The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-11-29
DUELING In FRANCE.
THE CUSTOM HAS DEVELOPED ANA
TloNAL FIGHTING BLADE.

IL Is Long, Strong Sword. tb,
Gpee dc Combat, and with Ii
Were the COmbntants so Inclined
serious Injuries Could lie Inflicted
PERSONS other than French are wont
TO maintain In spite of the occasional
pin pricks that the French duelists In
hict on one another that French duel
Ing Is French farce. But Frenchmen
ana sometimes other persons in SYM
pathy with them insist upon being TAX
en- seriously. They insist that duellng
| with swords, which is the real thIna I'm
| trench duels, Is not child's play and
that compared with it the old fashion.
ed Anglo-Saxon resort TO "nolr Of
nVes Is brutality not to be thought Of
| by the scraping smirker of the boule.
| Yards.
Inc French habit of settling disputes
| by resort to duels with swords has de-
| veioped national duelng weapon, the
epee de combat, long and strong
blade with three triangular grooves
tapering to keen point, with edges
that never are used save for defense.
Inc hand Is protected with n brond.
round guard shaped like the gong upon
an alarm clock. The handle is straight.
with no other lncumbrance, and bal-
anced by heavy pommel which pro-
Jects beyond the root of the thumb
When the weapon is held ready for n
thrust
1t is a modern development Of the
rapler with which Cyrano de Bergerac
fought the bullies of Paris. It shows
traces of Its descent through the ele-
CANT court sword which was coming
into being when D'Artagnan became n
held marshal In the Duo de Brage-
lonne." But It's hilt makes II impossi-
bic for ordinary wear I'm its present
shape, and the epee de combat Is the
weapon Of the French duelist and Of
him alone.
In 1888 General Boulanger and NJ
Floquet found it necessary to settle
their differences Mt the swords point
The critics had not much difficulty in
picking the winner between Il civilian
president OF the chamber of deputies
well advanced In years who had limit
ed his practice to sparrow shooting
with Il pistol and bray general" in
the full ardor Of his life whose sword
was the symbol Of his profession. Yet
they were utterly mistaken
If Nj. Floquet wns no swurdsman, he
was full of quiet pluck and common
sense, and he practiced one stroke only
the night before the fight. A dozen
times, though not too many to make
his old limbs stiff the next day, he
might have been seen in n well known
sales darmes Strengthening his arm
and raising his wrist until he could
only just see the point of his sword
above and beyond the ball OF his
thumb. The next day Boulnnger made
furious attack, with many stamps
and tlourishes. The little president
stlffened his back, threw out his point,
and the unlucky general impaled his
neck upon the blade. BouLanger recov-
cred, to die by his own hand after
"Boulangism" had been discredlted.
Harry Ais" of the Debats suffered
much more quickly from the effects Of
the epee. His real name was Hippolyte
NiNANLf anu III llSlllllS u CuDlull OF
infantry on the lie de Ia Grande Jalte
about certain scandals connected with
the French Kongo he was hit in the
right armpit and bled to death.
The duel fought by Catulle Mendes
In May of 1899 was almost as serious,
and 1t was caused while Bernhardt |
was playing Hamlet" by some fatu-
nI1orpnl N MI
ment of the prince of Denmark. NJ.
Vanor, Mendcs' opponent, was fine |
swOrdsman and, sportsmanlike enough |
to recognize the double advantages he |
enjoyed, contented himself with parry
ing correctly. Catulle Mendes threw |
himself on his adversary's point and |
was severely wounded in the stomach !
Percher had been killed several years
before.
1t often Is urged outside Of France
that French dueling consists In merely
pricking your man in the hand or fore
arm as the least disablement Is held to
satisfy the honor" Of the combatants.
But the hand and arm of an adversary
are those parts of him which are near
est to you and which you can reach
with the least exposure of your own
person.
The wound that is produced by trans
fixing hand, which may be protected
only by the ordinary kid glove of social
custom, is not only totally disabling,
but also extremely painful. Soldiers
who have been shot in the palm inva-
riably collapse for time with the
lcute agony produced by the rupture
Of so many delicate nerve centers. A
thrust In the forearm is equally effect
I've, for 1t disables all the muscles and
ligaments that enable man to hold
and manipulate his sword.
But though a fine duelist is always
capable Of these particular thrusts-
and they are far more various than
would be imagined at first sight-he
mas by no means exhausted his strokes
when these have all been parried. At
.acks in what Is called the clover line"
ire frequently successful and invaria-
Dly produce an awkward wound when
hey succeed. The throat is as yulner-
able and as often attacked as Is the
,hest, and It must be remembered that
The entire body Of each assailant is
open to attack and obviously to injury.
Nothing In IA Name.