United labor bulletin., 1913-07-26
A Dwarf on the Field of Honor.


A Dwarf on the Field Of Honor.
Another oddty among affairs OF honor had
for of the principals dwarf This was JEFF
frey Hudson. an Engshman, who from his
eighth to his thirtieth year measured Just eight
cen inches in height Then this astonishing per-
began to grow, and kept at it until he had
attained height of three feet and nine inches
But diminutive stature proved no bar to an ad-
venturous career On a journey from the Con-
tinent to England he was captured by a DunkirS
privateer. Afterward he fell into the hands of
Barbary pirates. He escaped finally and re-
turned home to become captain of morse In the
civil
1t was In France however, whittier he had
gone IN attendance on his queen, that the duel
occurred. Some dispute arose between him and
another Englishman, named Crofts-
A meeting with pistols was arranged. On ac-
count of his low stature, Hudson accorded
the privilege of being mounted on horseback,
while his adversary remained afoot, which was
fair enough. since Crofts a tall The
dwarf, unharmed himself. mortally wounded his
enemy at the first fire
Long before the days of militant sufragettes.
women asserted their rights by engaging in the
duello although such encounters were frowned
on by the authorities.
One Of the most notable was fought over
Chase, famous singer of the old French Acad-
envy in which the principals were two love-sick
women, both Of the nobility, the one Polish, the
other French The weapons pistols. and
the Frenchwoman severely wounded. An
unsympathetic government shut up the passion
ate French countess in convent and expelled
her rival from the country.
Something of the modern press-agent favor
clusters about the affair of honor between
Marotte Beaupre and Catherine de Urls, actresses
of the Hotel Bourgogne. Their meeting occurred
the stage OF the theater, and revealed some
clever sword-play, but not too much blood.
In encounter horseback with pistols. be-
tween MeliRte and Prelanie which resulted from
a quarrel over a greyhound, the fair Melinte
pIaj nv har OH r,,fn aDfnC iSr
and, too. she lost the dog.
France indeed the happy home OF dueling
until after the Napoleonic wars Then 1t prac-
ticaly ceased. There had been enough OF fight
ing enough of death.
But there came revival with the restoration.
which soon waSed absurd and at last made duel
ing wholly ridiculous.
The influence of democracy caused tradesmen
to resort to practice hitherto confined to those
far above them in the social scale. The barber
challenged the hardware dealer who sold him
damaged stove The charcoal seller had affair
OF honor with the huckster who sold him onions
in a short measure. Such vulgarizaton of the
noble art of manning and killing wrought havoc
with the prestige of the code. Indeed. in France.
that stigma has never been wholly removed and.
rule. affairs OF honor there today With
out that underlying seriousness which they pos
in other countries of Europe.
Spain. from the standpoint of the duelist is
entitled to credit for being both sincere and
strictly up-todate in maintaining the code. As
counter arranged between two members of a
bicycle club of Granada. named respectively
Perez and Moreno.
This fought by the men from their wheels.
with the deadly knife known as the navaga. The
place OF meeting was lonely bit OF the Melaga
road. Perez inflicted severe wound in the left
arm of Moreno, then killed by a thrust in
the right breast.
Exit the DuelIo
Maeterlinck wrote wonderful defense OF duel
ing. but since then he has taken to boxing with
such enthusiasm that he may believe he has
canted. Certainly the sentiment of today is hos
tile to the code. despite the archaic preferences
of and kaiser Nowadays are fostering
human life to the limit with science struggling
wildly for the survival OF the unfit. Luckily.
while We saving the diseased and criminal
We also incline to preserve the hale and honor
able We not minded to let good men be
slain for the whimsies of the code. We leave
dueling to the stark ignorance OF mountaineers
to the viciousness OF thugs In city gangs and tc
the antiQuated habit OF the finest gentlemen oj
Europe