St. Landry democrat., 1886-07-03
The French Duel.
y. 0. States.

The French method of fighting a
duel ia meeting with much favor in
New York as means of settling at
fairs of honor and it bids fair to be-
csme a craze during the coming winter
which will De keenly enjoyed by. the
dudes. The French duel is a delicate
and harmless little affair, which has
been SO arranged as to be in perfect &C
cord with the civilization OF the pres
ent day, and one in which a tlmld
person can engage without rear OF
shedding his own or his antagonists
| blood.
A duel which satisfies large amount
Of honor, and at the same time does
not throw any trade into the hands OF
an undertaken, is bound to become
popular and fashionable. If Mr.. Au-
gustus Algernon Henrico Fitzjinks
comes amblins down the street on two
legs, bearing a striking resemblance to
a pair of names, and Mr.. Claude Ar
thur Tadsburg sees the legs, and laughs
at them in an insulting manner, there
will be trouble. Augustus A. H Pitz-
jinks will face him with flushed cheeks
and breast heaving like ieaky bel
lows, and thrust card under his nose,
and the next day on the banks OF the
Hudson river FitZjinks and Tadsbury
will stand at safe distance and poke
sword at each other until wounded
! honor is satisfied.
| 1t might be wise, however, before the
! dudes engage in the French duel and
accidentally hurt each other, for them
! to ascertain how the PariSians conduct
! their duels. According to the French
code the mbatants appear on the
/ field in faultleSs attire and tight only
/ with swords. They wear buttonhole
| boquets to distinguish them from their
/ seconds, and wax their moustaches so
! that the ends rear up like the horns OF
beetle This is done III order to
! furnish the element OF tierceneSs which
| is supposed to characterize every affair
of the kind. The combatants are
placed opposite each other and tar
enough apart to prevent the point OF ii
sword being thrust into the body OF
either of them. When placed IN their
respective positions the cOmbatants toe
the mark with their right foot, hold
the sword with the right hand, curl the
! like a woman in the act OF throwing a
brick, and at the word commence
thrusting at each other. At each
thrust one combatant says Sacre ! and
the other Pdrbitut Ii is absolutely me-
cessary to say .Sdcre! or Pdrbteu! In
order to make the duel thoroughly
French, and the man who wins the
choice of positions also has the choice
of the word.
After jabbing, slashing and thrust
ing until both adversaries reek with
perspiration, the seconds declare that
both men have conducted themselves
bravely Oh the field, that honor has
been satisfied; and the combatants
then shake hands, and supper with
champagne closes the festivities of the
day.
The only French duel which resulted
fatally occurred near Paris short time
ago, and the terrible catastrophe
shocked the whole French Republic
and caused intense excitement. One OF
the duellists was a tieshy man weighing
nearly two hundred pounds, and while
in tile act Of poking his sword at bis
adversary, he trod upon the skin of an
orange carelessly dropped on the field
by one OF the seconds, and the result
was bis heels flew up, and he fell to the
ground and broke his back.
Since that time an article has beer
added to the French Code prohibiting
oranges being brought on the ground