LETTERS FROM PARIS, BY 0. P. Q. No. III. POLITICAL
DU ELLING—TH E FATAL CI iNFLurr BETWEEN DULONG AND Ill:GEA CD.
" A II premier sang, grand phut! Et pima veux—tit raire ile se sang. bite femme ? lay veux--to Loire ? "—J. J. ROUSSEAU.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SPECTATOR.
Paris, -ItIt February IKB.
[The reader can imagine an eloquent introduction, against thielling—" all duelling—all sorts of duelling—all sorts of duelling for all sorts of offences ! 411 very true and proper. but not very new, awl somewhat inconvenient in a week when we have a King's Flieceli and the copia I-tabor-um of two Houses of Parliament to deal with.] The Dutchess mif BEitnr, in the years Is:12 and 18:3:3, excited civil war in La Vendt'e ; attacked by her Chouans the lives and properties of the Patriots ; and committed great wrongs against the laws, humanity, and morals, and wligion. But the Dutchess of BEau v was it princess, and the niece of Louts Poi at e. At last, she was betrayed and attested ; sent to it State prison—though State prisons weee abolished by the Revolution—anti taken out of the pale of the law by the Hoytl ordinances of her oum uncle. Altlategh the Charter and the penal and civil codes pronounced equality before the taw fur all, and although flir her offences there were fixed punishments anti authorized tribunals to judge them, yet, to satisfy the demands of the Courts of IZtissia, A ustrn, and Prussia, made at the request of the King of Naples, brother of the Dutchess itf III:a this infuriated woman was simply arrested— i mprisoned —ex posed —(1 ishonou red —made to avow au alleged but merely imaginary marriage with a comparative stranger, to cover the disgrace of her pregnancy ; and svas then sent out of France with military honours and eclat, at the expense of the State, without without examination, and without legal punishment. To watch over, expose, guard, defend, and yet betray her secret, the General Bum:AI:1) was selected. The Army felt astounded that he accepted so ignoble a mission ; and ever since he has been blamed by all those who desire the reign of the laws, the security of individual liberty, and the triumph of Constitutional freedom. He Isis become nicknamed the Jailer of Blare, and his fair fame as a military man has been for over tarnished by his acceptance of the office which devolves' on him. Thus much for General Beiszaun. Ile was known as a brave soldier and an able officer; arid now he is known as the political duellist who has murdered DeLoNG, and as the Jailer of the Dutchess of BERRY, when arrested, confined, and liberated illegally by the illegal ordinances of an anti-national French Administration. M. DU LONG' the Deputy whohas been killed, was the natural son of DUPONT Ds: L'EurtE, by Maclaine DIMOND ; and was an Advocate of distinction and talents— averse to duelling—opposed to passionate collisions—a cold, calm, deepreasoning. and thoroughly-convinced and cooscientions Republican. He resembled his natural father, the inestimable and unappreciable De PONT DE L'Er ux, in the high integtity of his character, and the resolute energy of his conduct. Ilis manners were polished, his society was char • g ; he loved books, literature, science, and mnamm ; but, above all, he loved justice and right, even lie-lure his mutiny—and yet Fiance he loved sincerely. oti will remember, I am speakiog of a. man I knew anti esteemed and 'Immured. M. De Luxe: 1,.•!ittwed to the LA m.s veils: school ; a selotol no-amore than ever loolosi up to by the people, anti more than ever abhorred by the Court. &flinging to that sell iii, he desired the imiliendence of the officers of the truly, tool maintained, as AitmANO CA Mt EL, MA all who understand 'ilium-, maintain, that an offieer should he free to ii-sign his command, when he reeviyes orders contrary to his moral and political principles, and should yet have assured to him a summit for the rest of his life. If this rule had existed when the orlimince of Cu sithr:s the Tenth appeared, many officers would have resigned their command, and re-fused to order their troops to fire on the people. Alai if this rule had existed in 1832, when Paris was declared in a state of siege, PAatn, would have refused to sign the order he did sign for the arrest of'Aull aNI1 CA a II EL ;URI twenty other patriots of celebrity. Well, ;hen, a few tia3 s since (tntla .Tanuary). the conduct of Marshal Sou we came ler discussion in the Chamber of Deputies. A worthy awl most honourable Patriot, M• La It ntr, brought under the notice of the I louse and the country, the conduct of the Minister of 1Ear; who had— 1st, illegally promoted two officers of the Navy to posts of a superior tank in the artillery of the Army, contrary to a specific article of a rei-emit