In the August of this year, the following most savage “affair of honour” took place near Philadelphia. A challenge was sent by a Dr. Smith to a Dr. Jeffries, and, being accepted, the parties met. The distance fixed upon was only eight paces; at which they exchanged shots, without either of them receiving any injury. Some efforts were then made by their friends to bring about an accommodation, but unavailingly; as Dr. Jeffries declared that he would not leave the ground until he had lost his own life or taken that of his antagonist. Pistols were then handed to them a second time, and at this fire the right arm of Dr. Smith was broken, which delayed the proceedings for a few moments, until he recovered from the exhaustion; when he declared, that, as he was wounded, he was ready to die, and requested the seconds to proceed. The pistols were then put into their hands a third time, Dr. Smith using his left hand. At this fire Dr. Jeffries was wounded in the thigh, and his loss of blood occasioned an exhaustion which again delayed the conflict for a few minutes. He, however, recovered, and both desired to shorten the distance. They now stood up for the fourth time, covered with blood, and at a distance of six feet. They were to fire between the words “one” and “five,” and the shot proved fatal to both parties. They fell to the earth. Dr. Smith was dead when he dropped, the ball having penetrated his heart. Dr. Jeffries was shot through the breast, and survived but four hours. They fought with perfect coolness. When Dr. Jeffries saw that his antagonist had fallen, he asked if he was dead; and being assured that he was, he declared his own willingness to die. Before he expired, he said he had been a schoolmate with Dr. Smith, and that they had been on terms of great intimacy and friendship for fifteen years; and he bore honourable testimony to his character as a man of science and a gentleman.
A hostile meeting took place in the Bois de Boulogne, between General Sebastiani, minister for foreign affairs, and General Lamarque, arising out of a speech made by the latter in the Chamber of Deputies, in which he represented M. Lebeau, Belgian minister for foreign affairs, as the Sebastiani of Belgium. The seconds present on this occasion, General Jacqueminot and M. de Rumigny, were chosen by General Sebastiani; whose adversary expressed himself satisfied with their presence, and declined appointing any on his own behalf. The affair having been arranged on the ground without an exchange of shots, a detailed account of the circumstances attendant upon the intended duel was published in the journal called the Tribune; the tenor of which betrayed, on the part of General Sebastiani’s seconds, more anxiety to settle the difference without fighting, than is usually considered consistent with the honour of the principal whom they are called upon to represent. A letter was, in consequence, addressed to the editor of the Tribune by General Jacqueminot and M. de Rumigny, in which they contradicted many of the circumstances stated in that journal, and entered into an explanation, which General Lamarque interpreted as being unfavourable to himself. Another meeting, in consequence, took place in the Bois de Boulogne; Admiral de Rigny acting as the second of General Sebastiani, and General Harispe for General Lamarque. Two pistol-shots having been exchanged without injury to either party, the seconds interfered, and the affair was amicably settled.
A duel was this day fought upon Wimbledon Common, between Major-General Lorenzo Moore, C.B., and Miles Stapylton, Esq. In the evening of the same day, the General was brought to Union Hall police office, on a charge of wounding Mr. Stapylton; when Mr. David Harris stated, that as he was proceeding to Godalming on the outside of the stage-coach, about four o’clock, in passing the road which crosses Wimbledon Common, he heard the report of a pistol, and on looking towards the spot observed a gentleman fall. He and Mr. Self alighted, and ran to the place. Seeing the gentleman lying on the ground, and blood upon the breast part of his shirt, they went towards the General, who had a pistol in his hand, and told him that he must consider himself in custody. The General offered no resistance, and immediately resigned his fire-arms. In the meanwhile, the seconds and some other persons carried the wounded gentleman off the field, placed him in a carriage, and drove towards town. The witness and Mr. Self conducted the General to Kingston, and gave him into the custody of a constable, who brought him to town. On the following day he was again brought up, and was much affected at hearing a certificate of the dangerous condition of Mr. Stapylton read. Bail to any amount was offered; but Mr. Chambers, the magistrate, said that while the wounded gentleman remained in a condition between life and death, it was his duty to retain the General in custody. He was again brought before Mr. Chambers on the 22nd; who said that he had received a certificate from Mr. Guthrie, the surgeon, who described Mr. Stapylton as being much better, and understood it was the decided wish of that gentleman and his friends that the whole matter should drop, and that no further proceedings should be instituted against the General. Under these circumstances, he and his colleague, Mr. Murray, had resolved to admit him to bail. They then decided, that he should find two securities of a thousand pounds each, and enter into his own recognizance in the sum of two thousand pounds, to appear at the next Surrey assizes; or, in the event of the fatal termination of Mr. Stapylton’s wound, to appear at the Old Bailey to take his trial. The required securities were immediately entered into, and the General was discharged.
