept down by power
full effort, the mighty rage which was
inwarlly consuming her, but this last
indignity destroyed even outward
calmness, and casting aside all fult Their
reserve, she attacked Lady de Nesle in
the same way she herself had been as
saulted. In a moment jewels and flow
crs and ribbons and laces strewed the
floor, and there is no telling to what
extent the extraordinary eXhib' ton
would have gone had not the enragcd
Amazons been separa ed by the Marquis
de MalbuissOn and Nile. Nathalie de
Condacet Out of this grew the duel,
the Countess of Polignac being the
challenging party. The ladies met at
six O'Clock in the morning, in July,
l72l, and fired one shot at each other
wit tout effect. Their seconds (the
Mar uis de Malbu;sson and the Comte
de Penthievre for Polignac and NJ. de
Remusac and Vicomte D'Allagne for
He Nesle) then rushed in to prevent
further hos iliieS; the fair demons,
however, would not be appeased, but
called for change of pistols, and again
bla ed away this second time with
satisfactory EJECT, for the Marchioness
fell dangerously wounded by a bullet in
her left side. while the Countess was
Just quietly touched in an ear.
A duel took place at Paris Jan. 81,
1772, between Mile. de Guignes and
Mile. d'Aiguillon 1.-TWO ladies of quail
ty), who had quarre!ed about prece-
dency at a soiree, and retired to a gar
den adjacent to the scene of disturbance
and fought with knives until both were
wounded-the former in the arm and
the latter in the neck. 1t is recorded of
Mile. Mous.in, French prima donna,
that, after killing three men in duels in
the woods near Paris, by sword, she ia
tally wounded her fencing-master, Sc
rane, and fled to Brussels, where she
domiciled with the elector of Bavaria
for brief period. Lola Montez was
also skillful with both pistol and rapier.
but it does not appear that she ever en-
gagged in anything of hostile character
above the dignity of street fight. She
once challenged journalist at Grass
Valley, Cal, to meet her with pistols
according TO prevailing rules governing
such meetings; and, upon his refusal to
DO so, thrashe1 him with cowhide up
on a public street. In 1916 she was
witness in the trial of NJ. Bouvallon for
killing M. Dujarier, at Paris, and said
in her testimony: al was better shot
than pujsIlpr; and, IL Bouvallon only