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Georgia Gazette
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Extrails fro(n Dr. Shollst’j TRAVELS through France and Italy.
Nice, ‘'fan. 3, 1764.
YOU know in France <1 ticls are forbid on pain of dentil; but this
law is easily evaded. The perlbn intuited walks out; the an
tagonill under (lands the hint, and follow., him into the ilrect,
where they jotUe x. if by accident, draw their swords, and
one of them is either killed or difabiej, before any cftctlual
♦neans can be u fed to part them. Whatever may be the iHue of the com
bat, the magi:lrate takes no cognizance of it, at leafl it is interpreted in
to accidental rencounter, and no penalty is incurred on cither fide. Thus
the purpofeof the ia.v is entirely defeated, by a moll ridiculous and cruel
connivance.
The niecrcil trifles in convention, a rafli word, a dilhnt hint, even a
look or ftnilc < f contempt, is fuifirient to produce one of these combats;
but injuries of a deeper dye, fueli a. terms of reproach, the lie direcl, a
blow, or even the menace of a blow mud be dilcuffcd with more forma
lity. In any of these cases, the parties agree to meet in the dominion, of
another prince, where they can murder each other without fearof punilh
ment. An officer who is Ilruck, or even threatened with a blow, mull
not be quiet until he either kills his antagonid or loses his own life.
A friend of mine, (a Nifl'ard) who was in the fcrvicc ot France, told
me. that fome years one of their capta ns, in the heat of passion,
Ilruck his lieutenant. The/ immediately fought : the lieutenant was
wounded and difirmcJ. As it was an affront th ‘.t could not be made up,
he no sooner recovered of his wounds, than he called the captain out a
fccond time. In a word, they fought five times before the combat prov
ed dccifivc; at lall the lieutenant was left dead on the spot. This was an
event which fufficiently proved the absurdity of the pundilio that gave
life toil. The poor gentleman who was intuited and outraged by the
brutality of the aggrc.P>r, found himfelf under the neccflity of giving him
a further occasion to trike away his life.
Another adventure of the fame kind happened a few years ago in this
place. A French officer having threatened to llrike another, a formal
challenge ensued; and it being agreed they should fight until one of them
dropped, each provided himfelf a couple of pioneers to dig hi grave on
the spot. Th v engaged just without one of the gates of Nice, in presence
of a great number of fpedators, ami fought with furprizing fury, until
the ground was drenched with their blood. At length one ot them (tum
bled, and fell ; upon which the other, who found himfelf mortally
Wounded, advancing, and dropping his point, said, “ Je te donnt te jut
in m'as ct> “ 1 give thee that which thou haft taken from me.” So fay
ing he dropped dead upon the field. The other, who had been the per
iod infultcd, was so dangeroully wounded that he could not rife. Some
of the fpeftator* carried him forthwith to the beach, and putting him into
a boat, conveyed him hy fe.i to Antibes. The body of his antagonill was
denied Chriltiun burial, as he died without abfolutiun, and every body
allowed that his foul went to hell; but the gentlemen of the army declar
ed that he died like a man of honour.
Should a man be never so well inclined to make atonement in a peace
able manner, for anlnfult given in the heat of passion, or in the fury of
intoxication, it cannot be received, liven an involuntary trespass frotp
ignorance or absence of mind mull becleanfcd with blood.
. A certain noble lord, of our country, w'hen he was yet a commoner, in
his travels involved himfelf in a dilemma of this fort at the court of Lor
rain. He had been riding out, and drolling along a publick walk, in a
;brown study, with his horse-whip in his hand, perceived a carterpillar
crawling on theftjack of a Marquis who chanced to be before him. He
never thought of petit maitre, but lifting up his whip in order to kill the
infeft, lata it aettris his shoulders with a crack that alarmed all the com*
pany in the walk.
The Marquis’s sword was produced in a moment, and the aggrefTor in
great hazard of his life, as nc had no weapon of defence. He was no
looncr waked from his revei ic, than he begged pardon, and offered to make
all proper concefftons for what he had done through mere inadvertency.
‘I he Marquis would have admitted Ins excuses, had there been any prece
dent of such an affront, washed away without blood. A conclave of ho
nour was immediately a (fern bled ; and after long disputes, they agreed
that an involuntary offence, especially from Jack a Kind of man, d'un tel bom
*ie, might be atoned by concessions. That you may have fome idea of
the small beginning, from which many giganticlc quarrels arise, I shall
recount one that lately happened at Lyons, as I had it from the mouth of
• pci son, who was an ear and eyewitness ofthetranfaflion. Two French.
j ncn at a publick ordinary, (tunned the rest of the company with their
loquacity. At length one of them, with a supercilious air, afkcd the o
ther’s name “ I never tell my name, (said he) but in a whisper.” “ You
Way have very good reasons for keeping it a secret,” replied the firft. “ I
Will tell you,” (resumed the other): with these words rose; and going
round to hi in, pronounced, loud enough to be heard by the whole com*
T' 1n y. t% nfsrpptllt Pierre Tai/an, vout etes un impertinent.” So faying,
. out: The interrogant followed him into the ilrect, where they
jollied, drew their swords and engaged. He who afkcd the queflion was
run trough the body $ but his relations were so powerful that the vittor
IV RDN R 6 Z) AY , -November 12, 1766.
w.ic obliged 10 dy his country. He was tiicd and condemned in his ah
fence; his goods were conlifcated ; his wi c bioke her heart ; his children
were reduced to beggary ; and fie Jiiinlclf is flarving in exile.
