The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-01-20
FRENCH DUELISTS.
TIE ACADEMY waERETsEY PRAC-
TICE FOR TIE FIELD.


PARIS, Jan. These are days in which
the duel is no longer thing of innocence
and joy. and jokes about its being salutary
exercise before breakfast must be relegated
to bsck-number funny books.
The French duel Of to-day as fought by
such expert shots and swordsmen as
Ciemencesu, Paul de CassagnAc, the Mar
Quis de Mores, who killed a man only the
other day and is game to kill more, Henri
Rochefort, Aurelien ScholI, Paul Deroulede
and scores of others, is a very serious mat
ter. Within the last ten years Frenchmen
have assimilated many Anglo-Saxon
notions; they have worked I'D fondDess
for horse racing, for cold water baths, for
creased trousers imported from Bond street.
They have also learned to shoot-thanks to
fashion and NJ. Gestinn ne Renette.
NJ. Gastinne- Renette is a maker OF drDtes
de precision and the proprietor of the most
famous shooting gallery 10 Paris, probably
in Europe. He inherited the business from
his father, and it is safe to say he has in.
suructed more eminent men In the deadly
art than any one living man.
Nowadays young Partisan dares not in
dulge in any complex love affairs, much
less enter parliament or a newspaper career.
nette's academy. lie would be mad to
neglect that, for the e 1t is that his eye and
nerve will be trained so that he may acquit
himself c-editably when he stands before
stern adversary and the seconds voice rings
out
"Feu-un, deux, trois."
And II he leads the ordinary Partisan life
and has ordinary luck he will find himself
In such position more than once
When man Of this world has made
reputation as a pistol shot in Vienna, St.
Petersburg, Berlin or any where else on the
continent, he is not satisfied until he has
| journeyed TO Paris and ptted himself
| against some of the cracks at the Rene to
gallery. He usually discovers then that be
has still mu b TO learn.
Gastinne Renettes place stands lust off
the Champs Elysees on the broad and, in
summer, well shaded Avenue d Auttn.
There any afternoon about o'clock one
NAV see some of the most prominent people
| In Paris, stars in every walk of life, popping
| away in all seriousness at disks of white
| pasteboard about six inches in diameter
marked with concentric circles around the
coveted bulls eye. Those are called car
tons, and are preserved with religious care
| by pistol enthusiasts; Some OF them showing
especial skill, are hung In places of honor
! upon the walls OF the gallery, which are
| covered with trophies and souvenirs OF the
| prowess OF men OF note from all over the
| world
The day before Clemenceau's resent duel
with Paul Dsroulede, the fiery poet of 81 "a
| Revanche," the maker and breaker Of min
istries, scored twenty bulls-eyes in success
| sion, and his hand was as steady as tho
| Vendome column. The same afternoon in
shooting at the msnnequin. or stuffed hui
| mau figure, M. Clemenceau landed his
| bullets at will in heart or head, right arm
| or left arm, at a distance OF thirty meters
and yet the next day when they came to
| fight he missed his man entirely three times
in succession; so great is the difference be-
( tween firing for iun or In earnest
| The result of the duel just referred to
illustrates well accepted proposition in af-
| fairs OF this kind that you can never tell
| how man will shoot in the fight by the
| way he shoots before IL.
remember a good illustration of this
which happened about three years ago. It
was on the occasion OF the duel between
Camille Dreyfus, prominent deputy, and
the Marquis de Mores, who considered him
self mortally iusulted. Dreyfus was Justly
| regarded as one of the pistol shots in France,
and bad been practicing for weeks at Re
nette's gallery. His cartons were the admira-
ton OF every one and rarely showed hole
outside the inner circle. The day before
the duel Gastinne-Renette.w who has sort
OF intuitive Judgment in these things,
watched III. Dreyfus shoot.
"He Is sure TO kill the marquis" said a
clubmsn, who considered himself an ex-
pert
"He will not touch the marquis" au-
swered the veteran tescher-and be was
right.
The duel, which was the talk OF Paris,
| sook place the next morning on the Belgia n
| frontier. BY a fortunate combination of
circumstances / was able to be present at 1t.
representing New York daily. remem-
Der she affair particularly. because had
brought a kodak along and photographed
the duel while In progress
N. Lookroy, a cabinet minister, was chief
second on one side and viscount somebody
on the other. Every one was in full aftsr-
noon dress, white gloves and 30 forth. aud
the affair was conducted with exquisite
politeness.
II don't go in for fancy shooting, but I
shall kill that fellow" said De Mores. as he
left his seconds, and he meant 1t.
Finally all was arranged, after several
tossings for choice, and the two principals
and four seconds, with a doctor on either
side, stood in their places like frozsn chess
men. Everything was silent. Then came
she command given twice over:
Are you ready"
"Feu-un. deux, trois," the words oonn-
ing with the beat OF the seconds
III. Dreyfus fired almost instantly with
the word Ecu" He missed and the mar
quis swung his weapon up to the level with
the steady, automatic movement he had
learned from our western cowboys. He
pressed the trigger at the world "Deux, y
and the bullet went straight to the mark
1t would have entered N. Dreyfus' body on
the right side at about the fifth rib had not
the latter after his own shot dropped his
arm to his side and intercepted the missile
just above the elbow. That accident prob
ably saved the deputy's life
Both men LETT the field angry and I re-
member hearing De Mores complain bitterly
on tbs journey back to Paris that the reeu-
lation charge for powder was too small to
kill at the prescribed distance, that is twenty
meters. He emphasized the fact that his
ball had not even broken the bone of bis
adversary's arm. There is no question but
that certain precautions of this kind have
been approved by general usage
in Paris with the idea OF making
duel with pistols less murder
Gus. But for these and the fact already
noticed that experts in the gallery often
cease 70 be such on the field, there would be
Q terrible percentage Ut deaths in these en-
counters.
One Of the favorite exercises at Renette's
gallery is the shooting at small plaster i'm
ages made TO move past at different rates
Of speed. The younger Dumas who has
had many dueling experiences is a great
adept at this, though Of recent years he has