In consequence of some reflections made by the editor of the French journal, the Tribune, on Marshal Lobau, commandant of the Parisian National Guard, four officers on the staff of the Marshal paid a visit to the office of the Tribune, with, to use a homely expression, a very bullying message. Taken unawares, the principal editor refused to meet a body of persons; but expressed his readiness to give the Marshal himself personal satisfaction. The affair got wind; and, in the course of the day, many young men left their cards at the office of the Tribune, soliciting to be permitted, as assistant-editors of journals, to take off the odds; and accordingly the Tribune of March the 21st, intimated to the Etat-major, publicly in its columns, that sixty-seven editors were ready to go out with the sixty-seven officers of which the Etat-major is composed. Saturday, the 23rd, produced the first of the duels resulting from this challenge en masse. The principals in this affair were General Jacqueminot of the Etat-major, and M. Belmonte, the editor-in-chief of the Tribune. The former was attended by General Gourgaud and Colonel Taunton; the latter, by Colonel Bricqueville, a member of the Chamber of Deputies, and M. Cartel, editor of the Nationel. After an exchange of shots, the seconds interfered, and that particular affair was made up.
In consequence of a paragraph which appeared in the French journal called “Le Temps,” reflecting on the manner in which orders had been distributed among the commissaries of police, a meeting took place in the Bois de Boulogne, between M. Coste, the editor of that paper, and M. Bénoit, commissary of police. M. Bénoit was attended by M. Nay, chief clerk of the private office of the prefecture of police, and M. Haymonet, another commissary. The seconds to M. Coste were Dr. Pasquier and M. V. Schoeler, a literary gentleman. The parties were placed at fifty paces from each other, with an understanding, that they were to advance to the distance of twenty paces. Both having arrived at this point, M. Bénoit desired M. Coste to fire first: this, however, he declined, and the seconds desired that they should fire together, at a signal. The two shots went off within a second of each other: the ball of M. Bénoit’s pistol went through the collar of the coat of M. Coste, while that of the latter entered the right side of his adversary, and passed through his body, coming out on the left side, about three inches higher. M. Bénoit was immediately conveyed to the infirmary of the King’s household, where he shortly after died.
The endeavour, on the part of the Parisians, to establish, at this time, a summary law of libel, by which the editor who ventured to animadvert on a particular class of public officers, was subjected to a most awful species of censorship, gave rise to many animadversions in the English journals; and amongst them, to the following:—“Truth is said to lie at the bottom of a well; at Paris they seek it at the bottom of a bullet wound. The ordeal, in the late case of the ‘Temps,’ however, ended in favour of the editor: the commissary of police,—one of the first of a numerous body of challengers for the same offence,—bit the dust, and is since dead. If editors are to have their errata thus corrected, they must either be very careful of what they print, or they must cast their old types into balls. Hitting a mark will be quite as necessary as pointing a period: reporters and paragraph-mongers must be as often seen at the shooting-gallery, as in the gallery of the House of Commons. It will be dangerous to enter a newspaper establishment on the leisure days; for, in the absence of rumours, the printers will amuse themselves with reports. The editors and sub-editors will stick up their unsold numbers for targets; and he who shall hole the stamp-mark will be considered to have hit the bull’s-eye, and be held to have so far broken up the taxes upon knowledge. Thus, editors will be as dangerous on days of ball-practice, as on days of publication; and a man whose character is shot through and through, if he goes to the office to complain, may chance to have his thorax perforated as well. Hostilities have, however, on this side the water, scarcely commenced; and where they have, it must be said, little resentment has been exhibited on the part of the beaten journalists. This affair of M. Coste and M. Bénoit demonstrates the greater freedom of the press in England than in Paris. Had the liberty of finding fault with the manner in which orders had been distributed among the commissaries of police been indulged in by an English paper on English magistrates, the remark would have been thought perfectly legitimate; and, so far from being fought about, would not have been even answered, unless by some paper in the opposite interest. This is, surely, far more rational than Mr. Roe, and Mr. Rawlinson, and Mr. Chambers, rushing into the offices of ‘The Morning Chronicle’ or ‘The Examiner,’ cursing the publisher, abusing the clerks, and challenging the editors to mortal combat. Where would be the use of Mr. Roe evading his own officers, and skulking to Chalk Farm, some dewy morning, in order to slaughter Mr. Black, because of the acrimony of his remarks on a police case? In this matter, at least, we order these things better than in France.”
On this day a fatal duel took place near Exeter, between Sir John Jeffcott and Dr. Hennis. The dispute had arisen, in consequence of the Doctor having been supposed to have uttered words injurious to the reputation of Sir John, a judge of Sierra Leone. On the 26th of July, at the assizes at Exeter, he was charged with having unlawfully, feloniously, and of malice aforethought, inflicted a wound upon Peter Hennis, M.D., with a leaden bullet, of which wound he afterwards died; and Charles Melford, Robert Holland, and George Anthony Halstead, were charged with aiding and assisting him. Sir John Jeffcott had not been apprehended. The other parties this day appeared in court to take their trial; and the following is the substance of the evidence brought forward.
