Year: 1859

The Dueling Mania.


Many duels have been fought in the United
States, within the last year, and they have
usually been brought about by men who
seem to pride themselves upon their faculty
of killing. We hear Of persons who are con
stantly in the habit of picking quarrels in
the newspapers or difficulties upon the streets,
in order to have an opportunity to display
their "nerve," ct cetera, upon the field of NOR
tai combat. They are dead Shots" and it
is very easy matter for them to make a sort
of reputation calculated to astonish and per.
haps awe the vulgar, by shooting down their
fellow beings in n skilful and cool manner,
upon the dueling ground There are men
in various portions of the United States,
whose names for the last ten months have
been in the papers, on every arrival OF a
steamer or overland mail to this country, as
connected with some duel already past or on
the tapis. Their incessant chickering's with
other men, and blusterngs, actually become
disgusting. Their names get to be nuisances





in the papers, and their everlasting difficult
ties a bore to persons who have something
else to think about


The reputation of duelist is not a very
enyable reputation at the best, because it is
so very oheaply gained. 1t requires no par
ticular amount of brains to be able to shoot
,ceH, and Daniel Webster in intellect may
fall at any time by the hand of some three
cent shallow pate. True courage is admira-
ble and where man fights in good cause,
whether upon the dueling ground or else
where, not for the poor notorety of duel
ist or q desperate, but because he is impell-
ed by just sense of his dignity and honor
as a man, and by the solemn duties which he
owes to others, it is noble But to be an
everlasting bickerer, staggering challeng
er, an incessant seeker after difficulties, and
all for the mere celebrity of being called a
marvellously terrible fellow, is to make ones
self neffably disgusting,


The fact is that minds which dwell in the
purer regions of intellectually, are too
much busted with their teeming and wide
ranging thoughts, to descend into the at
mosphere of small chickering's and contracted
personalities. A truly noble man will pur-
sue the even tenor of his way, guided by
some great governing purpose of his life, and
will not waste his time in petty squabble:
with those around him. But, if meanei
spirit crosses his path, when in the perform
ance of his duty to himself, his God or hi,
country, wo be to him. "He will meet hin
as the lightning meets the naked point"


How long this dueling mania will reign il
the country it would be hard to say, but i
is to be hoped, not long 1t draws too many
useful and valuable men into its circle. i
arouses too many bitter anmosties in the
community at large, spreading through all
the ramifcations of society, families, organiz
ed fraternities and political parties. For one
man who falls, a thousand are aroused by a
spirit of resentment which is itself likely to
evoke antagonisms of deadly nature, and
thus the evil becomes almost incalculable
Otherwise amiable and kind hearted men be
come changed in their natures, begin t,
thirst for blood and revenge, take sides ac-
cording to their personal relations or politica
proclyites, and, the next we are aware
every mans hand is ready to be raised agains
his brothers.


Dueling in England is almost entirely go
ing out Of practice. AT Washington, diff
culties are now, as a general thing, settled b,
arbitration, and it is to be hoped that Il simi
lar condition of things will ere long prevail
throughout the Union.