Bozeman Avant Courier

A Guy Livingstone Duel

The other day one of our morning papers,
taking as its text the recent duel in Virginia,
preached a long and eloquent sermon on the
barbarity of the Americans, and their shame-
ful wickedness, "allowing this relic of the
dark ages to remain as one of their customs."
But at the very hour when this homily was
being written a duel between two English
gentlemen was being fought in Piccadilly.—
These two young swells had not quarrelled
about a lady, but about a bet; a challenge to
mortal combat had been given and accepted;
a difficulty arose about the weapons to be
used; the seconds finally referred the matter
to an arbitrator—no other than the famous
author, Guy Livingstone—and he decided
that the bloodthirsty combatants should
meet in the middle of Piccadilly, each armed
with a horsewhip, and thrash each other un-
til one or both cried "Hold! enough!"
The duellists demurred; but the arbitrator
declared that, as they asked for his decision,
they should obey it, and that if they did not
he should whip both of them. At this threat
they yielded, and the awful combat com-
menced at the appointed time and place.
Fast and thick were the blows: shrill
through the air whistled the keen lashes;
dense arose the dust from the well beaten
coats. Each man stood bravely to his work,
until, as if by mutual consent, each paused
at the moment, and said, "Enough!" Then they drove away amid the plaudits of the
crowd. If you must have duels, I don't
know but Guy Livingstone's plan for them
is the best.—London Letter to the Graphic.