Contents

ILLUMINATIONS FOR THE DUEL BY JOSEPH CONRAD

1. Dueling: Napoleon’s Double Standard

Napoleon meets his match—Selection from Voices from St. Helena by Napoleon Bonaparte.

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell—Selection from A Queen in Napoleon’s Court: The Life-Story of Dèsirèe Bernadotte by Catherine Bearne.

The troops grow restless—Selection from The Memoirs of Napoleon Bonaparte as recorded by Louis Antoine Fauvelet de Bourriene.

2. Reading I: “The Fencing-Masters and The Duelists” by Captain Elzear Blaze.

Illustration: Napoleon Crossing the Alps by Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825).

3. Reception of Conrad’s Napoleonic Tale

Unmatched Sardonic Wit—Selection from Joseph Conrad: A Study by Richard Curle.

Hold your laughter, please—Selection from Joseph Conrad: His Romantic Realism by Ruth M. Stauffer.

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4. Reading II: “Dueling In France” by C. Stein in a 1903 edition of Baily’s Magazine of Sport’s and Pastimes

Illustration: Napoleon on the Battlefield of Preussisch-Eylau by Jean-Antoine Gros (1771–1835).

5. The Historical Basis For Conrad’s Duel: Dupont vs. Fournier

Illustration: General François Louis Fournier Sarlovèze by Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835).

THE DUELIST’S SUPPLEMENT—THE CODE DUELLO: A DIVERSE ANTHOLOGY FOR PERSONAL USE

1. The Viking Holmganga—A reading from Ivar The Viking by Paul du Chailu describing the ritual of the Viking duel.

Illustration: Egill Skallagrimsson engaging in holmganga with Berg-Önundr, painting by Johannes Flintoe (1787–1870).

2. The French Code Duello—The entirety of the French code of conduct concerning duels and duelists, including uncommon variations of duels.

Illustration: The Fencing Lesson, ink and water color by Johann Gottfried Schadow (1764–1850).

3. The Irish Code Duello—“The practice of Dueling and Points of Honour settled at Clonmell Summer Assizes, 1777, by the Gentlemen Delegates of Tipperary, Galway, Mayo, Sligo, and Roscommon and prescribed for general adoption throughout Ireland.”

Illustration: “And Adam had power over all the beasts of the earth.” Political cartoon by James Gillroy (1756–1815).

4. The Code Duello of The Southern United States—The entirety of John Lyde Wilson’s pamphlet titled, The Code of Honour.

Illustration: A matched pair of engraved and gilded muzzle loading percussion lock dueling pistols.

5. Queensbury Rules—The rules developed by John Graham Chambers and endorsed by John Douglas, Marquis of Queensbury, which defined the sport of boxing and took the duel off of the street and into the ring.

Illustration: Boxing match aboard the USS Texas.

6. Rules For An Alternative To Dueling

Illustration: German Dueling society, 1908. Burns Gallery.