John Corfield Irving.—“I had a conversation with Dr. Hennis, on the 10th of May, in consequence of which he wrote a declaration. After which, I saw Sir John Jeffcott, and told him I had come to him from Dr. Hennis; upon which he asked, if I came as the Doctor’s friend. In consequence of what he said, I saw Mr. Melford, and I read to him, or showed him, this paper. I said, I trusted it would convince Sir John that the Doctor had never made use of the words in the sense imputed to him, and induce him to retract the expressions he had made use of towards the Doctor in the morning. Mr. Melford said, the Doctor had admitted the words imputed to him; upon which Sir John made use of the words ‘calumniating scoundrel.’ I told Mr. Melford I was directed by the Doctor to deny most unequivocally the use of the words, in the meaning imputed to him; that, on the contrary, the Doctor had asked a member of a respectable family, if the reports circulated in Exeter were true. The party said they were not true, and that Sir John had acted most honourably. Mr. Melford replied, that the words made use of by Dr. Hennis could not have been mistaken by Mr. Holland; and he showed me the copy of a letter, written by Sir John Jeffcott to Dr. Hennis, on the subject. This is the letter:—
“Sir,
“In a conversation with a gentleman of character and respectability, and I believe hitherto of unquestionable veracity, I was last night, to my great astonishment, informed that you had, about three months ago, stated to my informant, that the reason why a certain affair, in which the name of a most respectable family is involved, to whom I need not more particularly allude, was broken off was, that I had given that family a false statement of my pretensions; that I had, among other things, asserted I had a vote for the University of Dublin, which, in your opinion, I had no more than you had; meaning, I presume, that I had no vote, and that I had stated what was not true, and that you considered that I was, in fact, a mere adventurer. I can scarcely imagine that a person holding the station in society that you do, or that any man who ought, by profession and education, to be a gentleman, could have gone so gratuitously out of his way to traduce the character of any individual behind his back; particularly when that individual was your countryman, to whom to his face you had made professions, if not of friendship, at least, of cordiality and good-will, and whose only previous intercourse with you was consulting you professionally in the first instance, and meeting you afterwards once or twice when you called professionally at the house of his friends. You will therefore, I feel satisfied, see the propriety, from regard to your own character, of coming at once to an explicit understanding upon the subject of this letter, and stating to me whether you did or did not use the expressions attributed to you. If you did not, you cannot, I am sure, as a gentleman, hesitate to disavow them promptly and unequivocally. If, on the other hand, you are prepared to maintain them, you will see the propriety of letting me know so without delay; as I am at present alone in Exeter, and am ordered to embark to-morrow morning on board his Majesty’s ship Britomart, at Plymouth.
“I have the honour to be, &c.
“J. W. Jeffcott.”
“I read this letter, and told Mr. Melford I was not aware it had been written, and must return to Dr. Hennis to know how he had acted under it. I communicated to the Doctor what had taken place. I found Captain Halstead with him. The Doctor told me, the Captain had received a communication from him prior to his meeting me. I therefore begged to resign the business into his hands. The Captain undertook the amicable arrangement of the matter, and with that view instructed me to accompany him back to Mr. Melford’s; two heads being, he said, better than one. I did so. The Captain either read or showed Dr. Hennis’s declaration to Mr. Melford, and said he felt confident Sir John Jeffcott, on being made acquainted with its contents, would retract the obnoxious expressions he had made use of. Mr. Melford said, he took the same view of the words as Sir John did, and that the Doctor had made an admission of them in the morning. He added, that the business could have been settled at nine that morning; but he feared it was then too late, as Sir John was to leave the town at three o’clock for Plymouth, and was perfectly satisfied with the part he had acted. Captain Halstead said, it could never be too late to arrange a business of that kind, and requested Mr. Melford would go to Sir John, and acquaint him with the nature of the strong declaration Dr. Hennis had signed. He afterwards told me, that Sir John would neither accept an explanation nor retract the words he had used. I took no part after.”
William Hucksford, servant to Dr. Eady, said—“I accompanied him in his gig to Halden: when I arrived, I saw Mr. Holland near the road, and four gentlemen on the race-course. I saw them walk up to each other, and then walk away in two parties. I heard the report of a pistol, and, on going up, I saw Dr. Hennis, who appeared to be much wounded. Sir John Jeffcott knelt on the ground, and asked Dr. Hennis if he would forgive him. I could not hear what answer the Doctor gave, but they shook hands; and, immediately after, the Doctor fell upon the ground.” Mr. Luscombe, surgeon, said, he saw Dr. Hennis about six in the evening. “He had a wound in the body below the shoulder blade, caused by a bullet. I attended him till his death, which took place on the 18th.”
