Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1899-08-16
OLD DUELING RULES.
aNucH USEFUL ADVICE" FROM AN
 ANCIENT BOOK

NINAAENt DNNHe
 If the Cos, batant Dies as a Result of
 the EscosRter. He q. rsid Co Co oG
 Nith a. Good Grace as Possible
 Erishmes Not Good Seconds.
 To Englishmen duehng is happily a lost art. but thTee-quarters of a century ago dueling " as sufficiently in vogue tO induce an anonymous writer to publish a book containing much useful infer nation. ." ironically dedicated to Daniel O'Connen. Esq. M P, and James Silk Buckingham Esq N P. as enter taiuing the opinion first promulgated by the immortal Falstaff of happy memory that discretion Is the better part of yalor,
 The author advises ''an my country men who go abroad to nse the pistol in- stead of the sword when they have the choice of the weapon. as the balance of killed and wounded is now much in ia vor of the French. who. upon the ter imitation If the late war. amused them selves by occasionally splitting some half dozen of our travelling young fashion ables bCforc breakfast He recon mends ''PuTdey, in Oxford street, as the mc keT pf the best duehng pistol locks care Tn the selection of 8 stock which fits the hand comfortably and Co eschew "saw handles Barrels should be ten inches long and half rited which considering that throughout bis volume be poses as man of the strict est honor. is puzzhng. for he admits that a wholly rifed pistol is considered An unfair weapon. therefore one not ap- Pearing to be riaed should be sUbsti- tutsd
 On the chances be writes Many d Door. l0nr armed struggling fellow has received the coup d tsic) cHur (or fatal strukel who might still have been in existence had he known how tO pro tect his person ID the field. the neoes- sary pr0tection consisting in standing sideways and drawing iu the stomach should the party be hit presumably becauze be could not draw in his st0m ach ''he must not feel alarmed This seems difficult as a man with a bullet in his stomach can hardly be expected not Ca display s1me httle natural auNie- tv. for as iz admitted later. "a shot in the digeStiye organs must be particu larly alulyiug to a bon vivant To aldermen h's advice is "the old method of fghuur the back Ca the adversary and charging orer the shoulder .'Iho ,haucts 0f a man being killed are al.at I4 to I. and Of his being hi' al,out G to He arrives at tAis clnClus.on by dividing a man 8 nody when oppused to his adversary into niIe parts Therefore he says "As in unly three uf these wound would prove mortal the chances are 8 tO against his being killed and 5 Co | against his being hit that is, how ever. he hastens to add. provided his antagonist has never read my work II he has. the case may be different
 The combataut Is told mot to allow the idea of t-ecoming a target to make him uneasy. but t0 treat the matter jocosoly He is to laugh away the evening over bottle of port. and play a rubber uf whist. but he must avoid drinking to excess or taking "any food that tends to create bile, because "bil- iou~ objects are not seen either distinct ly or correctly This would rather be a valid reason for getting as bilious as possible 4 man with an attack of jauua.ce should be invisible aud able to blaze at his antagonist ID perfect safety If he cannot sleep on retiring Co r.-st. he Is to read Byron "Childe Harold His servant Is to call him at . and give him a strong cup of coffee Then be Is to smoke a cigar. and lon his way to the scene of action" he is to take a brandy and soda, as a most grateful stimulant and corrective
 No wonder our author recommends him at this point to draw in his stom- ach. If he dies, he is to go of with as good grace as possiblel' On the other hand if he hits his antagonist. he is to take of his hat to him and express re- gret
 A challenge is not to be in rhyme. such as "a certain poetical, brandy low ing major general of marines wrote to a brother officer who ran of with his wife
 Wounds on the flesh a surgeons skill may
 heal.
 But wounded honor's only cured with steel
 An Irishman is not to be chosen as second. for nine out of ten have such an innate love of fighting they cannot pring an affair to an amicable adjust msnt. and the first duty of second is to prevent the affair coming to seri- ous issue Other advice is for the sec ond to take care his principal is not in conveHienced by the sun, and to get his antagonist with something dark behind him. when 1t will be much more easy to hit him
 As may be inferred. the author holds by dueling. for the man who falls in a duel and the individual who is Eilled by the overturn of a stagecoacb are both unfortunate victims to a prac- tice from which We derive great advan- tages It would be absurd to prohibit stage travelling because occasionally few lives are lost by an overturn. and unless men endeavored to destroy each other they might live to a patriarchal age and multiply So rapidly that the soil would soon be insufficient to sup ply them with nourishment, with which reductio ad absurdum the voi- ume may well be put back on the shelf Navy and Army Illustrated