law : '211, had required oldie artilleryMiicers a the regiments who had protested against this illegal introduction into their ranks of officers who were not entitled to the position conferred on them, an abject apology : and 3d, had at rested anti imprisoned those who had refused to comply with this insulting demand. Jim the course of the debate, of course much time was occupied with discussions on the nature and extent of military obedience; but Du mem; preserved the wog profound silence. At length, BuCEAUn exclaimed from his seat, and not om the tribune, " Tom: FIRST DUTY OP A SOLDIER IS OLIEMENVE." " E•E N To BEI NG a J A Mint," retorted De 1.0NG. The expression was heard 1)3: few, gave lbw to no et aaaaaaa (Aim, and the discussion was continued. Remark, nothing Was sail abODI BlayE; or about the Dutchess of or about tr.; and nothing would have been said, but that Br GEA ED himself; a sad and melancholy example of the nature awl direful consequences of .passive obedience, had ii. twit on himself the attention of the House, by exclaiming most unparliamentarily from his seat, " The first duty of a soldier is obedience." But although the Chamber was inattentive to the retott of M. DULONG, N. Dx c MIC NY, an aide-de-camp of Lours Purim., and a meddling, upstart, ty. nautical, quarrelsome disputer, was not so. He went from bench to bench,—. repeated the words of DU LON C,—urged Bun E CD to demand the retraction of the objectionable words,—and took the honour of Buce.a en into his most holy keeping. God help us where our honour is so confided ! When the sitting was over, Ilet:Exe n addressed himself to DUEONG, asked him if any thing personal was inteuded ; and DU LONG replied, that he had only intended to express his disapprobation of the doctrine of passive obedience maintained by General Dem.:sum and at the same time to state his opinion of the illegal arrest, confinement, amid liberation of the 1)utchess of BERRY. So Bus in and 1)ulaisc; .parted, and the matter was considered as terminated. But this xvould lhit satisfy Dr RC 311 C NY ;URI his friends. l'hey told BUG EAUD that the words ‘vould be reported, added the word "ignominy, which was never made use of by Demist:, and procured an insertion in the Debuts of Sunday wonting, the 116th, of the words really made use of, and attached to it this word •• ignominy," whb-11 was never pronounced. On perceiving this article in the hi hots, the journal of the Doctrinaires, General BUGE A UD required from Al. Du LONG a written explanation, to appear on the 2.7th in the same paper. With this request M. De LONG i llll uelliately complied ; and wrote a letter, which has since been most iniquitouslyriblished by two paid Alinisterial journals of the French provitices,—one belonging to an Ex-prefect, who is seek-. lug office and currving favour with the Government. This letter was addressed to tlii.• Debuts, awl found its wayinto the hands of the everufficious and scandalloving Di.: Res: D: NY. When shown to the Court, it was said aloud, " Does such a letter satisfy Ilue;EAUD? If so he is soon contented." The courtiers It the Palace said, " There must be a so, ;" and though DULONQ was known int.' admitted to be a most quiet nian, yet he was the son of De PONT DE L'EU RE; and be101pfpi tO the LA r..1.ETTE party. Pismo T II E BURY.% U OF THE MIN I tiT It OE WA It, as LEON Pi m. iii, the proprietor of the Journal de Paris and of the Hulletin Soir, has since declared in the presence of M. TEsirE, the Deputy to 31. D'Aiwour, the Minister of the Interior, this propm ietor of the Bulletin du Soil received a note to be inserted in that journal on Sunday night, declaring that M. DULONG had been compelled to apologize, and I is letter of apology would appear the next day in the Journal des Ilaa:ts. You must tecolleet that L}:ON PIL LET and his two journals are iii the admitted and avowed pay of the Doctrinaires, at so much per month. This is a fact quite as much admitted as that the sun shines at nomi-day. When this :Ministerial note, sent from the Minister of War, was published in the .11ialluatt du Noir, the nice honour and self-respect of M. Di•Los t; became naturally alarmed, and he refused to allow the Debuts to insert the letter the next morning. (hi perceiving its nou-insertion, General Beti .% (2 11 &Mandril the letter of the Debats—obtailwd it—went to LeioN PILLwr, and required its insertion in his journals, in spite of M. Dt,Losc: haying prohi bited it ; the iasertion ; :Ind, though he afterwards stopped its circulation, 3 et copies w e sent by post to it least two provincial papers, and by them it et is inserted. As, however, AI. 1)t; to NC had refused to allow the DAGIs to prim. it. alter the scandalous attack made on his honour in the dr, Sour of Sunday night, lienera1 GEAUD recommenced, under tin auspice, of the tiii:ri:itis and " official " DE BUMIGNY, his demands for satisfaction ; and Oi F.11. i. e r: and CA:s.tit &soul', were at last charged with the con iii: ,'t. itlIair. On one oceasien, however, A um A N D CA R RE L, the enlightened mid editor ',Nile Xi/iota,/ 0./1831, was present ; and he his personally assured me, that General Hu GE.