Mr. Justice Patteson then charged the jury. He said that, from the facts proved, it was either a case of the high offence charged, or of no crime at all. The offence charged was that of murder; and the prisoners were charged, not with having inflicted the wound of which Dr. Hennis died, but with having been present at the time when another person inflicted that wound, aiding and assisting that other person, who was not now in this country, and therefore could not be tried. Unless it was done with malice aforethought, the crime of murder was not committed. Now, malice aforethought was not that of private, individual ill-will towards the party; but it was the malice the law presumed, when persons went out, intending to commit an act which was in itself unlawful. The law was this,—that if a person was so near as to be able to give assistance in any way to that which was going on, though even at some distance, for the purpose of giving such assistance, and went there for that purpose, then he was considered to be aiding and assisting. If a party killed another in a deliberate duel, he was guilty of murder. Whenever two persons, in cool blood, met and fought on a preceding quarrel, and one was killed, the law said the other was guilty of murder; and he could not help himself by alleging, that the other struck the first blow, or that it was his intent only to vindicate his reputation: he had engaged in an act highly unlawful, and must abide the consequences; and not only the principal, but all persons aiding and assisting, or knowingly present at any deliberate duel, would be liable to a charge of murder. Where two persons went out with deadly weapons, tending to produce death, it was impossible not to see that they must have contemplated the possibility that death would ensue. The two principals in this case had had a personal altercation, but the other gentlemen had not. There had been messages to and fro, and great attempts to prevent a duel. They would say whether those attempts, and the ultimate arrangements to meet at Halden, would or not lead them to believe that it took place in the heat of blood. He confessed he had extreme difficulty in seeing how they could arrive at such a conclusion; how it could be said, the duel took place in the heat of passion: if they believed it did not, then it was a deliberate duel; and if so, the law pronounced it to be murder. He would say nothing as to whether duelling ought to be tolerated: it was not tolerated by the law of England.—After detailing the whole of the evidence, the learned judge adverted to the high characters the parties had received; which he said was not inconsistent with that sense of honour, which induced them to go out and render their assistance to two persons in a deliberate duel. The question was in their hands, and they would decide according to their consciences.
The jury remained in consultation for a few minutes, and returned a verdict of “Not guilty.”
In the course of this month, a case came on to be tried at the assizes of the Seine, in which a charge of murder, committed in a duel, was made against M. Charles Leon, a natural son of the late Emperor Napoleon. M. Leon dined, on the 31st of December 1831, with M. de Rosambert, and met there another guest, Captain de Hesse. After dinner, play was introduced, and M. Leon was so unfortunate as to lose eighteen thousand francs. When called on to pay, he contended, that M. de Hesse had pledged himself to give his antagonist a revanche; which was only consistent with the laws of honour applicable to the game. An angry discussion arose, and M. de Hesse published some particulars of the affair, which were considered prejudicial to the character of M. Leon. The differences between them at last arose to such a height, that a meeting became inevitable; and, on the 24th of February 1832, the hostile proceeding took place. The result was, that M. de Hesse was mortally wounded, and died three days afterwards. On the ground, M. de Hesse admitted the bravery and strict honour of his antagonist; his wife was, nevertheless, determined to prosecute. Accordingly, the seconds were summoned; of whom only General Gourgaud and M. May appeared. General Gourgaud gave his evidence to the following effect:—“I am not able to give any details respecting the circumstances which gave rise to this affair; for I am wholly ignorant of them. My friend M. Monneval, commissioned by the Emperor Napoleon to superintend the conduct of M. Leon, was indisposed at the time, and requested me to act for him in this very serious matter. I undertook the duty with regret; for I was well aware of the ties which bound M. Leon to the Emperor, and I was conscious of all that his Majesty had communicated to me on this subject at St. Helena. It was with me a sacred obligation, imposed by gratitude, not to abandon him at such a moment.”
After a short deliberation, the jury found M. Leon “Not guilty,” and the court acquitted him.
A meeting with swords took place this day in the Bois de Meudon, between the Duke de Rovigo, lieutenant of the first regiment of the Chasseurs of Africa, and the Count de Langle, captain of the National Horse Guards, in consequence of some offensive expressions uttered by the Duke, relative to certain recompenses granted to the National Guards. The Duke de Rovigo received a wound in his chest, which prevented him from continuing the combat.
In consequence of a dispute at a ball, on the 20th of April, Mr. St. John and Count Catraffiana left Rome for the Neapolitan territory. On account of a supposed rudeness on the part of the Count towards Mr. St. John, the latter had pulled his nose publicly in the ball-room; the consequence of which proceeding was a formal challenge the next morning from the Count. The duel was first to have taken place at Rome; but the police, having got wind of it, had taken measures to prevent it. They accordingly left Rome on the 24th, and arrived on the following day at the Valla di Cicerone, near Mola di Gaita. Each of the combatants was attended by two seconds. They remained five minutes opposite to one another after the signal was given, each expecting the other to move forward. Mr. St. John then advanced a few paces, and fired with fatal precision; his ball entering the chest of his opponent. The Count, after being wounded, put his hand to his breast, walked forward nine paces, fired, and dropped down dead. The Count’s ball carried off a part of Mr. St. John’s ear, and penetrated his hat. The Count was a practised duellist, having wounded several antagonists on similar occasions.
