DUELS BETWEEN FRENCH WOMEN.
That women, who can mostly get silly people to fight for them, should
not fight themselves is natural, but there are instances on record in
which ladies have shown their determination to avenge their own wrongs.
Madame de Villechen mentions a duel fought with swords by the Henriette
Sylvie of Molière with another woman, both in male attire. In the
letters of Madame Dunoyer, a case is mentioned of a lady of Beaucaire
and a young lady of rank, who fought with swords in their garden, and
would have killed each other had they not been separated; this meeting
had been preceded by a regular challenge.
De la Colombière mentions a duel that took place on the Boulevard
St. Antoine between two ladies of doubtful virtue, in which they
inflicted on each other’s face and bosom several wounds, two points
at which female jealousy would naturally aim. St. Foix relates the
case of Mademoiselle Durieux, who in the open street fought her lover
of the name of Antinotti. But the most celebrated female duellist
was the actress, Maupin, one of the performers at the opera. Serane,
the famous fencing-master, was one of her lovers, and from him she
received many valuable lessons. Being insulted one day by an actor of
the name of Dumény, she called him out; but as he refused to give her
satisfaction, she carried away his watch and his snuff-box as trophies
of her victory. Another performer having presumed to offend her, on his
declining a meeting was obliged to kneel down before her and implore
forgiveness. One evening at a ball, having behaved in a very rude
manner to a lady, she was requested to leave the room, which she did on
the condition that those gentlemen who had warmly espoused the offended
lady’s cause should accompany her. To this proposal they agreed; when
after a hard combat she killed them all, and quietly returned to
the ball-room. Louis XIV. granted her a pardon, and she withdrew to
Brussels, where she became the mistress of the Elector of Bavaria.
However, she soon after returned to the Parisian opera, and died in
1707 at the age of thirty-seven.
Under the regency a pistol meeting took place between the Marquise
de Nesle and the Countess Polignac for the possession of the Duc de
Richelieu; and in more modern times, so late, indeed, as 1827, a Madame
B---- at St. Rambert, received a challenge to fight with pistols;
and about the same period a lady of Châteauroux, whose husband had
received a slap in the face without resenting the insult, called out
the offender, and fighting him with swords severely wounded him.
In 1828 a duel took place between a young girl and a _garde du corps_.
She had been betrayed by the gallant soldier, and insisted upon
satisfaction, selecting her own weapons by the right of an offended
party. Two shots were exchanged, but without any result, as the seconds
very wisely had not loaded with ball. The young lady, however, ignorant
of this precaution, fired first, and received the fire of her adversary
with the utmost coolness, when, to try her courage, after taking a
long and deliberate aim, he fired in the air, and thus terminated the
meeting, which no doubt led to many others of a less hostile nature.
In the same month, as a striking instance of the contagion of this
practice, a duel was fought near Strasbourg between a French woman and
a German lady, both of whom were in love with a painter. The parties
met on the ground armed with pistols, with seconds of their own sex.
The German damsel wanted to fire across a pocket handkerchief, but the
French lady and her seconds insisted upon a distance of twenty-five
paces, They both fired without effect, when the exasperated German
insisted that they should carry on the contest until one of the
parties fell. This determination, however, was controlled by the
seconds, who put a stop to further proceedings, but were unable to
bring about a reconciliation.
We shall shortly see that our English ladies have shown as much
determination under similar circumstances; and when we consider the
bitter animosity that frequently exists between women, who are not in
the habit of resenting their real or supposed wrongs by having recourse
to a personal satisfaction, which may be considered the safety-valve
of passions, and which not unfrequently supersedes assassination, one
may be surprised that duels are not more frequent between them. Their
mode of living and habits must induce them to brood more deeply than
men over the insults which their pride and vanity have received, and in
both sexes these sentiments, when ruffled, can rarely be smoothed down.
The only reason which may be adduced to account for the circumstance
is their natural timidity as regards personal danger, to which we may
add the greater certainty of avenging their injuries by intrigue and
slander, “whose edge is sharper than the sword.”