The San Francisco call., 1909-10-17

day there is another and more eminent
sacrifice. Today [ renew my protest; today
yours. The code of honor is delusion and
snare; II palters with the hope of courage
and binds it at the feet OF crafty and cruel skill
1t surrounds its victim with the pomp and grace of
the procession but leaves him bleeding the
altar 1t substitutes cold and deliberate prepara-
tion for courageous and manly impulse and
the one to disarm the other; it may prevent fraud
between practced duelists who should be forever
without its pale. but it makes the trick of
the weapon superior TO the noblest cause and the
truest courage Its pretense of equality is liet
is unequal in all the form, it is unjust in all the
substance-the habtude OF arms the early training,
the frontier life the border war; the sectional Gus
tom the life of leisure, all these advantages
which no negotiation can neutraize, and which no
courage can overcome.
But fellow citizens the protest IS not only
spoken in your words and in mneit is written
in ndelible characters; it is written in the blood of
Gilbert, in the blood OF Ferguson, in the blood
OF Brodcrick, and the inscription will not alto
gether fade.
With the administration OF the code in this
particular case am not here to deal Amid pas
sionate grief let us strive to be just. l give
currency to rumors of which personally | know
nothing; there other tribunals to which they
may be well referred, and this is not of them
But am here say that whatever in the code of
honor or out OF it demands or allows deadly
combat where there Is not III all things entire and
certain equality is prostitution of the name,
an evasion OF the substance, and is shield
bazoned with the name of chivalry to cover the
malignity of murder
A GREEK DRAMA
How much of the history of California spran.
from that duel! 1t was the starting point of tha
]. Field, William Sharon and Sarah Althea Hill
were the leading figures. 1t had all the intensity
the nexorable force and logic of a Greek tragedy
Aeschylus might have used it for theme Jerome
A. Hart has written historical romance cover
ing the whole story from the beginning, but
think it has not been published in book form.
A SAN FRANCISCO TRAGEDY
Talking of the San Francisco of fifty years ago
one finds in the Bulletin of September % 1859:
Monsieur Derbec, proprietor of the Echo de
Pacihque, taking dinner at the Hotel de
1Europe Wednesday evening usual, when Leo
pold Nolf editor of lie Plare, entered the restau-
rant and took not far distant Nolf called
for plate of soup, and on receiving it poured in a
large quantity of red pepper After thoroughly
mixing the pepper and the soup he took the plate
and advancing toward Derbec, the latter raised
his head, dashed the contents into his face; and
as he did so, said "Voila comment on chatie les
aches!" At this piece of blackguardism Derbec
sprang to his feet, and although blinded, drew the
sword of his cane; but before he could reach Nolf
others interposed, and he prevented from re-
senting the assault the spot. slap in the face
blow with the fist stroke with the cane are
supposed to be comparatively 5entlemanly modes
of giving insult among the chivalry; but it is
difficult to characterize this soup and pepper or
Nof plan, which not only dehles, but disabes.
Same old San Francisco stiff necked genera
ton and quarresome folk.