It has been truly said that during the French Revolution, the foot of Liberty slipped on blood, and she fell prostrate under a military despotism. Under the Directory an attempt was made to restore society to its ancient prejudices, modified by the times, and duelling became fashionable amongst the upper classes of society, more especially in upstart circles, while in the army it was constantly resorted to both by officers and soldiers. Scarcely a day passed without a meeting in the Bois de Boulogne, while garrison towns were continually disturbed by desperate duellists; pistols were now adopted by civilians, and the sabre, rarely the small sword, became the arm of the military. That duels should prove of frequent occurrence amongst soldiers and officers of lower rank might be expected, since general officers showed the example. In 1802, Generals Destaing and Reynier having quarrelled in a discussion relating to the Egyptian campaign, Destaing was killed by a pistol-shot in the breast. Napoleon, who was then First Consul, expressed his displeasure, and for some time the survivor was obliged to absent himself from Paris. A diplomatic duel took place at Naples under the reign of Murat. At a levee of the king and queen, Count Dolgoroucki, the Russian ambassador, took precedence of the French envoy, Baron Durand de Mareuil, who as family ambassador had a claim to a prior introduction. The baron took no notice of this circumstance at the time, but on quitting the palace sent a message to the Russian nobleman, who replied that he would submit the affair to his court. The French General, Excelmans, who was present at the time, immediately called upon the Count de Beckendorf, the first secretary of the Russian embassy, to demand satisfaction for the insult offered to France in the person of her representative. The challenge was accepted, and at the same time it was agreed that the two ambassadors should be present at the meeting. However, the Russian ambassador would not allow his secretary to take up the quarrel, and he accepted the message sent by the envoy of France. The ambassadors becoming principals, the seconds resolved that, according to the ancient Italian custom, they should follow their example, and the four combatants met. Both ambassadors were slightly wounded, but Beckendorf was run through the body by Excelmans, and recovered with great difficulty. The war with Russia broke out shortly after, and it is generally supposed that this insult offered to France by the Russian minister was one of the pretexts that accelerated the event.