CHAPTER XIV. DUELS BETWEEN FRENCH WOMEN.

That women, who can mostly get silly people to fight for them, should not fight themselves is natural, but there are instances on record in which ladies have shown their determination to avenge¹ their own wrongs.

Madame de Villechen mentions a duel² fought with swords by the Henriette Sylvie of Molière with another woman, both in male attire³. In the letters of Madame Dunoyer, a case is mentioned of a lady of Beaucaire and a young lady of rank, who fought with swords in their garden, and would have killed each other had they not been separated; this meeting had been preceded by a regular challenge.

De la Colombière mentions a duel that took place on the Boulevard St. Antoine between two ladies of doubtful virtue⁴, in which they inflicted⁵ on each other’s face and bosom⁶ several wounds, two points at which female jealousy⁷ would naturally aim. St. Foix relates the case of Mademoiselle Durieux, who in the open street fought 271 her lover of the name of Antinotti. But the most celebrated⁸ female duellist⁹ was the actress, Maupin, one of the performers at the opera. Serane, the famous fencing-master, was one of her lovers, and from him she received many valuable lessons. Being insulted one day by an actor of the name of Dumény, she called him out; but as he refused to give her satisfaction, she carried away his watch and his snuff-box as trophies¹⁰ of her victory. Another performer having presumed to offend her, on his declining a meeting was obliged to kneel down before her and implore¹¹ forgiveness. One evening at a ball, having behaved in a very rude manner to a lady, she was requested to leave the room, which she did on the condition that those gentlemen who had warmly espoused¹² the offended lady’s cause should accompany her. To this proposal they agreed; when after a hard combat she killed them all, and quietly returned to the ball-room. Louis XIV. granted her a pardon, and she withdrew to Brussels, where she became the mistress of the Elector of Bavaria. However, she soon after returned to the Parisian opera, and died in 1707 at the age of thirty-seven.

Under the regency a pistol meeting took place between the Marquise de Nesle and the Countess Polignac for the possession of the Duc de Richelieu; and in more modern times, so late, indeed, as 1827, a Madame B—— at St. 272 Rambert, received a challenge to fight with pistols; and about the same period a lady of Chateauroux, whose husband had received a slap in the face without resenting the insult, called out the offender¹³, and fighting him with swords severely¹⁴ wounded him.

In 1828 a duel took place between a young girl and a garde du corps¹⁵. She had been betrayed by the gallant¹⁶ soldier, and insisted upon satisfaction, selecting her own weapons by the right of an offended party. Two shots were exchanged, but without any result, as the seconds very wisely had not loaded with ball. The young lady, however, ignorant of this precaution, fired first, and received the fire of her adversary¹⁷ with the utmost coolness, when, to try her courage, after taking a long and deliberate aim, he fired in the air, and thus terminated the meeting, which no doubt led to many others of a less hostile nature.

In the same month, as a striking instance of the contagion¹⁸ of this practice, a duel was fought near Strasbourg between a French woman and a German lady, both of whom were in love with a painter. The parties met on the ground armed with pistols, with seconds of their own sex. The German damsel wanted to fire across a pocket handkerchief, but the French lady and her seconds insisted upon a distance of twenty-five paces, They both fired without effect, when the exasperated¹⁹ German insisted that they should 273 carry on the contest until one of the parties fell. This determination, however, was controlled by the seconds, who put a stop to further proceedings²⁰, but were unable to bring about a reconciliation²¹.

We shall shortly see that our English ladies have shown as much determination under similar circumstances; and when we consider the bitter animosity that frequently exists between women, who are not in the habit of resenting their real or supposed wrongs by having recourse to a personal satisfaction, which may be considered the safety-valve of passions, and which not unfrequently supersedes²² assassination²³, one may be surprised that duels²⁴ are not more frequent between them. Their mode of living and habits must induce them to brood more deeply than men over the insults which their pride and vanity have received, and in both sexes these sentiments, when ruffled²⁵, can rarely be smoothed down. The only reason which may be adduced to account for the circumstance is their natural timidity as regards personal danger, to which we may add the greater certainty of avenging²⁶ their injuries by intrigue²⁷ and slander²⁸, “whose edge is sharper than the sword.”

