Hyde Park, Its History and RomanceAlec-Tweedie, Mrs. (Ethel)
History
Hyde Park, Its History and Romance
Alec-Tweedie, Mrs. (Ethel)
Hyde Park (London, England); London (England) -- Social life and customs
Arrived at Hyde Park, they were obliged to dally a while, in order to
get rid of people who were loitering there. Martin missed Wilkes in his
first shot, and Wilkes’s pistol only flashed. They thereupon proceeded
to take their second pistols. Wilkes missed, but was shot in the
stomach by Martin’s ball. Martin, seeing him fall, rushed to help his
antagonist, but Wilkes, congratulating him on being a man of honour,
insisted on his going off at once, in order that nobody should know who
had wrought the deed, for he had lost much blood, and thought himself
dying. Wilkes was carried home in a chair, and two doctors attending
him extracted the ball, but he still feared that his life was ebbing,
and therefore sent the letter of challenge that he had received from
Martin back to the writer, so that in case of his death there would be
no trace left of the slayer.
Wilkes wrote to the House of Commons explaining his state of health,
and a month after the duel, Parliament made an order that in addition
to his own physicians two others should attend him; but these Wilkes
refused to see.
Martin fled to Paris, where Wilkes shortly afterwards followed, and
they met on good terms, although, when it became publicly known that
Martin had been his antagonist and had so nearly brought his life to a
close, public opinion was much aroused against him.
In contrast to this political row, attention is attracted to another
_affaire d’honneur_ that was decided in Kensington Gravel Pits. Its
very domesticity leads one to digress a little. Hot-blooded, impetuous,
lovable romance was aroused in an Irish family of renown, by the
marriage of the daughter of the house to an officer without the consent
and knowledge of the family. One of her brothers sided against her,
and another brother challenged him on account of his cruel behaviour
towards their sister. The fight was eager and real, and a dangerous
wound was given, but history does not relate whether it was family
pride or chivalric defence of the sister that received the blow.
Too often the absurd and ridiculous was the culmination of an
exhibition of boastfulness and bombast in these encounters. For
instance, the courage of the lady in the Garrick duel rendered the
positions of the men somewhat comical. It will be remembered that
George Garrick was the brother of the famous actor, David Garrick.
He had for some time been talked of as being very attentive to Mrs.
Baddeley, the wife of a mummer at Drury Lane. Baddeley’s jealousy was
fanned by an intriguing Jewish friend, who made much trouble between
the three, and Baddeley demanded satisfaction in Hyde Park. Garrick put
up his pistol and fired into the air, and Baddeley—whose arm is said to
have shaken like an aspen leaf—fired, but did no damage.
At this point of the proceedings a hackney coach drove towards them
at a furious pace, and on its arrival at the scene of conflict Mrs.
Baddeley rushed out, throwing herself between the combatants, shrieking:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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