The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-05-15

KNEW OF tne art OF IeuGlllS absolutely
nothing whatever; and when every
thing was snugly arranged for the duel
| thought of this fact with something
more than annoyance. / particularly
did not want to be killed, because
WELL because q certain lady had prom
ised to marry me within short time,
and I-well, I did not want to disap-
point her. And there was no backing
out of the duel, One could afford TO
laugh at such a meeting in England.
But in France it is another matter.
Even the English winter residents
would have looked asSance at me if
had tried to disentangle myself, More
over there was another thing, more
dangerous than wounds or death, and
that was ridicule. A man may put up
with being killed, but he cannot endure
being laughed at. So | made up my
mind that if DArblay did not disable
me first I would leave my mark on him
in q way there was no mistaking,
Mind, I did not want to kill the fellow,
only did not intend to be mixed up in
an affair which the newspapers could
define as another bloodless encoun-
ter" and dismiss with jeering para
graph
So to sum up: I went on the field
determined on forcing a serious fight,
and a good deal fearing lest | myself
should be the one to suffer.
We drove out to the place of meeting
in the early morning, with a keen mis-
trail blowing which chilled one to the
bone. The others arrived simultane-
ously. There was quite q congregation
of us: four seconds, two doctors and
the principals. But D'Arblay, being a
Frenchmah, liked crowd, and had
to bow to the etiquette of the country
whether fancied it or not.
No politeness could have been more
punctilious than ours, and none more
icy, We two principals stripped to
shirt and trousers, and | stood on the
frost-rimed grass in my stocking feet
D'Arblay was opposite me, smiling
grimly. We saluted one another with
the bare glittering rapiers, and sec
ond took up position behind each of us,
standing ready with walking-stick to
knock up the blades at the least sign of
a foul stroke. At least, so I was
warned. To myself I was wondering
what foul Stroke" might be, so ig-
norant was of the very elements Of
fencing. But said nothing about this,
| and when D'Arblay crossed blades
| with mine, | engaged him with whirling
| fury.
The blue steel flashed and stabbed a
| thousand circles in the chill morning
air and pang of fear gripped me by
| the heart. 7 seemed to feel his blade
passing through me in hundred
places. Death appeared inevitable.
Every second I marvelled at finding
myself alive.
To myself I accepted q mortal wound
as inevitable; but I lusted to get my
own blade through Barclays body be-
fore I was killed. ] could hardly see
him. Our painting breath hung gray
under the cold morning sun, so that we
fought In clammy mist / lunged
and passadoed, barely guarding at all;
fighting on the offensive only, through
sheer greed Of getting in my own blow
before / was hors de combat.
Then, before ] knew what was hap
pening, the duel ended | was con-
scious Of feeling somewhere or other
of a scar as with a hot iron. under
stood that 1t meant I was wounded
! and duly wondered where, though
| without being able to locate the hurt
| / saw the walking-sticks of the seconds
| uprise to beat down our weapons, and
| at the same moment / heard D'Arblay
utter a Shrek Of pain. A heavy cane
clashed down on my blade, and ! drew
| back nearly burst for want of breath
/ - {s1J trtt t,c
whole Of them had happened simulta-
neously-within one tick of a clock.
The surgeons rushed up to us with
| lint and bandages, Blood was running
from my fingers on to this rapier's hilt
| D'Arblay had scored my right forearm
| with shallow cash a dozen inches
long. He himself was in worse case;
I had run him through the shoulder.
NV seconds tried to hold me back
! hut I was too warmed up to care much
| for the etiquette of the French duellc
| then, ] strobe across to where D'Ar-
blay lay in the surgeons hands, with
| the blood pattering from my fingers on
to the grass.
"M'sieu win apologize, 7 hope?
may mention that the lady is engaged
| to me-"
ct didn't know it." said my opponent
"Why didn't you tell me before? My
dear fellow, am most ahominably sor-
ry for having chartered. You have
given me a pig of a stab, and that
ought to settle accounts between us
VIII you come and breakfast with me
when we're both tied up?"
One of the seconds nurmured at this
| informally.
/ Sir" I said, eff you have anything
to complain of, may 7 hear it,"
Monsieur" he replied, II think we
had better consider this affair as ended
now"
| The other duel in which I took part
| was none of my seehing.It happened
last year in Florida, where my wift
and / were spending the winter, an6
was thrust upon me in a manner little
short of murderous.
The beginning was in this wise:
detected a man cheating at cards.
was not playing myself, but the cheat
| ing was done to swindle a fellow who
was my friend; and because i saw il
| beyond shadow of doubt 1 called ou
| to him to stop play. OF course there
was a row, and Gf the sharper had no.
| been in a minority of one) there might
well have been shooting. after the Gus
tom of the country. But as it was, the
thing was utterly fragrant; indeed, tn;
man himself did not attempt to deny