A desperate duel was fought this day, at Washington, between Captain Everett White, brother of the delegate in Congress, and Colonel Bellamy, formerly president of the Legislative Council. These gentlemen were candidates for Jefferson’s county, and Captain White was returned. The duel, from the mode of conducting it, was evidently intended to have fatal results. They were stationed sixty yards apart, with four pistols, to advance and fire. Captain White advanced, and received three shots without injury, and then fired at the distance of fifteen paces. His first shot passed through Colonel Bellamy’s arm, the next through his body, and, in the act of advancing with the other two pistols, he received a mortal wound from Colonel Bellamy’s fourth pistol.
A meeting took place this day, at Wormwood Scrubs, between Brigadier-General Evans, of the British Auxiliary Legion, and Captain Lothian Dickson, of the British army, and late of the Legion. The misunderstanding arose out of circumstances that had taken place at the quarters of the Legion in Spain. Brigadier-General Evans, however, had refused to meet Captain Dickson, in consequence of what he considered to be conduct, on the part of the latter gentleman, which had forfeited his claim. The Junior United Service Club at last interfered, and decided that no stain of that nature rested on Captain Dickson. The meeting, in consequence, after some negotiation, took place. The following is the account of General Evans’s second, which is borne out by Mr. Cooke, the friend of Captain Dickson:—“The meeting took place, and the principals being placed, General Evans received Captain Dickson’s fire; when, after an interval of a few seconds. General Evans brought down his pistol and uncocked it, without having fired. Upon which I addressed myself to Mr. Cooke, and said, ‘I have now to say, that, in deference to the opinion of the committee of the Junior United Service Club, I have brought my friend here; and, having now paid that deference to those gentlemen, I feel it my duty to withdraw General Evans from the ground.’ Mr. Cooke then said, ‘I am not satisfied,’ and again made allusion to an apology. I persisted in withdrawing General Evans, without further explanation; and, on leaving the ground, he then only informed me of his being wounded; and, on his return to his hotel, he was attended by Sir Stephen Hammick, who extracted the ball, and left his patient in as comfortable a state as, under the circumstances could be expected.”
A fatal duel took place between M. Armand Carrel, editor of the Parisian journal the Nationel, and M. Émile de Girardin, editor of the Presse. The Nationel, in a very measured note upon a prosecution instituted by the Presse against the Bon Sens, expressed an opinion, that M. de Girardin would have done better to settle his quarrel with the editor of that feuilleton by written discussion, than by having recourse to the law. The Presse, in answering this note, introduced, in a manner not the most proper, the name of M. Carrel; who, although he did not sign the Nationel as its responsible editor, felt himself called upon to take the steps which led to such a deplorable result. M. Carrel fired first, and wounded his adversary in the thigh. M. de Girardin fired in his turn, and the ball entered the lower part of M. Carrel’s body. He was immediately conveyed to Mandé, to the house of M. Peyra, an old and intimate friend; where he died on the following day. When they were carrying him from the ground, in passing his antagonist, he said to him, “And are you, M. de Girardin, suffering much?” The latter, replied, “I wish, sir, you were not more seriously wounded than I am.”
In consequence of an assault committed by the Honourable Grantley Fitzhardinge Berkeley, M.P. on Mr. James Fraser, the publisher of the magazine under his name, Dr. William Maginn, the author of the article which originally gave offence, left his card at Berkeley House. A hostile message was forthwith sent by the honourable member, and a meeting was agreed upon for seven o’clock in the evening. Mr. Grantley Berkeley was attended by Major Fancourt, and Dr. Maginn by Mr. Hugh Fraser. The parties met in a field near the Edgeware Road, and, after exchanging three shots without effect, Mr. Hugh Fraser withdrew his principal; no explanation or apology having been required or tendered.
A duel was this morning fought, in a field adjoining Hampstead Heath, between Mr. Harro Harring, a native of Denmark, and a Polish officer, whose name is not known. The principals met on the ground, attended by seconds; and, having been placed at ten paces’ distance, both discharged their pistols at the same instant, when Mr. Harring fell to the ground. He was conveyed to the North London Hospital; and the wound being pronounced to be dangerous, the victor, after asking and receiving forgiveness from the wounded man, mounted his horse and rode off to London Bridge; where he embarked on board a steamboat for Boulogne; the duel having been expressly fought at the time appointed, to allow the escape of the survivor to the Continent.
