The New Hampshire Gazette And Historical Chronicle

A Remarkable Duel between two Friends.

From the LONDON MAGAZINE. for Aug. 1763. To the Author of the London Magazine.

SIR,

A Paragraph in your Magazine of last month, mentioning a duel between two gentlemen of Ireland, I am led, from reflecting on the frequency of those unhappy engagements, to trouble you with the following little narrative.

I am, sir, a native of Ireland. of one of the best families, and have no inconsiderable property in that kingdom ; I was educated in the university of Dublin where my birth and fortune recommending me to the notice of many young fellows of the first distinction I entered into the closest intimacy with several, and was looked upon as a sort of chief in every little party of amusement by them all. In the variety of acquaintance with which I was at this time favoured, I contracted a friendship of the warmest kind with a young man of quality of my own age, whom I shall beg leave to mention by the name of Butler. Perhaps few men ever possessed so many qualifications to command universal esteem ; his person had that prepossessing something so peculiarly the distinction of rank, and to so great a degree, that you were interested in his favour the moment he appeared, and obliged to do justice to his understanding without his speaking a single word. Joined to one of the clearest heads, in the creation, he was blest with the most benevolent of hearts, and was, in short, all that the most romantic can fancy of their heroes and all that the ancient heathens could imagine of their gods.

Mr. Butler had a sister,--poor Maria! near of age, I had another, unhappy Charlotte, close upon twenty-two ; the friendship subsisting between him and me produced an equal esteem in the young ladies, and both continually dwelling on the praises of their brothers ; 'twas no wonder that Charlotte entertained the most tender sentiments for him, or that the bewitched Maria should cast a favourable eye on me.

--Not to take up your time, sir. Mr. Butler and I grew passionately in love with the sisters of each other, and proud to have the opportunity of riveting, as I may say, our friendship, we agreed upon paying our addresses, which were kindly received, and one day appointed for the celebration of the two weddings. to the infinite satisfaction of both our families ;--but, O sir, the eve of our wedding day !--How justly may I cry out with the poet,

For ever hated be the fatal hour,
For ever dark and comfortless the morn,
No sun to shed its salutary power,
Or mark the circling period I was born !
But let ill fortune all array'd in tears,
Be doom'd attendant on the time alone ;
The church-yard screech owl bode uncommon fears
And fright the midnight traveller to stone.

Mr. Butler, and I, sir, had just parted from our mistresses and retired to sup at a tavern to take leave of our bachelorism with a select party of friends ; two or three hours we passed in the most agreeable manner, when unfortunately an argument arose between him and a gentleman in company, about the superior excellence of lobsters and crabs,--trival delutes have been justly remarked to produce the most fatal consequences.--this was unhappily the case with us.--I saw Mr. Butler exert a warmth which I fancied rather too vehement, and took the liberty of hinting my opinion. The conversation was in an instant changed, and his whole resentment turned against me; he called my friendship for him in question. and made so many severe observations, that I could not avoid a little of the acid in my replies. The quarrel of friends is always the most bitter ; things that would appear indifferent in others, carry an additional poignancy from them, and a retort, which would seem trifling in a common acquaintance, is a crime of the most unpardonable colour in a friend ; the very consideration that should mitigate, becomes an aggravation of the fault, and the most striking plea why we should overlook an error, is constantly the reason why we will not.--This. sir, was our Situation ; Mr. Butler thought it hard that I of all men should offer him an offence : I thought it equally cutting, of all men, to receive an injury from him; in this frame of mind we proceeded from severity to severity, till at last he gave me the public lie. There was now but one means of satisfaction left, the company instantly broke up, and Mr. Butler and I appointed to meet at the Phænix park by seven the next morning, attended each by a friend.

To say how I passed the intervening night, sir, is impossible ; suffice it that I endured the torments of the damned. My anger against Mr. Butler disappeared the moment all our former friendship was recollected, and my heart dropped blood to think when I was no longer offended of the fatal necessity of seeking for revenge. My love for his adorable sister struck me to the soul, and what did I not suffer in the consideration of his passion for mine ; but, alas ! Sir; the tyranny of a horrid custom obliged me to suppress every laudable tendency of these salutary reflections, and drove me to violate every suggestion of my reason,every argument of my friendship, & every mandate of my God.

The morning come, sir, and we were both at the appointed place at least an hour before the time. Poor Butler ! I saw his heart was equally distressed with my own, and more than once he complained of a cold to wipe a tear that would rise in spite of his attempts to keep it down. You must know. Sir,that in Ireland we are much too brave to have any notions of humanity, and much too sensible to hear any ridiculous arguments of justice and truth. 'Tis necessary there to commit a fashionable murder before your reputation can be established, and quite essential if you would possess the esteem of every body to deserve the detestation of all. In a country, actuated by this monstrous notion of honour, 'tis not to be supposed our seconds took any great pains to reconcile us, and there was no possibility of making the first advances ourselves. Thus circumstanced, we retired to our ground melting with mutual friendship and concern, yet obliged to counterfeit the appearance of hatred and revenge. Pistols were our weapons, Sir, and so little enmity did we entertain that we each cried fire, three several times, both intending to stand the shot, and then discharge our pistol in the air. Surprised that neither of us fir'd, my second cried out to Mr. Butler. "damn me the fellows are afraid of one another." This reflection roused us in an instant, we both discharged. when Mr. Butler's ball tore away a piece of my hat, and mine entering his temple a little above the eye, blew off the upper part of the skull, and left him dead upon the ground.

What would I then have given for some mountain to cover me for ever ; tore my hair, beat my face,.blasphemed my God ; at last recollecting myself I ran to another pistol, and would have drove the contents thro' my own head, had I not been immediately disarmed by the seconds, who were surprized I should feel any concern for the murder of my friend. I was carried home sir, in a state bordering upon distraction, raving upon poor Butler, and wishing for his fate, " for in my case it was happiness to die, "the violent agitation of my spirits brought on an immediate fever, in which I continued senseless five weeks; and the first news I heard upon my recovery, was, that my amiable Maria, at the sight of her brother's corpse, had fallen into successive fits which lasted three days, and then carried her off: and that my unhappy sister Charlotte, was confined in her room, having gone distracted upon the first intimation of the accident.

O ! Sir, to a mind not utterly deprived, not totally divested of feeling ten thousand deaths must have been more welcome than the knowledge of these unhappy consequences. Fearful of the effects which the intelligence would have on my temper, my friends never suffered me to remain a single moment alone, till the late excellent doctor Berkley, the celebrated bishop of Cloyne, convinced me I was in no proper situation to die, and to the admirable lessons of that elegant moralist 'tis owing that I have not the crime of suicide to add to the madness of my sister, the death of my love, and the murder of my friend.

On my entire recovery. sir, as I could not bear the thoughts of remaining where I had sacrificed all happiness in the world, and endangered my everlasting felicity in the next, I set sail for England, and purchased a little concern within three miles r
One capital, where I have now resided five and twenty years, receiving no visits, desiring no company, and making no friends.

When I look back upon the hoard of blissful things which I might have possessed, and consider at how small a rate I have parted with them all, reflections harrows up my very soul, and points out the wide, wide differences between a sense of imaginary honour, and a secret justification of a good conscience, the applause of my foolish acquaintance, and the approbation of my God.

I am far from superstitions, Sir, but I never go to bed without fancying I see my poor friend Butler the moment I put out the candles.

If Sir, the repetition of my melancholy story will be of any service to your readers, I shall think my time well employed in transcribing it, but desire it may be known only by the name of yours,

Ferdinand O'Brien.