WOMEN FIGHT DUEL WITH SWORDS

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 230, 28 September 1929, Page 6 (Supplement)

WOMEN FIGHT DUEL WITH SWORDS

AFFAIR OF HONOUR THAT SET HUNGARY AGOG

Miss Susanne Weinhard, -young and charming danseuse of a Budapest cabaret, will never again be able to wear a Idw-necked evening gown -or any of those modern dresses Avhich leave part of the pretty shoulder uncovered. Her once perfect "deeolletage" is marred by an ugly 4in long scar running diagonally from the middle of the left shoulder to a point near the middle of the breast. It is the mark of a sword cut,.which she received from the equally young and pretty Miss Mary Kadvanyi in a regular manlike duel. ■"'■: It was not merely by accident, mind you, that Suzanne -was wounded in the encounter. The girls were not practising for an amateur fencing match, nor did they select swords for their battle royal purely for the sake of picturesquefun. The bout, which ended in disaster to Susanne's physical perfection, was a regular duel, fought according to the strict rules and regulations of the code of honour, in the presence of four seconds and a surgeon, and with authen-. tic weapons in no way different from those used by men on sucn occasions. It was the first encounter between women with swords on official record, and as such it will undoubtedly occupy a distinguished place in the history of celebrated duels. It all began with both Susanne and Mary deciding to take fencing lessons and to join one of the two Budapest ■women's fencing clubs. It was about a year ago, at the time when fencing became the fashionable sport for ladies, a veritable fad that-spread rapidly among the women of the Hungarian capital. Fencing has long been the national sport in Hungary, 'but up. to a year ago it was the prerogative of men to frequent the numeroiis fencing schools and to make practical, use of their skill in swordsmanship when they had to defend, themselves on the field of honour. Now the country of brilliant swordsmen began to produce swbrdswomen who were just as proud of their skill as the men. Moreover, they challenged the men's exclusive "privilege, of settling their .affairs of honour with naked stee.l, and proclaimed that women, too, were able •tfo give and take satisfaction in the vtfiaditional }way of chivalry. Two and One Man. - Iα fact, there Were'two duels in which, •women figured/prominently. : One was a «ase where, two well-io-fto ladies crossed Bwords in defence of the point of honour. Iα the other,,.* woman farced, a young ' lawyer to meet her on the field Of com- : ibat. In the" first instance neither of the duellists was wounded. The , second affair did not go' beyond the initial- ' stages, "because the "lawyer's fair oppo-': nent was' not willing to strip •to the waist as the rules demand, and agreed to accept her adversary's verbal apolor gies. J- ; 7\,;.v :.'■•".. ~-,.,. i

