The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-24
AN EXTRAORDINARY DUEL.
1t Was By Command Of the Emperor
Napoleon.
A Mulatto Who vanquished Thirteen
of the Best Swordsmen in the French
Army Without RestLThe Most Re-
markable Duel Ever Fought.

of the Best Swordsmen in the French
Army Without Rest-The Most Re-
markable Duel Ever Fought.
~ n nj w -.
Recently 1 saw this in stray copy Of a
Richmond paper of the year 1884,
He may play Sir Lucius O'Trigger to
his hearts content, boasting Of an an
cestry every one of whom has killed his
mani, his family portraits and his honor,
but he must find somebody else than me
to kill him, With sweet home filed
with merry children, with enough to live
comfortably, with paying profession, /
am happy and want to live. In Gods
name, what would such man (his oppo-
nent) put in stake against this when we
stood at ten PAGES with pistolsl His
abuse of me has no more effect than a
dog barking at the moon. His invitation
came too late. Time has been when l
might have been fool enough to indulge in
in such folly, but with age and broader
view of life and its responsibilities have
hidden farewell forever to the duelling
type of manhood"
1t was John A. Wise's explanation and
refusal to fight a powder-Gurning Virgin
ian, who had camped on his trail and who
was bent on picking him of via pistols
and ten PAGES. The article was read by a
member of the French legation, and in
discoursing on duels ne was afterward
led to write out the following, being in
the main a story of an honorable encoun-
ter which took place under the eve and
baton of the great Napoleon. II may aid
in illustration of how they once did this
thing in Europe:
THE bloody exercise of dueling is as
old as history" said my diplomat. ut
was over 1000 years before the gentle
Nazarene that David and his sling dis
posed of that full-blown and rather in
lated parsonage, Goliath of Gath Many
were the celebrated encounters since,
extending, indeed, fairly down to
the present day For, while the
law is everywhere in Christendom
in solid front against it. still with some
men, in some sections, the custom
finds its friends and even ardent practi-
TONERS.
CAT one time dueling was a familiar
form OF settling disputes at law. These
legal combats were supposed TO invoke
the attention and interference of Omnipo-
tence, and, of course, in theory at
least the right prevailed. In the lawsuit
of that age a defendant was in most in
stances allowed his trial by combat, and
in the event of the judge awarding it
matters were carried off and blood set
flowing with much pomp and circum-
stance. The victor was the successful
litigaut, and there was no such process as
appeal. Women, MANNED persons, and
those under 10 and over co were exempt
from these combats, as also was the
clergy Yet manysof them might claim
the privilege and expose a champion in
his stead.
"The old law records Of England and
the most of the continental nations are
full of the history of these fights at law
On one occasion man barred to his waist
and armed with a sharp truncheon or
club was made to do battle with a bull
dog To those interested it may be well
to say that the man, in this instance, was
gictor,
1T was not until the earlier years of
the sixteenth century, however that duel
ing as method of settling private dis
putes involving somebody's alleged honor
came into vogue. That boom in duelinp
was due to the ill-considered conduct Of a
brace of kings, who wrote personal letters
of great violence, calling each other liars
and towards in. a most gallant way,
and talking fight the while as II it were
the breath to their nostrils. They
did not, however, actually meet-mon-
archs are not as rule anywise eager to
expose their royal persons to lance and
sword-and the, thing ended in talk /;
which was certainly a great pity. But it
set fashion which men of greater cour-
age though lesser estate followed eagerly
So zealously, indeed, did the gentry of
Europe pursue the matter of splitting
each other on their swords in personal
quarrels that the government took alarm
and the Catholic church brought all
power of Rome TO its determination as a
custom.
"Among the most remarkable of duels
was the one which came about by order of
the first Napoleon. About 1896 there
came to Paris brown mulatto boy, by
name Jean Louis. He was born on the
island of San Domingo. Later, in Paris
he was admitted as a pupil of regiment.
although he was objected to both on &C
count of his dark skin and his sickly
physique. But he was finally permitted
to pass, and subsequently developed into
a good soldier and the best swordsman
the world had ever known. This Jean
Louis was of very QUIET and religious
turn, and an ardent student of the bible
When his thin brown hand was
not grasping the sword hilt it was
turning the sacred leaves of scrip
ture. He had mind for nothing else
His fencing was noted for two things
rapidity and simplicity There was
nothing Misunderstanding of the play
house-in his work 1t was simply a
serious and scientific effort to kill an ad-
versary, and all without f1ounce or -four
ish. His fencing was like the workings
of a clock. He became famed first
through France, and finally Europe.
Swordsmen made pilgrimages to the
French capital to cross swords with the
mulatto. They were to a man vanquished.
But the duel Napoleon directed. 1t was
this:
''In 1914 Jean Louis was % years of age.
He was in the army, following the stand
ard of the COrsican. He had been in
thirty battles for his emperor in Russia,
Italy, Egypt and Prussia. Now he was
in the regiment in Spain His position
was that of first fencing master at Mad
rid. In the same division the Third
were regiments composed Of the subjected
allies OF Napoleon. The first regiment
was entirely of Italians, and one day
some soldiers OF this and the Thirty-sec-
ond, meeting in the wine shop fell to
brawlipg. The brawl became riot, as
comrades from each regiment rushed to
the scene, lusting for battle, and at once
involved themselves on their regimental
sides. Several were killed and much
blood shed nor did the fight cease until
brigade was marched to the scene to quell