Show THE OdbE OF HONOR The Decline in Dueling and the Reasons Therefor GENERAL PDTXAilS JOKE Two Editor and Their TFJsht A Strange fartnorsUlp Tnrcots Human tiodiea Is dueling still popular among gentlemen gen-tlemen 1 wai asked by a reporter tho other da of a military man who baa been prominent in several affairs No times have changed marvelously During Jacksons second term the Democrats Dem-ocrats flushed with victory at tho Presidential dential election were rather arrogant Many dashing and gallant young men had been elected from the Wetter and Southern States and conscious of their great numerical superiority were somewhat some-what disposed to carry matters with a high hand Dueling in those days was much in vogueand personal discussions in the house were frequently brought to abrupt termination by intimation that ojurious imputations would be resented ented elsewhere John M Patton and Henry M Wise of Virginia Bailie Peyton of Tennessee Gallatin Hawes ot Kentucky Jessy Bynum of North Uaro lint and many other Southerners were known to be prompt with the pistol and it was understood that a call to the field would follow any damaging per sonal attack upon distinguished mem hers of the ruling party The rude demeanor and offensive vituperation by which Congress has been disgraced for some years past would have been romply published forty years ago Now it excites comparatively little public attention and is only met in Congress Con-gress by a retort in kind How do you account for the decline of tae dueling mania The decline dates from the time it was made auxiliary to gambling and swindling or to the settlement of disputes dis-putes between vulgar scoundreis Since hen it has gone out of fashion rapidly The gross abuse of dueling has done more to remedy its own mischief than moral appeals and legal enactments What do the Irish think oi dueling duel-ing Grattans dying advice to his sons was Always be ready with your pistols The Irish are often much too ready There is a trait in the Irish character which is considered by many to be nationally chivulroUand that is a general dislike to seek m courts of law a monetary compensation for honor outraged out-raged through womans folly In this country reparation for loss of service is considered a thing ai correctly reclaimable reclaim-able as loss of profit on a cargo of wheat or cotton while among Irishmen in nine cases out of ten the man who worKs upon the weakness of a wife or trifles with the atieclions of a sister is not subjected to an assessment for damages by a jury but summoned to give personal satisfaction Men disinclined to xnak targets of themselves in obedience to a conventional conven-tional code of honor have often got out of the difficulty by availing themselves of the right accrded to the challenge to choose the weapons An old whaling captain not long since declared he would fight with harpoons or not at allan all-an alternative declined by hU adversary adver-sary A Missourian daunted his antagonist antag-onist by insisting upon a combat with rawhides limited to half an hours duration Gen Putnam was once challenged by a young otlicer and proposed pro-posed that each should sit upon a powderkeg with a lighted fuse in the bung As he would hear of no other terms the general had his way At the appointed time the belligerents took their seats the fuses were ignited and the veteran watched the process with unmoved countenance Not so his opponent op-ponent He took intense interest in the lastlessening match and when the flame got suggestively near the bung hole showed his possession of the better part of valor by Jumfl ug off the keg and making for the open field till arrested by Putnam roaring out Hold on my boy its only onion seed Two western editors of opposing newspapers news-papers once made fools of themselves It came about through theedttor of one of the papers declaring in a leader that the editor of the other paper was a bigamist and that gentleman resenting the calumny by pulling the libelers nose in the public street The mayorof the town kindly undertook to arrange for the difficulty being settled in a proper pro-per way and the two editors were soon ensconced rifle in band behind the trees in a wood For two mortal hours they dodged and peeped neither caring to tire least by missing he should leave himself at his enemys mercy Then nun came down and one of the combatants com-batants discovered that it had saturated his powder Is your pow Jer wet 1 shouted he to his rival No answered the other Mines beautifully dry continued the first But his adversary guessing how matters mat-ters were came boldly out of cover with his weapon ready to come to the present Stop 1 cried the appalled man stopl Lets have u parley You are a darned good fellow Suppose instead shooting we go into partnership All right replied the other and they returned home together Of course both fditors had to set themselves right with their subscribers which they did by telling them that their Guns were wet and wouldnt go otTNew York Star |