Duelling

Act or practice of fighting in single combat.-Duels usually arise out of private quarrels, and the general practice is for the party insulted to send a friend to demand an apology. If he refuses, he is requested to name his friend; and the two friends, or seconds as they are called, arrange the preliminaries for the combat. They also choose the ground, regulate the mode of fighting, place the weapons in the combatants' hands, and enforce compliance with the rules which they have decided upon. Although the duel is now of very rare occurrence, it is comparatively a modern institution. Among the ancient Greeks and Romans no such practice existed, and the word duellum meant a war between two nations. Afterwards, under the belief that God would interfere miraculously in behalf of the innocent against the guilty, judicial disputes were decided throughout Europe by trial by battle. (See BATTLE, OF BATTEL.) Probably the duel originated in a belief in the same principle. It seems to have had its origin among the Germanic nations. Louis le Débonnaire was the first French king who permitted disputants to resort to arms. Henri II. prohibited Don account of a combat between his friend François de la Chastaignerie and Guy Chabot de Jarnac, in which the latter was slain. The practice of D., however, still continued. François I. openly encouraged it, and set an example by challenging Charles V. Several ineffectual attempts were made to put down the practice; but to such an extent was it carried on during the sovereignty of Henri IV., that in the first eighteen years of his reign 4,000 gentlemen lost their lives in duels. Henri was compelled by popular feeling to endeavor to abolish the custom by adding death, in extreme cases, to the penalties then in force. He, however, did not look with an unfavorable eye upon D.; consequently, although very unlawful, it became very fashionable. During the reign of Louis XIII. D. became so prevalent that it was said in Paris that no French man was worth looking at unle he had killed his man. Although D. was so common, the law against it was carried out with great rigor, and several noblemen and gentlemen of high renown were beheaded for persisting in fighting. During Louis XIV.'s reign, duels of three, four, and five a side were common; but the king at last enforced the lamS with such firmne , that, for the time, D. was almost abolished. D. appears to have been introduced into England about the time of the Norman Conquest; but it was principally in its public or judicial form. Private D. was very prevalent in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It declined during the Commonwealth, but broke out again in the reign of Charles II. During the reign of William III. attempts were made to abolish D .; and in 1712 a bill was introduced into Parliament, but was thrown out, notwithstanding that its objects had been strongly advocated in Queen Anne's speech. After the wearing of swords was abandoned, D. diminished for a time; but the pistol soon began to take the place of that weapon. After a time, chance took the place of skill, and ghastly, albeit absurd, duels were fought at two or three paces, one pistol being loaded and the other not. This sort of D. seems to have reached its climax when the disputants made choice by lot between two pills, one made of bread, and the other containing poison. From this point D. declined, and has now quite fallen into disrepute; in England, indeed, it may be said to be abolished. By the laws of that country, any man killing another in a duel, however fair it may have been, is considered guilty of murder; but in England, as in France, D. is not looked upon unfavorably by the public, and no jury has been found who would convict any one charged, in the case of a fair duel. The duels among the German students are merely fencing-matches with sharp weapons; and although some ugly cuts in the face are given and received, they are never absolutely dangerous, as armed seconds are always on the alert to prevent any serious wounds. D. has been known in the U. States since the original settlement, the first duel taking place in 1621, at Plymouth. Among the most celebrated duels fought in this country are the following: Gen. Hamilton and Col. Burr, in 1804, in which the former was killed; Henry Clay and John Randolph, in 1826: Benton, in closing his account of the fight, says: "Certainly duelling is bad, but not quite so bad as its substitutes-revolvers, bowie-knives, blackguarding, and street a a ination under the pretence of self-defence." Gen. Jackson killed Mr Dick in son in a duel, and was also engaged in other affairs. Col. Bene ton killed a Mr. Lucas, and had other affairs of honor on his hands. By the common law, when one of the parties to a duel is killed, the survivor and the seconds are guilty of murder, and the participants in a duel where there is no fatal result, are held liable for misdemeanor; but many of the States have modified this rule by leg is lative enactment, and in more than half the Union the legislation against duelling has been ineffective. In the Northern States, neverthele , the force of opinion is strongly against duelling. In the American navy and army, an officer implicated in a duel with a brother officer, either as principal or second, is liable to be cashiered upon conviction by a court-martial. -p. a. Pertaining, or having reference to, a duel; requisite for a duel; as, duelling pistols, the duelling code, . Du'ellist, n. A dueller; one who meets and fights another according to the code of honor; one who upholds the theory and practice of duelling; as, a noted duellist. "He hath no honour lost, our duellists say." - Ben Jonson. Duel'lo, n. [It.] A duel, or single combat. -Practice of duelling; code of laws which regulates duels, or affairs of honor. "The gentleman will, for his honour's sake, have one bout with you; he cannot by the duello avoid it."-Shaks.