A sanguinary “affair of honour” took place this month at Brownville, in the state of Pennsylvania. For some time past a slight misunderstanding had existed between Mr. Banner Anderson, of Bolivar, and Mr. Jones, merchant, of Brownville. Near the close of the week, Mr. Anderson came to Brownville, and, according to custom, placed his name on the hotel register. Shortly after, he discovered a remark written immediately under his name, impugning his character, and bearing the signature of R. H. Jones. He then wrote a reply, attaching thereto his proper signature. On the following Monday Mr. Jones called at the hotel, and, seeing the appended remark, became enraged, and declared he would have satisfaction. He walked to the door of a store into which Mr. Anderson had just entered, and called to him to come out. Anderson complied with the request, when Jones demanded of him, whether he had written the remark or not? Anderson answered in the affirmative; upon which, in an instant, each resorted to a pistol, standing about four yards apart. They fired simultaneously. Jones’s ball lodged in the muzzle of his adversary’s pistol, and the contents of Anderson’s pistol lodged in Jones’s breast. He expired in three hours. Anderson submitted immediately to the civil authorities, and was discharged. Upon examination, the whole was found to have been a misunderstanding; and that, if the parties had only conversed together on the subject, no difficulty would have ensued.
A fatal duel took place at Washington, between two members of the House of Representatives, Mr. Cilley of Maine, and Mr. Graves of Kentucky. Mr. Cilley had spoken disrespectfully of Colonel Webb, editor of the New York Courier; whereupon Mr. Webb sent him a challenge by Mr. Graves. Mr. Cilley said he would not fight such a blackguard as Webb, but was ready to accept a challenge from Mr. Graves. The following is an account of the arrangements for the meeting, drawn up by Mr. Cilley’s second:—“Mr. Cilley proposes to meet Mr. Graves, at such place as may be agreed upon between us, to-morrow at twelve. The weapons to be used on the occasion shall be rifles; the parties, placed side to side at eighty yards’ distance from each other, to hold the rifles at arm’s-length, downwards; the rifles to be cocked, and triggers set; the words to be, ‘Gentlemen, are you ready?’ After which, neither answering ‘No,’ the words shall be in regular succession, ‘Fire—one, two, three, four.’ Neither party shall fire before the word ‘fire,’ nor after the word ‘four.’ The position of the parties, at the ends of the line, to be determined by lot. The second of the party losing the position, shall have the giving of the word. The dress to be ordinary winter clothing, and subject to the examination of both parties. Each party may have on the ground, besides his second, a surgeon and two other friends. The seconds, for the execution of their respective trusts, are allowed to have a pair of pistols each on the ground; but no other person shall have any weapon. The rifles to be loaded in the presence of the seconds.” Three shots were exchanged without harm: at the fourth, Mr. Cilley was shot through the heart. Cilley’s funeral was attended by six hundred persons, in one hundred and twenty-five carriages. The seconds afterwards published a statement, declaring that the duel was “regulated by magnanimous principles, and the laws of humanity.”
A hostile meeting took place near Lisbon between Major-General Sir John Milley Doyle and Dr. Lovell, the Lisbon correspondent of the Morning Chronicle; the former attended by Mr. Brandt and Captain Doyle, and the latter by Major Dodwell and Captain Ruxton. The cause of the duel was a paragraph in the Lisbon correspondence of the Morning Chronicle of the 10th of March, respecting the decision of the commission appointed to investigate the claims of foreign officers upon those of Sir John Milley Doyle; who, considering that the passage was of a tendency injurious to his interests, required that it should be qualified by certain explanations on the part of Dr. Lovell. Sir John having fired without effect, and his antagonist’s pistol having missed fire, the seconds of the latter gentleman interposed; and, having stated it as their opinion that he ought not to make any further objection to giving Sir John a declaration, that he had not intended to advance any opinion of his own in the notice he had taken of the decision pronounced by the commission, the affair terminated amicably.
A duel was this morning fought at Newtown Park, near Dublin, between a Mr. Pigot and a Mr. Carroll. At the sixth shot Mr. Pigot received his adversary’s ball in the leg. While the blood was streaming, he called for another shot; but his request was not complied with. The dispute arose at a billiard-room, at a late hour of the preceding night, and they did not return home until they had settled it.
Mr. Rushout having called upon Mr. Borthwick to explain some observations made by him at a public dinner at Evesham, which Mr. Borthwick declined to do, a meeting took place between those gentlemen in the evening at Wormwood Scrubs. After a second discharge of shots, the seconds interfered; and Mr. Borthwick stated, that he was perfectly ready to withdraw any observations which reflected on Mr. Rushout’s character, being convinced that he had made use of them under misapprehension.
A meeting with pistols took place near Caen, in Normandy, between M. Calmel and M. Luard, both of that town; in which the latter fell, and died almost immediately. M. Calmel and the four seconds were indicted for murder, and brought to trial on the 22d, before the Court of Assizes at Caen. The jury, notwithstanding the repeated reversals of such decisions by the Court of Cassation, returned a verdict of acquittal against all the parties.
