January 06, 2009
Dumas Fights A Duel (1825)
Alexandre Dumas, a 23-year-old dandy newly arrived in Paris, begins building his romantic image that he would put to use later in novels such as "The Three Muskateers" by fighting a duel.As recounted in his memoirs, the duel was life-threatening but not without elements of farce, including an urban legend that would arise long after the author was dead.
It started, as most duels will, with an insult. A few nights before, Dumas dined with his friends at the Palais-Royal, then adjourned to a cafe to smoke a cigar. His dress, which included a large cloak and top-boots, annoyed one of the habitues playing billiards. The man cracked a joke, and Dumas responded by picking up a cue and scattering his billiard balls.
The duel was arranged for the fifth, and in the meantime, one of Dumas' friends, who had agreed to act as second, took him practice shooting. Annoyed at being treated like a country bumpkin, Dumas declared that he would scatter eleven shots around the target doll, and nail it with the twelfth, which he did. This reassured his friend, and he made arrangements for the duel (which turned out to be with swords) the next day.
The next day, kissing his mother goodbye and taking his father's cloak, Dumas reached the dueling site near the hotel de Nantes. After his rival failed to show, Dumas was relieved, but his seconds tracked down the man and found that he had slept in. A second duel was arranged for the next day, this time at a quarry in Montmartre.
This time, the man showed, but there were numerous issues to resolve before they could cross blades. The six men tramped about the quarry in the snow, looking for a site. Soon, they were followed by curious quarry workers. Then, Dumas' sword was found to be shorter than the other. Instead of choosing lots, Dumas said he would keep his "rather than to have my father's sword turned against my breast."
Finally, they were ready. Dumas shucked off his coat. His opponent asked that he take off his waistcoat and shirt as well. Sticking his sword in the snow, he complied with this "exorbitant" request, then decided to take off his suspenders as well. As he had lost the buckle from his trousers, he tied them around his waist.
By the time they were en guard, Dumas was furious. Without even feinting, he struck, hit the man in the shoulder, who stumbled back on a vine root and fell. The man was but lightly wounded; the swords' frozen point had shocked him more than the thrust. It was also apparent that the man had no experience in swordfighting.
The fight was over, and honor was satisfied, but the story of Dumas' first duel would grow in the retelling to add that author of swashbuckling adventures had his pants fall down. One wonders what would upset Dumas more: this slander to his character, or that he didn't think of it first.
Born: Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, North Yorkshire, England, 1854; Carl Sandburg, poet, historian, novelist, folklorist, Galesburg, Ill., 1878; Khalil Gibran, poet, Bsharri, Lebanon, 1883; Kathryn Hulme, novelist, San Francisco, 1900; Wright Morris, novelist, critic, photographer, Central City, Neb., 1910; Alan Watts, philosopher, Chislehurst, England, 1915; E(dgar) L(awrence) Doctorow, novelist, New York City, 1931; Nigella Lawson, cookbook author, England, 1960.
Died: Fanny Burney, diarist, novelist, London, 1840; (David) Hartley Coleridge, poet, Grasmere, Cumberland, 1849; Louis Braille, inventor, Paris, 1852; Richard Henry Dana Jr., novelist, Rome, 1882; Theodore Roosevelt, writers' advocate, politician, Oyster Bay, N.Y., 1919; Ida M. Tarbell, journalist, editor, historian, Bridgeport, Conn., 1944; A(rchibald) J(oseph) Cronin, historical novelist, Montreux, Switzerland, 1981.
Quote for the Day: "They say that genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains. It's a very bad definition, but it does apply to detective work." — Sherlock Holmes, consulting detective, who was born today in 1854.
Also from "Writers 365":
- Cooking Shelley (1822)
- The Grinch Who Stole Santa Clause (1822)
- Lord Byron's round trip (1824)
- A Poem Saves A Fighting Ship (1830)
- Jeremy Bentham gets stuffed (1832)
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