Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1910-08-16
Aiseellaneou5 8eadina.
DUELING CENTRE OF PARIS.
Sword Encounters Which Take Place
NOWADAYS at the Great Wheel.

Nowadays at the Great Wheel.
Since the lie de la Jatte Of tragic
memory has been turned into a garden
where the children play, little mindful
of the scenes of bloodshed formerly en-
acted there, the Grande Roue has been
the great centre of duelling in France.
It's history, however, is innocuous COM
pared with that of the old duelling
ground of the island in the Seine.
One of the very last OF the meetings
there had a fatal ending. The nature
of her husbands engagement was kept
secret from the wife of duellst. He
brought her to a restaurant near by
she had innocently insisted on accom-
panying him-and he left her and the
child on the preteXt of billiard match.
He never saw them again, as he fell,
pierced to the heart i'm the second
bout.
Duelng is a less serious business,
writes a Paris correspondent of the
Pail Mall Gazette, since these 'af-
foot of the great rotatory which
plunges Parisians in midair. The pres
ent manager has witnessed some $50
encounters, and all save one or two
have had S,riu-comic rather than n
grave aspect. one of the exceptions
was the celebrated battle between the
Vicomtc Mare de Pully and the Baron
del Prat.
1t was a tremendous sctto. Nicomte
de Pully was left handed, his right
forearm having been amputated as the
result Of a shooting accident. Early
in the engagement he was badly
wounded in the ribs. the sword point
of his adversary having deeply enter
ed his body. But, though the blood
gushed, he continued to fight gamely
on. The umpire wrenched his sword
from him 10y force. AS consequence
of his wound NJ. de Tully had to keep
his bed six months.
Four or five years ago there was an
other sensational case of splitting the
enemy. The two men who faced ON"
another were NJ de Nilette and NJ. de
Mallory. The latter was rather scr-
ously wounded. When NJ. Dubois. the
famous 'maitrc darmcs," fought with
Nj. Damnttr. the latter received slash
thirteen ccntimetcrs long in his leg as
a proof of the pruwcss of tn" profess
Sional.
The French law furhids duels, but
takes no steps To pr"vcnt them. Yet
it is sometimes moved i'm spite of it.
self. one of these occasions was when
NJ. de- NillaZ killed NJ. Pi"tri. n Cor
sican journalist. TIL" latter had no
notion of the use of his arm, whereas
the former was an expert Sw0rdsman.
He was found 10y Il Seine jury To be
guilty of voluntary hnmiCid" and scn-
fenced to three years imprisonment.
In other cases where men have been
killcd--as occurred year or two ago
i'm combat between two Rumanian
studcnts-the courts have taken a len
lent view.
The historic pitch is just at the base
of the Great Wheel, which was con-
structed by an English firm named
Rassct at the time Of the great eXhi-
hitiun. \ gravclcd strip buumdcd at
one end by saplng and at the other
by two palms i'm tubs measures exactly
thirty metres, the regulation length
for contest with words. The width
is two meters. When duel takes
place. which occurs about twenty
times year. the ground receives some
sort of preparation, the gravel being
scrapcd off and replaced by sand. TIL"
wits of the houl"vardS declare that
the Great Wheel pays its dividend by
its duelS charging 60 Il time. AS a
matter of fact there is no tariff at all.
hoirc" I" the men who prepare the
ground. The wheels interest in the
affair is the advertisement it gains
from an encounter of tn" sort.
Dueling is on the decrease, the man
agcr tells me. Its present form is s."
attcnuatcd that it is ridiculous. Most
Frcnchmcn will admit it. but it is Il
custom and has to he respected,
even 10y those who feel its ahsurdity.
In the vast majority of these morning
engagements under shadow of the
huge machine the wound that brings
the fight tu an end is Il mere scratch
ON the wrist. This is partly due t" the
system of ducling in vogue known as
the "mcthodc IIaudry." It's chief claim
is that it places the inferior performer
ON a level with the expert.
Saudry. the inventor of this simple
"truc," is rcputcd sw"rdsman. but in