The attentions of Lord Castlereagh to Madame Grisi having attracted the observation of her husband, M. Gerard de Melcy, he took measures to stop them at the threshold. In consequence of his precautions, a letter, addressed by Lord Castlereagh to Madame Grisi, came into his hands, before it could reach the lady for whom it was intended. M. de Melcy instantly went to the residence of the noble Lord, with the intention of demanding satisfaction; but, not finding him at home, he repeated his visit on the following day, with the same result. He thereupon addressed a note to the noble Lord, informing him that his letter was intercepted, and calling for the only reparation that it was in the young nobleman’s power to give. Lord Castlereagh lost not a moment in offering the required satisfaction, and gave the name of Mr. Bentinck as the gentleman in whose hands his character would be placed. M. de Melcy called to his aid his friend M. de Cottreau; who undertook that the weapons should be pistols, and the distance twelve paces.
These preliminaries being arranged, the meeting was fixed for Saturday morning, at half-past four. Both the gentlemen were in readiness; but, previous to that hour, it was arranged between the seconds, that the parties should not use the pistols they had been accustomed to practise with, but that two pair should be taken at hazard from a gunsmith’s shop. This circumstance so delayed the meeting, that it was not till ten o’clock that the principals were in a condition to take the ground. At that hour they met at Wormwood Scrubs, one surgeon being in attendance. They were placed at the distance agreed upon, and instructed that the words to be given were, “Gentlemen, are you ready? Fire!” accompanied by the dropping of a handkerchief. Previously to the signal, Lord Castlereagh caused his second to deliver into the hands of M. Cottreau a paper signed by him, declaring that Madame Grisi had not, in the slightest manner, encouraged his attentions, and that he had never corresponded with her before. The word was given, and the signal dropped. They fired at the same time. M. de Melcy’s ball passed through his antagonist’s right arm, near the wrist. His Lordship discharged his pistol in the air. Mr. Bentinck, on seeing the condition of Lord Castlereagh, declared that, as his friend was wounded, the affair could not be carried further.
A duel, arising out of a dispute which took place at the Saloon in Piccadilly, was this day fought on Wimbledon Common, in a ravine about two hundred yards from the mill, between Mr. Mirfin, formerly a linen-draper residing in Tottenham-court Road, and Mr. Eliot. The parties fired at a distance of twelve paces. At the first shot the ball of Eliot went through Mirfin’s hat. The seconds immediately interfered; but the latter objected, and insisted on having a second shot. The pistols being reloaded, the parties again fired, when Mirfin fell. He was immediately attended by Mr. Scott, a surgeon. His death was nearly instantaneous. The body of the deceased was then placed in a cab, and, at the dusk of the evening, brought to his residence in town. An inquest, which lasted four days, was held on the body, at the Tankard Tavern, Brooke Street, Kennington Road, Lambeth, before the coroner, Mr. Carter, and a jury of fifteen of the principal inhabitants of the district. The following are the leading points of the evidence that was adduced.
Thomas Dunn, the owner of the mill on Wimbledon Common.—“The first thing I saw, when the parties arrived in the ravine, was a carpet-bag, from which was taken a box containing some pistols. Five persons were standing together, and another alone on my left, and a second about two hundred yards more to the left on the hill. While the pistols were loading, the one on my left, who was the person who shot the deceased, came up to me and said, ‘Good morning!’ I said, ‘It appears to me those gentlemen have some difference to decide.’ He answered, ‘Oh! damned nonsense, it’s only a bet for a hundred pounds.’ I replied, ‘That will not do for me;’ on which he passed on whistling. In a minute or two he again passed me, on which I remarked, it was a pity gentlemen could not settle their differences in a better way; when he said, ‘Oh! damned nonsense, I am used to it, and am one who is going to fight.’ A halfpenny or penny-piece was then tossed up, as I suppose, for the choice of pistols, or the ground. As the man who shot the other was going to the place, one of the party went up to him and said, ‘You are all right: you have nothing to fear.’ I saw both parties present their pistols, and heard two reports. Shortly after, I again heard the pistols discharged. Directly after, the gentleman who had spoken to me came towards me, and said, ‘I have done for the ——.’ I at that moment saw the deceased falling. I went to him and saw him stripped; when I saw a wound resembling that from a ball. All except one, who was engaged in pinching up the wound, left the ground. I said to him, ‘I fear he is a dead man.’ The carriages all left, except the hired cab. The deceased was dead when I left the spot.”
George Clark, the cabman.—“I was on the stand at the Elephant and Castle on Wednesday last, about a quarter past five in the afternoon, when I saw two gentlemen in a gig, and one standing on the path. I pulled over, when the latter gentleman, Mr. Scott, surgeon, of Rockingham Row, got in. On reaching Wimbledon Common, we saw a carriage drawn up; it had post-horses: and there was a stanhope as well. The gentleman then got out of my cab. In a few minutes, I heard the report of fire-arms; on which, I and the postillion ran towards the spot. When we reached it, the deceased had fallen, and the parties had all left, except Mr. Scott and the deceased. The gig came up with a gentleman, who, jumping out, ran down the hollow. On his return he said, ‘He’s dead!’ and again jumped into the gig. I seized the horse’s head, and said. ‘You must not leave him so; what can I do?’ when he said, ‘It’s my horse and gig;’ and, on my trying to prevent him, he struck the horse and forced himself away. Mr. Scott told me to bring my cab. I said I could not bring it down the hollow; on which, the body was brought up, and placed in my cab. Mr. Scott then got in; and I said, ‘Where am I to go to?’ He said, ‘Across the common, to a friend’s house.’ I refused, however, to drive him, unless the body was taken to the deceased’s residence: when he told me to drive to Pleasant Place; where, on my arrival, it was taken into the parlour.”
