Evening star., 1898-12-31
RULES FOR DUELTNG
Some Old Time Directions for Conducting an
Affair of Honor.
II One Fights Sideways the Chances
OF befnE Hit Are Less-Be-
fore the Meeting.

10 the subjects of Queen Victoria tt is,
happily, lost art; but sixty-fve years
since dueling was sufficiently in vogue to
ihouce an anonymous writer to publish a
book containing much useful informal ton. &"
ironically dedicated TO Daniel O'Connell,
esq, NJ. p, and James Silk Buckingham
esq, NJ. P, as entertaining the opinion
first promulgated by the immortal Falstaff,
OF happy memory, that discretion is the
better part of valor.''
The author advises "all my countrymen
who go abroad to use the pistol instead OF
the sword when they have the choice OF
the weapon, as the baiance of killed ana
wounded Is now muen IN favor OIL lne
ffenSn, VINO, upon the termination of the
late war, amused themselves by occasion
any SpHtinS some hail dozen of our travel
ing young IashIonaDies before breakfast" q"
He recommends "furdey, in oxford street,
as the maker of the best dueIing pistol
locks, care in the selection of IL stock
Whlch hts the hand comfortably, and 10
eScheW saw handles" Barrels should be
ten inches long, and half rihed, which, con-
slderlng that throughout his volume he
poses as man of the st{ctest honor, is
puzzllng, for he admits that a wholly rified
pistol is considered an unfair weapon,
therefore one not appearing to be rifled
should be substituted.
On the chances" he writes: Many a
poor, long-armed, struggling fellow has re-
ceNed the coup di (sic) occur (or fatal
stroke) who might still have been in exist
ence had he known how to protect his per
son in the feld,' the necessary protection
consisting in standing sideways and draw
ing in the stomach. SHOULD the party be
hit. presumably because he could not draw
IN his stomach, "he must not feel alarmed
1 mas seems difficult, as a man with bull
let in his stomach can hardly be expected
not to display some little natural anxiety,
for, as is admitted later, "a shot in the di-
geStlye he
ing to bon vivant.' To aldermen his ad-
wee is the old method of fighting-the
over the shoulder. THE chances of a
mans being killed are about fourteen to
one; and of his being hit, about six to one
He arrives at this conclusion by dividing
mans body, when opposed to his adver-
Sary, into nine parts. Therefore ne says:
''As in only three of these a wound. would
prove mortal, the chances are three to one
against his being killed, and five to one
against his being hit; that is, however,
he hastens to add, provided his antagonist
has never read my work; if he has, the case
may be differentr'
The combatant is told mot to allow the
idea of becoming target to make him un
easy. but to treat the matter jOcOSely" He
is to laugh away the evening over bottle
of port, and play g rubber of whist. but he
must avoid drinking to excess taking
ANY food that tends to create bile" be-
cause bilious objects are not seen either
distinctly or correctly" This would rather
be valid reason for getting bilious
possible: man with an attack of jaundice
should be invisible. and able to blaze at
his antagonist in perfect safety. If he can
not sleep on retiring to rest he is to read
Byron's ''Childe Harold:'' his servant is to
call him at >. and give him a strong cup
of coffee; then he is to smoke cigar, and
'on his way to the scene of action he is
to take brandy and soda, as a most
grateful stimuIant and corrective"
NO wonder our author recommends him
at this point t. draw in his stomach. IF
he dies. he is to go off with as good grace
as possihle,' On the other hand, if he hits
his antagonist, he is to take off his hat to
him and express regret.
A challenge is not to be in rhyme, such
as "a certain poetical, brandy loving ma ior
general of marines wrote to a brother
officer who ran off with his wife:
Wounds on the flesh a surgeons skill may
heal,
But wounded honor's only cured with
steel.
An Irshman is not to be chosen as sec
ond, for nine out of ten have such an in
nate love of fighting they cannot bring an
affair TO an amicable adjustment: and the
hrst duty of second is TO prevent the
affair coming TO serious issue Other
advice IS for the second to take care his
prtnclpal Is not inconvenienced by the sun,
and to get his antagonist with something
dark behind him. when 1t will he much
more easy to hit him.
AS may be inferred, the author holds hv
ioi ne man VINO 1allS III a duel
ana the individual who is killed by the
oVerturn of a stage coach are both unfar-
tunate victims to a practice from which
We derive great advantages. 1t would be
absurd to prohibit stage travelling because
occasionally few lives are lost by an
overturn; and unless men endeavored TO de-
stroy each other they might live to a pa
trlarchal age. and multiply so rapidly that
the soil would soon be insufficient to supplv
them with Punishment with which re-
ductio ad absuTdum the volume may well
be put back on the shelf