1 avenge   

v.为...复仇，为...报仇

参考例句：

• He swore to avenge himself on the mafia.他发誓说要向黑手党报仇。
• He will avenge the people on their oppressor.他将为人民向压迫者报仇。

2 duel   

n./v.决斗；(双方的)斗争

参考例句：

• The two teams are locked in a duel for first place.两个队为争夺第一名打得难解难分。
• Duroy was forced to challenge his disparager to duel.杜洛瓦不得不向诋毁他的人提出决斗。

3 attire   

v.穿衣，装扮[同]array；n.衣着；盛装

参考例句：

• He had no intention of changing his mode of attire.他无意改变着装方式。
• Her attention was attracted by his peculiar attire.他那奇特的服装引起了她的注意。

4 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

5 inflicted   

把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They inflicted a humiliating defeat on the home team. 他们使主队吃了一场很没面子的败仗。
• Zoya heroically bore the torture that the Fascists inflicted upon her. 卓娅英勇地承受法西斯匪徒加在她身上的酷刑。

6 bosom   

n.胸，胸部；胸怀；内心；adj.亲密的

参考例句：

• She drew a little book from her bosom.她从怀里取出一本小册子。
• A dark jealousy stirred in his bosom.他内心生出一阵恶毒的嫉妒。

7 jealousy   

n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌

参考例句：

• Some women have a disposition to jealousy.有些女人生性爱妒忌。
• I can't support your jealousy any longer.我再也无法忍受你的嫉妒了。

8 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

9 duellist   

n.决斗者；[体]重剑运动员

参考例句：

10 trophies   

n.（为竞赛获胜者颁发的）奖品( trophy的名词复数 )；奖杯；（尤指狩猎或战争中获得的）纪念品；（用于比赛或赛跑名称）奖

参考例句：

• His football trophies were prominently displayed in the kitchen. 他的足球奖杯陈列在厨房里显眼的位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The hunter kept the lion's skin and head as trophies. 这猎人保存狮子的皮和头作为纪念品。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

11 implore   

vt.乞求，恳求，哀求

参考例句：

• I implore you to write. At least tell me you're alive.请给我音讯，让我知道你还活着。
• Please implore someone else's help in a crisis.危险时请向别人求助。

12 espoused   

v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They espoused the notion of equal opportunity for all in education. 他们赞同在教育方面人人机会均等的观念。
• The ideas she espoused were incomprehensible to me. 她所支持的意见令我难以理解。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

14 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

15 corps   

n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组

参考例句：

• The medical corps were cited for bravery in combat.医疗队由于在战场上的英勇表现而受嘉奖。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

16 gallant   

adj.英勇的，豪侠的；(向女人)献殷勤的

参考例句：

• Huang Jiguang's gallant deed is known by all men. 黄继光的英勇事迹尽人皆知。
• These gallant soldiers will protect our country.这些勇敢的士兵会保卫我们的国家的。

17 adversary   

adj.敌手，对手

参考例句：

• He saw her as his main adversary within the company.他将她视为公司中主要的对手。
• They will do anything to undermine their adversary's reputation.他们会不择手段地去损害对手的名誉。

18 contagion   

n.(通过接触的疾病)传染；蔓延

参考例句：

• A contagion of fear swept through the crowd.一种恐惧感在人群中迅速蔓延开。
• The product contagion effect has numerous implications for marketing managers and retailers.产品传染效应对市场营销管理者和零售商都有很多的启示。

19 exasperated   

adj.恼怒的

参考例句：

• We were exasperated at his ill behaviour. 我们对他的恶劣行为感到非常恼怒。
• Constant interruption of his work exasperated him. 对他工作不断的干扰使他恼怒。

20 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

21 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

22 supersedes   

取代，接替( supersede的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The new supersedes the old. 新陈代谢。
• No sooner do you buy a computer than they bring out a new one which supersedes it. 你买电脑后不久他们就会推出新产品取代它。

23 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

24 duels   

n.两男子的决斗( duel的名词复数 )；竞争，斗争

参考例句：

• That's where I usually fight my duels. 我经常在那儿进行决斗。” 来自英语晨读30分（初三）
• Hyde Park also became a favourite place for duels. 海德公园也成了决斗的好地方。 来自辞典例句

25 ruffled   

adj. 有褶饰边的, 起皱的 动词ruffle的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• She ruffled his hair affectionately. 她情意绵绵地拨弄着他的头发。
• All this talk of a strike has clearly ruffled the management's feathers. 所有这些关于罢工的闲言碎语显然让管理层很不高兴。

26 avenging   

adj.报仇的，复仇的v.为…复仇，报…之仇( avenge的现在分词 )；为…报复

参考例句：

• He has devoted the past five years to avenging his daughter's death. 他过去5年一心报丧女之仇。 来自辞典例句
• His disfigured face was like some avenging nemesis of gargoyle design. 他那张破了相的脸，活象面目狰狞的复仇之神。 来自辞典例句

27 intrigue   

vt.激起兴趣，迷住；vi.耍阴谋；n.阴谋，密谋

参考例句：

• Court officials will intrigue against the royal family.法院官员将密谋反对皇室。
• The royal palace was filled with intrigue.皇宫中充满了勾心斗角。

28 slander   

n./v.诽谤，污蔑

参考例句：

• The article is a slander on ordinary working people.那篇文章是对普通劳动大众的诋毁。
• He threatened to go public with the slander.他威胁要把丑闻宣扬出去。