■ u n showed every disposition to art ange without a duel tItis misunderstanding. But how was this to be done? NVity by another letter—not " demanded " and " enforced," as the Bulletin du Soir 'had %ticket:13asserted—but voluntarily given. This was, however, opposed byotnliae fartii um turbulent, menacing, anti dissatified Dr: Ilt7sirc; NY, who was bent politic:1;41;1cl between the "Juste thihleui " and the Patriots of the Chamber ; and after many and vain attempts on the pait of LA IA VETTE and Bacor to settle the matter without arms, they were compelled to yield to the exigencies of the Palace; am' 131.1.; EA VD and DULONG, both against their wishes, were literally made to fight. On arrivingon the ground, DULONG thought of the letter he had written, and required it should be delivered up to him before the duel. DE It UMIGNY sabl it was at the elikeau ; but that whatever might be the issue of the combat, it should be immediately returned. Losn was shot ! His pistol was not even fired ! lie fell down speechless, and never pn llll since(' a word even to the time of his death, which took place the next day, Thursday, at six in the morning. When the seconds of Du LONG applied for the letter at the Palace, DE RUMIGN assured them that the letter was burned; first, it was said, by the King, in his preseuce ; and next, by Runic NV, in the presence of the King. This was most extraurdivary and deplorable. Dr Losc had forfeited his life, rather than publish a letter which was said, by the Ministerial Journal du Soir, to be wrung from him by General Bee EA CD ; and yet, though promised before his death that the letter ttliotalt1 he it:turned, it was now burned ! Since that day, two copies of this letter have been published in the journals of the departments in the pay of the lioveininent, iind how those copies came into the possession of these c.itintry journalists is 11.1t yet explaitied. 'flue death uf 1 )1: LONG is a loss to the Chamber, and to France, as well as to his ftielids ;nut associates. Amiable, good, disinterested, modest, public-spit i-I. and fitudely, devotedly patriotic, with purity of purpose and energy of character, his loss is nut less a public than a private one, and I /el.ose, is a name whirli Will be pronounced with honour, when in future years thit horrible system of political duelling shall be abolished, and when the doctrine of passiuc
De Lost: had public, :mil I will add, a national funeral. He who was so
humble and so diffident in his life •time, became a giant and a hero in his death. The whole population of Paris did homage to his virtues, his talents, anti his patriotiqn ; timnl the speeches which were pronounced over his grave will be read Ity or to at least twenty millions of the French population ! On one Satur • day in the aIei noon, at the Chamber of Deputies, he had protested by his energetic extlailiation al;ailist passive obedience on the part of military officers, and iigaitist Bic arbitrary arrest, imprisonment, and execution oft citizen ;— and the next Saturday, at the very amine time, his mortal remains were deposited in a grave near that of the immortal FOY, he having fallen a victim to the ball, too well directed, of the .hailer of blase. The .lonrued des Debuts of to-day protests against the name of the King being mixed up with this fatal catastrophe and this horrible assassination. In principle, the Dc-butts is right; for it is a wise maxim that the King eau do no wrong, and that Alinistels are alone responsible ; but how deplorable is that system which has CO nopopularized the Citizen Royalty by its enti-natioual policy, as to render even neeessarv the protest in question ! DE RUMIG NY iS blamed, censured extensively, and has been advised to leave Paris. Ile has ilone so. This the Doctrinithes imagine will satisfy public opinion. No, no; France requires something inure than this ;—Fratiee requires that the Doctrinaires themselves be driven from power. I have done. The moral is evident. Let us oppose and aid in putting down all duelling, whether political or otherwise; let us all labour to compel the Government to march legally, and not indulge its malice or caprice in illegal and violent advances ; and let us all strive to bring about the overthrow of that damnable doctrine the passive obedience of military officers.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant, 0. P. Q.
Previous page
