Gilpin observer., 1913-07-24
A Dwarf on the Field Of Honor.

fession before he expired
Dwarf on the Field Of Honor
Another oddty among ,affairs of honor had
for of the principals dwarf This was JEFF
frey Hudson, an Englishman, who from his
eighth to his thirtieth year measured just eight
cen inches in height. Then this astonishing per-
son began to grow, and kept at 1t until he had
attained a height of three feet and nine inches.
But diminutive stature proved no bar to ad-
venturous career On journey from the Con-
tinent to England he captured by q DunkirK
privateer. Afterward he fell into the hands of
Barbary pirates He escaped finally and
turned home to become a captain of horse in the
civil wars.
It 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.
meeting with pistols was arranged On
count of his low stature, Hudson was accorded
the privilege of being mounted horseback.
while his adversary remained afoot, which
fair enough. since Crofts was tall man. The
dwarf unharmed himself mortally wounded his
enemy at the first fire.
Long before the days of militant suffragettes,
women asserted their rights by engaging in the
duello although such encounters were frowned
by the authorities.
One OF the most notable fought
Chase, famous singer of the old French Acad-
emy, in which the principals were two love-sck
women, botl, of the nobility, the Polish, the
other French. The weapons were pistols, and
the Frenchwoman was 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 flavor
clusters about the affair of honor between
Marotte Beaupre and Catherine de Urlis actresses
of the Hotel 'Bourgogne Their meeting occurred
on the stage OF the theater. and revealed some
clever sword-play. but not too much blood.
In, an encounter on horseback. with pistols be-
tween Melinte and Prelanie. which resulted from
quarrel over a greyhound the fair Melinte
severely wounded by her charming antagonist
and, too she lost the dog
France was indeed the happy home of duelng
until after the Napoleonic wars. Then 1t prac-
ticay ceased.> There had been enough OF fight
ing. enough of death
But there came revival with the restoration.
which soon waxed 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 a
damaged stove. The charcoal seller had an affair
OF honor with the huckster who sold him onions
In short measure. Such vulgariZation 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
as a rule, affairs OF honor there are today with.
out that underlying seriousness which they pos
in other countries Of Europe.
Spain, from the STANDPOINT or the duelist, Is
entitled to credit for being both sincere and
strictly up-to-date in maintaining the code. As
an instance in point may be mentioned an en-
counter arranged between two members of
bicycle club of Granada, named respectively
Perez and Moreno
This was fought by the men from their Wheels
with the deadly knife known as the navaga The
place Of meeting lonely bit OF the Melaga
road Perez inflicted wound In the left
arm of Moreno. then killed by thrust in
the right breast.
Exit the Duello.
Maeterlinck wrote wonderful defense of duel.
ing, but since then he has taken to boxing with
such enthusiasm that he may believe he has re-
canted Certainly the sentiment of today is hos.
tile to the code. despite the archaic preferences
OF czar and kaiser. Nowadays we are fostering
human life to the limit, with science struggling
wildly for the survival Of the unfit Luckily,
while we are saving the diseased and criminal
we also incline to preserve the hale and honor
able We are not minded to let good men be
slain for the whimsies OF the code. We leave
dueng to the stark ignorance OF mountaIneers,
to the viciousness of thugs in city gangs and to
,ho tai hahit ~ tho Hneef paptlor,or ~