Pencillings by the Way: Written During Some Years of Residence and Travel in EuropeWillis, Nathaniel Parker
General
Pencillings by the Way: Written During Some Years of Residence and Travel in Europe
Willis, Nathaniel Parker
Europe -- Description and travel
I find I was incorrect in the statement I gave you of the duel between
Mr. Hesse and Count Leon. The particulars have come out more fully,
and from the curious position of the parties (Mr. Hesse, as I stated,
being the natural son of George the Fourth, and Count Leon of
Napoleon) are worth recapitulating. Count Leon had lost several
thousand francs to Mr. Hesse, which he refused to pay, alleging that
there had been unfair dealing in the game. The matter was left to
arbitration, and Mr. Hesse fully cleared of the charge. Leon still
refused to pay, and for fifteen days practised with the pistol from
morning till night. At the end of this time he paid the money, and
challenged Hesse. The latter had lost the use of his right arm in the
battle of Waterloo, (fighting of course against Count Leon's father),
but accepted his challenge, and fired with his left hand. Hesse was
shot through the body, and has since died, and Count Leon was not
hurt. The affair has made a great sensation here, for Hesse had a
young and lovely wife, only seventeen, and was unusually beloved and
admired; while his opponent is a notorious gambler, and every way
detested. People meet at the gaming-table here, however, as they meet
in the street, without question of character.
* * * * *
Carnival is over. Yesterday was "_Mardi Gras_"--the last day of the
reign of Folly. Paris has been like a city of grown-up children for a
week. What with masking all night, supping, or breakfasting, (which
you please), at sunrise, and going to bed between morning and noon, I
feel that I have done my _devoir_ upon the experiment of French
manners.
It would be tedious, not to say improper, to describe all the
absurdities I have seen and mingled in for the last fortnight; but I
must try to give you some idea of the meaning the French attach to the
season of carnival, and the manner in which it is celebrated.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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