The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-11-19
FAMOUS DUELS.

Beuve, having an affair with an author.
lifted an umbrella to protect himself
against few raindrops His seconds
pointed out that he was thus Offering
much better mark to his adversary.
Il cannot help it," answered Sainte
Beuve. II came here to stand fire. not
water
Another French critic, Jules Janin.
who was extremely corpulent, went
out to cross swords with comic actor
of the Palais Royal. who was small
and spare man. The actor, gravely
approaching Janin, drew a circle with
4 piece of chalk on the latter's waist
coat, and said: "Let us equalize the
chances; any hit | make outside this
circle shan't count" OF course the
critic laughed, and the duel went no
further.
a Prussian cavalry officer at
Cologne got into dispute with very
mild young professor, and, the oppro-
brious epithet of Schafskopf (sheep's
headD having been uttered, an encoun-
ter became inevitable. But the officer
was good fellow, and the quarrel was
so absurd that it was settled there
should only be duel pour rire. The
principals were to be placed at thirty
PAGES apart, and the charges were not
to be rammed Ga loose charge makes
the bullet deviate), but the officer was
to fall and pretend to be dead, until,
the professor having been well fright
ened, there was to be reconciliation
and breakfast. The parties appeared
on the ground; the officer fell as had
been planned, and the young professor
was thrown into Mysteries of remorse
and terror; but when the joke had been
pushed far enough, it was found the
officer lay dead in earnest. The pro-
fessor's bullet had severed his carotid
artery.
A lesson, not fatal like the forego-
inc, was once inflicted upon German
officer by puny, but high-minded,
hunchback. The hunchback had been
wantonly insulted, and challenged the
military bully to duel with pistols.
The officer fired and missed. The
hunchback drew an orange from his
pocket, flung it into the air, and shot
it through as it descended. He then
said calmly to his adversary: "You will
be convinced from this that hunch-
back has spared your life"
There is a tradition in one of the
French regiments about young Off
Ger, named Olivier, who had consci-
entious scruples against dueling. He
let this BE- known, and his courage was
called into question, though, in truth,
he was thoroughly brave man. A
disreputable brother officer determined
to draw him into a quarrel, and, hav-
ing used insults without avail, struck
Olliyief publicly in cafe. The colo
mel of the regiment sent for Olivier,
and said to him: "Yo our scruples would
be natural, if you were 4 monk; but,
as you are an officer, you must fight
or resign; and, if you resign, l warn
you that you will be disgraced man.
Olivier consented to fight, and, as he
he'd the choice of weapons, he demand
eel duel with pistols at three PAGES
one of tho pistols to be loaded, the 9TH
er blan,;. The pistols were to be hid
den under handkerchief, and lots were
to be drawn to decide which of the
combatants should take up one of the
pistols at hazard The unloaded pis-
tol fell to the bully, who pulled his
trigger, of course without effect. The
seconds stood breathlessly for mo-
ment, but fully expected that Olivier
would fire in the air. Instead of doing
that, he took deliberate aim at his op-
ponent's forehead, and blew his brains
out; then, plunging his hand into the
hideous wound he had made, smeared
his cheeks with blood, and cried to the
seconds. "There, gentlemen, have l
wiped off the blow according to your
notions!" The same day he threw up
his commission, and soon afterwards
retired into Il monastery.
\ noted Russian swashbuckler pick
ed Il quarrel with 4 Polish painter, who,
being the insulted party, selected field
cannon rs his weapon. This was done
ut the suggestion Of the Grand Duke
Constantine, who was the painters
friend, and the disgusted Russian ofli-
Ger, finding that nobody would back
him up in a refusal, had to acquiesce.
Two field pieces were procured; gun
ners were employed to load them, and
the combatants were instructed to pull
a firing string ut Il given signal. The
Russian ought to have known that an
upward inclination of the cannon how
ever slight, would cause his opponents
ball to go whizzing yards above his
head; but he was so unnamed by the
novelty of his position that, when the
two guns went off with an appalling
noise, he gave 4 leap into the air, and
fell fiat on his face A second shot be-
ing proposed to him, he would have
none Of it, but apologized.
In England, during the reign of
Queen Anne, the duelling disease in
tected even the learned professions.