The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1915-07-02

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ADd' suitnbAe Recommendations usOviGed
for the king, court aud nobility, The
king and bis tribune IN the center. the
tribune being the constable and mar.
shals OF frame who We're The jud:.ee
The day Of the due! was u beantifu:
morning In nidsumnie r. Crowds from
Paris began early to pour forth to-
ward the battle-ground. The archers
Of the guard took the place Of mod
ern policemen In keeping the crowd
from breaking through the barrier ana
invading the field Of battle. The king
arrived, attended by his sister, princes
Of the blood and many mobiles. A sin
gular feature was IN executioner and
his assistants, who were intended to
take charge Of the corpse Of the an
pushed, in case he was killed. for
hanging or q gibbet
As soon as the king was seated the
herald advanced and proclaimed the
combat, asserting that no n should
interfere with either Of the combat
ants on peril Of his life. Chatagnerie
left his tent, accompanied by some 500
Of his friends. Jarnac next appeared,
escorted by the grand eQuerry and 40
gentlemen wearing his col0rs. The
shields Of the combatants were hung
on either side of the king. Then came
the ceremony of the presentation Of
the arms, which was principally a test
ing Of the weapons. This having been
accomplished, there was another long
proclamation from the herald. and the
combatants having paraded around the
field. preceded by their arms, after a
religious ceremony in which each az
firmed his cause to be a just one. they
were conducted to their stations. and
the herald, advancing, shouted, "Lais-
seq aller les bons combatants," which
means in plain American. let 'em
co."
Such is n condensation of the prelim-
inaries to a duel in high life during the
middle Of the sixteenth century. The
fight was by no means commensurate
with the preparation. for it was de-
cided quickly. The duelists advanced.
Jarnac slowly, protecting himself with
his shield; Chatagnerie rapidly and
full Of confidence. As soon as they
met the latter sprang upon his oppo-
nent, aiming a crushing blow at his
head. Jarnac, instead Of warding of
the blow with his sword, as was to he
expected, received 1t on his shield and.
ducking, made a thrust for his oppo-
nent's legs. He struck C%hatagnerie in
the hollow Of the knee. Before the lat
ter could recover himself Jarnac re-
peated the thrust Mt the same point
and cut the tendons. giving a new
phrase to dueling-the coup de Jarnac.
which in those days was not a foul.
but perfectly legitimate. Chatagnerie
staggered, dropped his sword and fell.
the blood flowing from his wound.
A cry Of Amusement greeted this con
quest Of the champion %swordsman of
France within a few seconds by one
who had no especial reputation as q
man at arms.
BY b code of that day three courses
were. open to the victor-he might kill
his opponent and hand his body over
to the executioner to he hanged; he
might spare his life after exacting a
restoration of bis honor by the van
pushed c~onfessing himself to be in err
ror, or he might surrender him to the
king. Jarnac called upon his enemy to
restore him his honor. Chatagnerie's
reply was an attempt to rise. but 1t
failed. Jarnac, then advancing to the
king. said:
"Sire, l entreat you to esteem me a
man of honor. l give you Chata-
gnerie's life. 1t is our youth alone
which is the cause of this trouble. Let
no imputation rest either on his family
or upon him on account of his offense.
for l surrender him to you"
But the king. not realizing that his
scapegoat was unable to continue the
fight, made no answer. Jarnac raised
his eyes to heaven. lord, l am not
worthy, for it is not to myself. but to
thee, that 1 WI the victory" Then.
returning to Chatagnerie, he begged
him to surrender. But the scapegoat.
raising himself on one knee and re-
gaining bis lost sword, endeavOred to
strike. Jarnac stepped back. saying.
DO not move or l will kill you"
Kill me-" replied the vanQuished man
and fell back exhausted from loss Of
blood.
Again Jarnac went to the king and
implored him to give him the victory,
a victory which condemned the king
himself, but Henry refused. Jarnac,
expecting that his former friend would
bleed to death, cried: "Sire, he is dy-
ing. For the love of heaven, accept his
life at my handsr Henry, refusing to
pronounce his own condemnation, still
refused till the constable Joined his en-
treaties to those Of Jarnac. Then
Henry, seeing that the. sympathies Of
the assembly against him. said
to Jarnac, "You have done your duty.
and your honor should be restored to