Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1888-09-29
The CODE OF HONOR.



The Times When Honor Demanded Gore.
Fashionable DueIlng Weapons.
There has been, so far as / have been
able to find, only two codes" written in
the English language, which have been
generally accepted. Prior to 1777 duels
appear to have been governed by customs
which were preserved mainly by ira
dition, though the innumerable written
accounts of duels were Of course useful
In establishing and preserving those
customs.
1t was perhaps characteristic of the
Irish mind that the first ''code," strictly
90 called. should have been established in
Ireland. Certainly the manner of its
establishment was eminently Irish. Nu-
merous gentlemen of social standing and
of experience in dueling. which was then
almost a national pastime in Ireland,
were elected as delegates from Tpperary,
Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Roscommon,
and met in solemn convention.
The meeting was held at the Clonmel
summer assizes of the year mentioned,
and after due elaboration they wrote
out and promulgated set Of rules gov
erning ''the practice of dueling and
points of honor" These were duly
signed by Crow Ryan. as president, and
by James Keog and Andy Bodkin, as
secretaries of the convention, and were
sent out with an IN. B. I" attached. which
read: "All matters and doubts not here
in mentioned will be explained and
cleared up by application to the commit
tee, who meet alternately at Clonmel and
Galway at the quarter sessions for the
purpose"
The only other code have found Is the
one published by Governor Wilson sixty
eight years later. It has been called,
sometimes, the 'Kentucky code, but It
Is hard to say why. since it was written
by a South Carolinian and published In
Charleston, and dueling was certainly no
more in vogue In Kentucky than In any
other state.
The progress of refinement between
the two dates mentioned Is easily to DO
noted by comparison Of some few
points. In rule IS Of the earlier code 1t
Is laid down that: mo dumb shooting
or firing In the air Is admissible in any
case. The challenger ought (not) to have
challenged without receiving offense, and
the challenged ought, If he gave offense,
to have made an apology before he came
on the ground; therefore children's play
must be dishonorable on one side or tho
other, and is strictly prohibited. By
the American practice, on the other
hand, it is held that deliberate firing in
the air terminates duel, since the party
SO firing has satisfied the demands Of
honor by exposing his life to the attack
of his foe. .
The Irish code declares that no verbal
apology can be received for blow, and
says: "All imputations Of cheating at
play, races, etc., are to be considered
equivalent to blow, but may be recon-
ciled after one shot on admitting their
falsehood and begging pardon publicly"
In general 1t may be said that the
American code justifies the claim Of the
codifer, that his desire was to prevent
duels that may be avoided without In
fractions Of the law of honor, while the
aim of the Irishmen seems to have been
ia make it as easy as possible for a man
determined to fight to get at his adver-
sarys gore.
OAAC AAbCACotAA6 GNAhs ACAahANO W NAiQ
refinement of dueling was the gradual
Every reader on the subject knows that
weapons Of almost every description have
been used, from the quarter staff Of early
days to the seven shooter.
There came to be, after a time, a
strong prejudice against such choice Of
weapons, and OF late, as an anonymous
writer Of ten years ago pointed out, only
three weapons have been recognized as
Legitimate" weapons for dueling pur-
poses, These are the pistol, the rapier or
small sword, and the saber or broad
sword.
This writer says: proficiency In
fencing can be urged as fatal objection
to the use of rapier or saber when one
principal AYERS his ignorance In tho art
Of handling either. But against tho
pistol as weapon no protest can be en-
tertained, provided its make and fash.
ion accord with the requirements Of
the code. The rapier, for centuries
q portion of habitual costume,
ana still conserved as feature in
state and court dress, has long since been
dropped from the list of American duel.
ing weapons, having been used Of late
years only by Creoles Of Louisiana and
by foreigners sojourning In this country.
Although not essentially Objectionable TO
the code, as most certainly are rifles,
fowling pieces, revolvers, bowie knives
and similar destructive implements, 10
suggest employment Of the small sword
for present dueling purposes would be
regarded as an attempted evasion of the
cartel, or craven endeavor 10
take advantage OF an unskillful an
tagonist. In almost similar light
would be viewed a choice Of the saber,
which, while the rapier was conaid-
cred as destructive weapon for civ
ilians, has been reserved wholly
for the use Of gentlemen attached to tho
military and naval arms Of service, a
cutless being at times substituted for the
regulation cavalry sword to accommo-
date heroes OF the marine branch. The IA
yorite and most legitimate dueling weapon
OF the present century Is the pistol, and
tho one indirectly recommended by the
code. The Tipperary code sanctions the
employment OF holster pistols in duel.
but since the days Of Turpin and King
few gentlemen deign to practice with
such highway implements, and conse-
quently for dueling purposes they have
been superseded by that artistic and
costly piece OF workmanship known as
the dueling pistol par excellence. case
OF which, thirty years since, formed an
indispensable feature In every sporting
gentieman's armory. - David a. Curtis
IN Chicago Herald.