For weeks these'affairs of honour of women were, the main, topic of conversation. Women. talked even more about their fencing 'lessons than about . their dresses. W3i.ef,eJore both Susanne and Mary decided that they could' not ilag 'behind the others, eo H they..;fiswi't6 'join a fencing club. . '~: " i I'/'t/.i Miss Weinhard and Mise : , Radyanyi ■were the best of friends.- Both were dancers, 'both appeared in a, fashionable night cabaret, and both werei well known jn the younger set of Budapest's artist colony. There was no professional rivalry between Miss Weinhard and Miss Radvanyi. On the contrary, they planned a vaudeville act and a tour of the Continent. They really never thought that *hey •would face- each other "Aβ an'tagojiists armed with cold steel. This beautiful friendship, 'however, iShanged to open hostility , when Mary JRadvanyi suspected Sueanne Weinhard of attempting to steal the affections of a. young painter, who was her devoted jadmirer. The artist catme every night to the cabaret, iook Mary "to supper; painted her poTtraitj arid ! even hinted the possibility of ids - r marrying her. Sufianne, being the ; ..'bosom f'friend of Mary, was also inviteid ,on several occaeions, first by Mary herself, then by the sboy friend. Mary soott discovered *hat the artist was"■'beepming,. interested in Iher friend, and when onei.day i3he learned, "that he had invited Susanne studio •without mentioning it, to her she became* convinced that Susanne was acting in a.. dishonourable way. 'On the same night, {before the cabaret performance, Mary went to Susanne's dressing room and; demanded an explanation.; • Susanne was! and heated words followed, and $n a few minutes the two girls fell upon each other with teeth and nails. *• . ' The Conditions of Battle. / "We must settle this," said'Susanne, after they had teen by stage •hands. "You will hear from me," she called after Mary. < . '1 am always at your disposal," answered Mary..' ..-;', ; : :... '. : - ; '; : '- v. ■■:.., According to the rules of the code,' {Susanne sent her seconds to Mary. One j •was a teacher, the other a , dancer, arid sboth were members of the fencing club. They said that their principal had been jnsulted by Miss Radvanyi, and deananded satisfaction. " : Miry listened • (silently to the challenge, then took a j)iece of paper, wrote two, names on it, iand said: "This is a case for my seconds. Here are their names. Will you please; get in touch with them?" The seconds of Miss ,Weitthard de-, parted. Miss Radvanyi's seconds were an actress and a stenographer.. All four seconds met in a room of - the fencing club behind closed doors'. They agreed that Miss' Weinhard had the right to demand "satisfaction with weapon," and decided, that a duel should be fought, the conditions being, as follow:—(1) Weapons used, light Italian swords with 'blunted points, stabbing not permitted; (2) opponents to fight until the complete inability of one of them, the state of inability to "be determined by the surgeon; (3) full bandages to be used on neck, wrist and armpits; ! (4) the duel to^β.directed by Miss Yolanda Mvay, teacher of fencing. expert m toels, wfio advised,her get alVrulestof. fencing and to as quickly ai .possible <*L«L attack 3,ut tolopk -for a..chance to.Wk through;tM defentfe adveraar^ were carefully examined >y th e seconds and in a. disinfecting lotion. %

the doctor. The .combatants were then led to the fencing room £ .1 placed at a distance of 12ft from each other while MissLevay, with a fencing mask on her head and her body covered with a plastron, delivered,,the formal speech: ... Susanne Faints—'Mary.Sobs. . "Ladies/' she said, "you came-here to settle an affair of honour with the sword. Before starting the bout, I call upon you ,to become reconciled." ; Mary shook her head and Susanne's eyes flashed' defiance. ' I- rl4 ■ "I take .your, silence for a, refusal, so the duel will proceed; You know the. significannce of the commands, 'Sword in hand! En garde! Charge!' Whenr ever I shall call 'Stop!' you will stop at i once." Before the fair combatants, received their swords, there was a' slight deviation from the usual proceedings —both fighters asked for a mirror. Susanne gave her hair a finishing touch. Mary powdered her nose and smiled - witu apparent satisfaction. They grasped their swords, listened for the word of' . command, and charged. It was a furious attack with which Mary attempted to sweep Susanne off her feet—-30 furious that the referee was afraid the combatants would use even their unarmed hands, and made a quick dash to stop the round. In the, second round again Mary attacked, but Susanne defended herself courageously, and the round was a draw. In the third, Mary received a slight wound on her arm, and the doctor wanted to call a halt. But Mary insisted upon continuing, the duel.' She. attacked, and suddenly the seconds saw blood gushing from Susanne's shoulder. The place was thrown into confusion. Susanne fainted; the doctor rushed up and dressed her wound. Mary was sob-, bing. The. seconds surrounded the wounded heroine, assured her that the wound was not dangerous. Somebody called an ambulance, which carried Susanne to her apartment.' Mary followed in a taxicab. Sh& helped to put Susanne into bed and implored forgiveness. "For the wound I forgive you," said Suaanne. "But I can never forgive you for having spoiled my decolletage.-' So ended the first modern duel between women with swords. But not so the love romance underlying it. For the time being, noDody can more than guess its outcome. The young artist, for whose attentions these two women fought, spends his leisure hours at Susanne's side. Also he dines regularly at the cabaret with MaTy. Those who know his aversion to fencing and duelling predict that he will eventually marry a woman who never touched a sword-in her. life.—("Star" and Anglo-American NvSi copyright.) : .