In Kngland we have not yet adopted all the implacability in pdn&tlio.
A gentleman may be infultcd even with a blow, and lurvivc, after having
on> c hazarded his 1 ilc avamll the aggrelibr. The laws of honour in our
country do not oblige him either to lUy the person from whom lie received
the or even to fight to the 1..11 drop of his blood.
One find no examples of duel', among the Romans, who were certain
ly as brave and as delicate in their notions of honour as the French. Cor*
nelius Nepos tells us that a famous Athenian general having a dispute
with Im colleague, who was of Sparta, a man of a fiery difpolition, this
hit! lifted up h:s cane to llrike Turn. ’ Had this happened to a French font
mu>re, death moft have cniucd. The Athenian, far from re Tenting the
outrage, in wnat is now called a gentleman-like manner, laid, “Do llrike
if you pleale ; but hear me.” He never dreamed of cutting the •! .acede*
m uiian’s throat; but bore with his pailionato temper, as the infirmity of
a friend who had a thoulaiul good qualities toovcrbulancc that defect.
An Account of the Gal lies, and G alley Slaves it IT ALT.
ONth r left of the fort of Ville Francfre, about halfa league from Nice,
is the Bafiu tor the gallics, and with a kind of dock, in which the
gallic, are built, and occafionnlly laid up to be refitted. This basin la
formed by a pretty Itonc mole ; and here his Sardinian Majelly’s two gal
lies lie perfectly l'ecurc, moored with their sterns clofc to the Jctte. I went
on boaid one of these vcffels, and favvabout tfso hundred inifcrable wictchcs
chained to tnc banks, on which they lit and row, when the galley is at
fca. 1 his is a fight which h Britilh (übjc.ft, fenlible of the Lieflings he
enjoys, cannot be Hold without horror and companion. Not but that if we
conlidcr the natuie of the call* with coolness and deliberation, sve mull ac
knowledge the jullice, and even 1 igacity, of employing, for the fer vice
of the publics, tliofe maleftflors who have forfeited their title to the pri
vilege of the community. Among the Oaves at Ville Franclre is a Picd
montefe Count, condemned to the gallics for ttfc, in consequence of hav
ing been convicted of forgery.
He is permitted to iive on (hore ; and gets money by employing the 0-
ther (laves to knit (lockings for sale. lie appears always in the Tuikifh
habit, and is in a fair way of railing a better fortune than that which he
hath
the law of nations, as well as of humanity, to mix with those banditti,
the Moorilh and Turkish priloncrs who are taken in the profccution of o*
pen wir. ft is certainly no j unification of this barbarous pradlice that the
Chrirlian prifonersarc treated as cruelly atTdnis and Algiers. It would
be for the honour of Chrilliandom, to set an example of genciofity to the
Turks; and, if they would not follow it, to join their naval forces, ami
extirpate at once those nells of pirates, who have so long in felled the Me
diterranean. Certainly, nothing can be more fhairicful, than the treaties
which France and the maritime powers have concluded with thole barba
rians. They supply them with artillery, arms, and ammunition, todif
lurb their neighbours. They even pay them a fort of tribute, under the
denomination of presents; and often put up with insults tamely, for the
sordid confederation of .1 little gain in the way of commerce. Tney know
that Spain, Sardinia, and almoil all the Cat hoi irk powers in the Medi
terranean/ Adriatic!;, and Levant, are at perpetual war with those Maho
metans; that while Algiers, Tunis, and Sallee, maintained armed cruiz
ers at fca, those Christian powers will not run the rifquc of trading in their
own bottoms, but rather employ as carriers the maritime nations who are
at peace With the infidels. Jt is for our fiiare of this advantage, that we
cultivate pc.tce with the piratical dates of Barbary, and meanly purthafe
pad’ports of them, thus acknowledging them mailers of the Mediterrane
an.
The Sardinian gallics are mounted each with five- and-twenty oars, and
fix guns, fix'pounders, of a lule, and a large piece of artillery amidflijps,
pointing a head, which (so far as 1 ain able to judge) can never be tiled
point-black, without demolishing the head or prow of the galley. The
accommodations on board for the officers is wretched. There is a paultry
cabin in the poop for the commander; but all other officers lie below tfio
flaws, in a dungeon, where they have neither light, air, nor any degree
of quiet; half fuffocatcd by the heat of the place; tormented by fleas,
bugs, and lice ; and disturbed by the incessant noifeover head. The /laves
lie upon the naked bank, without any other covering than a tilt. This,
however, is no great hardship, in ’a climate where there is scarce any win
ter. They are fed with a veiy scanty allowance of bread, and about four
teen beans a day ; and twice a week they have a little rice, or chctfc ; but
moll of them, while they arc in harbour, knit (lockings, or do fome ra
ther kind of work, which enables them to make fome addition to this
wretched allowance. When they happen to he at fca in bad weather,
their situation is truly depforablc. Every wave breaks over the veflel,
and not only keeps them continually wet, but crimes with such f >rcc, tint
they arc daihed against the banks with furprizirjg violence: Sometime*
their limbs a* broke, and fomctimci their brains arc dafhei out. It is