DUELS BETWEEN WOMEN.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 231, 16 December 1874, Page 2

DUELS BETWEEN WOMEN.

Madame de Saint-Belmont was a malicious sort of a woman. Iler husband, while in ti e service of the Duke of Lorraine, fell on the field of honour. After this event Madame determined to manage her own affairs, and especially to look personally after her interests on her landed estates, which were large. She therefore spent most of her time in the saddle, and indeed in the costume of a contemporary dandy. To numberless other adventures and caprices, she added that of insisting on fighting a duel with a young man who was enamoured of her wit and bright eyes. She rewarded his devotion by forbidding him to approach her ; but love is sometimes deaf as well as blind. In this instance it is possible that the cavalier put the seeming invulnerability of the lady down to affectation. Be that as it may, meeting her one day in a wood, where she had alighted to pick some berries, he threw himself at her feet; but, to his protestations of love and devotion, the hardhearted Madame de Saint-Belmont replied :’ “ You arc chailenged. To-morrow I will run my sword through you.” And it was as she said it would be ; the young man was killed by the hand of her whom he loved more than life. But hardly had he breathed his last, when his fair antagonist was seized with the keenest remorse. She threw herself upon bis dead body, and wept bitterly. From that day she was entirely changed ; she became very devoted to the Church, heard mass twice daily, wrote three religious tragedies, and gave a large share of her income to different religious orders. Her indignation at the young cavalier was only an inexplicable caprice; she had, in fact, unconsciously loved him, as the sequel fully proved. A similar but less tragic case is related by Tallermand : — Madamo Chateau Gay de Murat had a lover in the person of a certain Monsicurde Cordieres. One day she thought herself justified in believing that he wronged her. Al’ his protestations were of no avail. She challenged i-iin to single combat, and whether he would or no, he was compelled to accept. De Cordieres appeared on the ground promptly, and was in an exceedingly gay humour, for he looked upon the affair as simply a jest on the part of his lady-love. He soon, however, became convinced of his error, and that she was in furious earnest, for very soon a well-directed thrust came near sending him to the land “ whence no traveller returns.” From the determined manner in which she attacked him, he saw that he must be on his guard. He determined, therefore, to tire his charming antagonist out, in which endeavor, in the course of half an hour, he was so successful that she let her sword full from sheer exhaustion. De Cordieres now placed his weapon against her breast and asked : “ Well ?”

A look full of love was her only reply, whereupon De Cordieres dropped his sword and clasped her in his aams.

Two manolas —girls of the middle classes—of Madrid contended for the possession of a rich Andalusian. They determined to let a hand-to-hand combat settle the dispute. One bright May morning, therefore, armed with daggers and navajas, and accompanied by their seconds, they drove out at the Alcala gate. The underst anding was, that, only one of them should return alive. But just as they reached the spot, chosen for the Tragedy they were approached by three policemen, who arrested both principals and seconds.

The manolas laughed disdainfully, and followed good-humouredly to the nearest policestation.

“ Senor,” said one of the would-be duellists to the officer on duty, “ these gentlemen, contrary to all law and right, have wilfully interfered with our personal liberty.” “ That we shall see,” replied the imploado, with becoming official gravity. “ Officer, what charge have you to make against these senoras ?”

“ Senor,” replied the policeman, “ I had got reasons for believing that the prisoners were about to fight a duel to the death. For this reason we have brought them before- your honour, that they may be punished according to law.”

“ If you please, senor,” one of the prisoners replied, “ we have done nothing, nor were we about to do anything, for which we can be legally punished.” Thereupon the girl pointed out to the astonished official that the law for the suppression of duelling applied to men only, they being specially mentioned in it, and they only. The legal erudition of the young girl took the impleado completely by surprise, and perplexed him greatly. After a careful examination of the codex, he came to the conclusion that the law did not reach the case under consideration, and he was reluctantly compelled to release the prisoners, but not until he had obtained from them a promise thst they would desist from their murderous design.