Mr. Scott, the surgeon.—“After the first fire, the seconds both interfered, and wished to reconcile the parties. Mr. Mirfin said, he would receive nothing but a written apology; which Mr. Eliot refused to give. Mr. Mirfin then insisted upon a second fire. After he had fired, he walked about six paces towards me, and said, ‘I am wounded!’ I said, ‘Where? I am exceedingly sorry to hear it.’ He then raised his finger to show me where he was wounded. I then shook my head, and said, ‘Good-b’ye. God bless you!’ and he said, ‘Good-b’ye, old fellow!’ Mr. Broughton came up, and said, ‘What shall I do?’ I said, ‘Leave as quickly as possible.’ The other parties quitted the ground, without rendering any assistance. After they had been gone about five minutes, a tall gentleman returned, and asked how he was going on? I replied, ‘He is dying.’ This was one of the parties who had been present. Mr. Mirfin died ten minutes after he had received the shot. I asked him to wait, observing, that he could not be in a worse situation than I myself was. He promised to remain; but quickly ran or walked away towards the mill. I never saw him afterwards.”
The room was cleared, and, after about fifty minutes’ deliberation, the foreman announced to the coroner, that they had come to a verdict of “Wilful murder” against Francis Lionel Eliot, as principal; and John Young, Henry Webber, Edward Delves Broughton, and two other persons unknown, as principals in the second degree. Warrants were immediately made out and issued for the apprehension of the parties.
On the 21st of September, their trial came on at the Central Criminal Court. Eliot and Broughton did not appear; but Young and Webber took their places at the bar. Mr. Bodkin said, that in consequence of the illness of Mr. Clarkson, who was Broughton’s counsel, it had been thought desirable that he should not surrender. The prisoners having pleaded “Not guilty,” Mr. Chambers opened the case for the prosecution, and called the various witnesses. At the close of the case for the prosecution, Mr. Adolphus addressed the jury in behalf of Webber, and Mr. Phillips in behalf of Young. They both maintained, that there was not a tittle of evidence to show that either of them had any participation in the unfortunate occurrence. Several witnesses spoke to their character; which was described as being of the most humane description.
Mr. Justice Vaughan then charged the jury. He said, that the case, in his own opinion, presented no point of difficulty. The question for them to determine was, whether the prisoners at the bar had gone down for the purpose of aiding and encouraging Mr. Eliot. If they entertained any doubt upon that point, they were bound to give them the benefit of that doubt. There were, undoubtedly, he observed, some peculiarities in the present case, which did not belong to any other case of duelling with which he was acquainted; and that peculiarity was, the fact of so many persons having been mixed up with the transaction. With regard to the manner in which it was conducted, it did not appear that any unfair advantage had been taken by either party. On the contrary, as far as he knew anything of such matters, the affair appeared to have been managed with a strict regard to the practice usually followed on similar occasions.
The jury, after retiring about twenty minutes, brought in a verdict of “Guilty.” The foreman then said, that he had been desired by his brother jurors to express the horror they felt at the conduct of Mr. Scott; and to say, that, in their opinion, he ought to have been placed at the bar along with the prisoners. Mr. Justice Vaughan said, he quite agreed with the jury as regarded Mr. Scott. Mr. Chambers said, he was instructed by the brother of the deceased, who had felt it his duty to institute this prosecution, to recommend the prisoners to mercy, on account of the excellent character they had received. Mr. Justice Vaughan said, the recommendation should be attended to; but for the present the Court would order, that sentence of death should be recorded against the prisoners, and they would from that understand that their lives would be spared. The sentence of death was afterwards commuted to twelve months’ imprisonment in Guildford gaol; the last month to be passed in solitary confinement. Eliot and Broughton had escaped abroad. The parties appealing to this barbarous code of refined honour could, apparently, claim only a very doubtful gentility. Eliot was the nephew of an innkeeper at Taunton, and recently an officer in the British Auxiliary Legion in Spain; Mirfin was the son of a mercer at Doncaster, and had kept a linen-draper’s shop in Tottenham-court Road; and Young was the son of a brick-maker at Haddenham, near Aylesbury. The disgusting exhibition at Wimbledon in this case is believed to have done much to bring the practice of duelling into ridicule and detestation.
In consequence of some expressions which were made use of by the Marquis of Londonderry in the House of Lords, in reference to a speech reported to have been made by Mr. Henry Grattan at a public meeting in Dublin, Mr. Grattan addressed a letter of inquiry to the Marquis, to which the following answer was returned:—