The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-06-14

saiic.y VI siSious TWISTS and turns. Every
thrust--and bear in mind there is nothing
but thrusting-has its name. The noble
savage, no doubt, was familiar oniy with
the straight thrust, administered with a
pointed stick. Civilization. however. has
ciasslneo even this stroke into straight
thrust In quartz or in tierce 1t has further
improves on this by artfully pretending to
| IT round and delivering it on the other
side. o's's-
encouraged by the success of this ma
NEWER, 1t has added the un. deur. in
whIcn thrust that seems TO threaten the
neart, Is converted by dexterous turn of
t Tue Wits. into thrust that goes right for
the right lung. The battement taps the
weapon OF the adversary aside with a sud-
uen JERK and lays him or her open every
"here Tor half a second during which
PERIOD You must make the best use of your
t,ine. Ihe preston softly pursuades
tne blade out of the line of defense for
the same purpose. The tron,pez lie contre de
quartz IS another unhandsome subterfuge
az your adversary's expense-and so on
through perfect bewlldering variety of
pretenses of the same kind.
but, let US return to our girl pupils. At
intervals of five or ten minutes, which
allows them plenty of time to rest. the
practice IS resumed. 1t is an interesting
sight to watch my dozen or more young
beauties, with masks on their faces and
gloves on their hands, in double-line of
fencing array. The clothing is eminently
suitable for the sport. The lower limbs
are not hampered by long skirts, and the
cIose-htting basque does not prevent the
Tree movement of their arms. The inno-
cent clash of their little blades gives them
dainty warlike appearance, such as one
might expect to meet among diminutive
Amazons from the region where Titani
holds her court.
The society women now have their fenc-
Ing rooms, and there is C0urs descrime
rusdgc dcs denloiseilcs, or fencing lessons
Tor young ladies, at the Conservatoire,
under the direction of NJ. Jacob. 1t is for
the benefit of the actresses, who some
times requires a certain knowledge of the
art TOR their professional work. Many
ladies in society now use the foil as sub
stitute for gymnastics. Nine. Marie Sasse,
the former cantatrice at the opera, was one
OF the most expert blades and poor Fey
CHINE of the Coincide Franchise, who COM
mltted suicide some years ago, was an
other. "She parties and returns with
vigor," said discriminating critic of her
style; ''she delivers her attack rapidly,
with bright eye and glowing cheek, and
with her long hair streaming down her
shoulders
Lea d Assoc was pupil of Cain, the we'll
! known Paris teacher, and she first took
lessons to calm her nerves-apparently not
bClOtC u hHO6 rouge Vi oMOIuS WE NdIlLeu,
| as she once lost her temper so far as to box
the ears of her pretty comrade Gelabert at
rehearsal. Gelabert unfortunately was no
fencer, so could not demand satisfaction In
| the regular way.
| Some ladies, however, have been less
| tolerant. For instance, Mrs. Olympic Au-
| douard, the well-known writer and tray-
| eler, who died last year. knew SO well how
| to handle rapier that she one day sent a
| challenge to NJ. de Villemessant, who had
| spoken disrespectfully of her in the Figaro,
which he edited. NJ. de Villemessant de-
clined the contest, and whenever the irate
lady, in quest of his blood, entered the Of
| fees of the Rue Brouet he made his escape
| through a back door.
Women in France have always been bat
| tlesome, whether among each other or
| against their natural oppressors. Mile.
Beaupre, one of the first actresses that APP
| peared on the French stage, sent a chal-
lenge to a fellow-actress, Chatherine DIES
| Urliss, and they fought it out on the stage.
| Mile Beaupre took two swords from the
| property room; Catherine des Urliss, who
| thought she was in fun, accepted one, but
her antagonist wounded her in the neck,
| and would have killed her but for the
| timely interference of some of the actors.
| The famous Mademoselle de Maupin,
| the heorine OF Theophile Gautier's best
| known novel, challenged three courtiers
who had insulted her, and fought them.
Feeling herself aggrieved by remark of
| Dumesnil the actor, she sent him her Sec
| onds, and. on his refusal to cross swords
| with her, horsewhipped him.
| Not three years ago the curious scene so
| clevely depicted by III. Emile Bayard in
| his picture, IAN Affair of Honor" was IL
| Illustrated in real life by duel between two
| young ladies well known in certain circles,
| Mile. Juliette kessler, a Partisan, and
| Miss Anna Debre, an American who had
settled in Paris. The quarrel arose out of
love affair. They were both enamoured
| of the same victim" the son of a wealthy
Paris banker, and Mile. Kessler, meeting
her rival in his company, boxed her ears.
The insult was one which could only be
washed away in blood. and a duel was ar
ranged to take place in the Bots de
Meudon. The principals and their seconds
duly met, and the rivals had crossed swords
| when the Meudon police, brought to the
| spot by the gay Lothario, who was the
cause of the trouble, interviewed and car
| ried off the two fair belligerants to the
lookup. The superintendent heard what
the ladies had to say, and then gave them
lecture, advising them strongly to make
up their quarrel and become friends again.
This they would not do, but he allowed
them to depart The swords brought for
the fray, which were said to be of consid-
cradle value, were coniiscated.
Nine Sarah Bernhardt, who leaves moth
| ing undone that can contribute to her
| Charms, WAS at one tlIiic uiItiitIlllnS IN
her practice of this healthy exercise.
But the homely proverb, that 1t IS i'm
possible to play with fire without being
burned, was curiously exemplhed In 1889
apropos of this same fencing among ladies.
Familiarity with the weapon, no doubt
accustomed the Countess kinski and the
no less noble Countess Scroenken of Ischk
Austria, to the idea of the deadly use to
which the rapier is frequently put by the
ruder sex, so that when sudden quarrel
stirred the hot blood of the Austrian
grdndes DANES. a challenge quickly fol-
lowed and a genuine duel was arranged
between the two aristocratlc ladies'
Each chose a second from among her
feminine friends and n secluded bit of
woods not far from the imperial residence
was selected as the scene of combat. A
| Prussian baroness who had studied surgery
in Russia was the physician in attendance
and the whole Gfdire 'honneur was con-
| Quoted with the same rigid politeness as
among men. They fought with foils with
| out buttons, q most dangerous weapon, on
| account of the needle-shaped smallness of
the punctures, which often entail deadly
! internal hemorrhage; both ladies We're
| wounded, one in the breast, the other in
the arm, but n complete reconciliation was
effected before they parted.
Fencing, however, sometimes leads to
| happier results. Mile. Monthazon, the
| wellknown actress, married Grizier, the
| son of celebrated fencing master after
| crossing swords with him in her fathers
| sale, where she went to practice for the
1 duel of the first act of "Boccace;" and
got my present husband in competing last
1