The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1913-07-24

ESS&T-1I czar, who sent for Kumron, and
IL TN i'll demanded TO know why the sur.
S,.-AA.soJ geon had resorted to the courts
instead of to the duel. The cul.
prtt explained that he had religious scruples
against dueling
Religion" the autocrat retorted rs one thing:
honor is another" And he commanded the sur
geon's resignation.
In the German Reichstag a Socialist recently
attacked William for the imperial sanction given
to dueling He concluded fierce denunciation
with the assertion that were the royal exemption
from the code removed so that the crown prince
might become principal in affair OF honor,
the kaiser would instantly put the ban on such
personal combats.
1t is probable that the allegation Of the Social
ist was without any warrant, and that did honor
permit the kaiser would send his heir to the
field without a whimper. But this charge as
well as the czars pronouncement calls attention
anew to the fact that dueling is still encouraged
by the highest civilization the continent of
Europe, though for generations the divinity that
doth hedge about king. has commanded that
the Immediate family Of royalty, as well as the
sovereign himself. must not be exposed to such
peril Of bullet or blade. Aforetime it was not
Many kings became famous for prowess In
personal encounters with the foe, and more than
once duel has served to determine sovereignty.
There has been nothing of the sort however in
recent history, although only skilled diplomacy
avoided an encounter between George III. of Eng
land and Frederick OF Prussia
King Georges Duel
These two peppery and opinionated monarchs
had long list of grievances between them. At
the time of crisis, the chief quarrels between
them were over marriages and Mecklenburg.
Finally they agreed to settle their disputes by q
personal combat according to the code
King George chose as his second, Brigadier-
General Sutton, while Colonel Dersheim was to
serve Frederick. George in residence at
Hanover. The Prussan monarch was at Saltz.
dahl which is near Brunswick. Arrangements
for the duel were formally completed and Hide
sheim, on account Of its convenient location was
selected for the place Of meeting Naturally
those in the confidence of the two sovereigns
were In state of frightened suspense and every
effort was made to prevent the fight These fail
ed however until the Prussan minister to the
court Of ST. James by ruse secured slight de-
lay The interval suf1ced to remove the causes
OF bitterest contention, and the monarchs grew
calm enough to hear reason
Under all the circumstances that would have
been the most curious of duels had 1t been
brought to pass. The outcome might have been
either farclcal or tragcal.
For the matter Of that, there have been actual
meetings aplenty of either kind the ludicrous or
the ghastly.
Combat In the Tree-Tops.
Perhaps the absurdest duel was fought in tho
eighteenth century. The Marquis Merle de
Sainte-M Marie an indefatigable duelist An
other gentleman almost equally busy on the field
was Monsieur Pierrot d'lsaac Now, pierrot In
French Is sparrow, and merle is blaCkbird. Out
OF these seemingly innocent facts came combat
for dIsaac. on visit to the nobeman delivered
himself in this wise:
i am Bonapartist monsieur le marquis: you
are Royalist. | am the sparrow: you are the
blackbrd Isn't there one bird too many?"
The marquis gracefully accepted this suave
statement of the situation.
PRECISELY" he agreed. my choice is pistols"
And he added, "As is appropriate for birds of
our species, let us fight in the trees"
This whimsical suggestion was carried out
Ihe seconds had their places on the ground, but
the principals aloft in the branches of trees
that stood the requisite distance apart. The in
stigator of the duel was the victim for at the
first fire dlsaac received bullet in the Leg
which sent him crashing through the branches
He managed to seize of the lower limbs and
from there was helped down by his seconds
But the marquis failed to be discreet in the
time OF victory. Seeing his adversary laid low,
he began twitterng joyously, initiating the song
of blackbird. DIsaac only waited for his leg
to heal before issuing a challenge on account of
the offensive Chirping, and in this second en-
counter, which lacked any bizarre feature, except
its cause, the Marquis de Sainte-Marie was se
verey wounded
duel more amusing in a wholesome way was
fought in our country some seventy-ive
years ago. An ittnerant preacher named Brown
used to travel through Kentucky He was man
possessed of mighty sinews and, too, of a GER
tain skill that would have delighted a league
manager, as the event showed. In his -ercise
Of the ministerial function, he scathingly rebuked
man Of notorious profigacy who retorted with
a challenge.
The parson, the challenged party had
choice Of weapons. He selected for each com.
batant halfbushel of Irish potatoes--large ones
solid and we'll rounded. The further stipulatons
OF the engagement were for distance of fifteen
PAGES and the taking of only one potato at a
time from the receptacle.
The profligate protested but in vain. Event
ually the two met in accordance with the clergy
mans requirements. When the word was given
the parson instantly hurled a potato which
caught his enemy in the ribs before the man
could lay hold on missile
The first was followed by five others and
every one smote the wretched target The VIC
tim never even secured potato, much less threw
one. Each time he reached for one another
from his foe smote him sore After the sixth
potato had struck, he fell unconscious and 1t was
week before he recovered sufficiently to leave
his bed
The farcical result Of this resort to the field
OF honor had very considerable effect In bring
ing dueling into local disrepute.
Another instance in which curious weapons
served the need of combatants occurred a few
years ago in Paris. Tintard journalist became
engaged in quarrel with rival while the two
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