Mr. Justice Patteson then charged the jury. He said that, from the facts proved, it was either a case of the high offence charged, or of no crime at all. The offence charged was that of murder; and the prisoners were charged, not with having inflicted the wound of which Dr. Hennis died, but with having been present at the time when another person inflicted that wound, aiding and assisting that other person, who was not now in this country, and therefore could not be tried. Unless it was done with malice aforethought, the crime of murder was not committed. Now, malice aforethought was not that of private, individual ill-will towards the party; but it was the malice the law presumed, when persons went out, intending to commit an act which was in itself unlawful. The law was this,—that if a person was so near as to be able to give assistance in any way to that which was going on, though even at some distance, for the purpose of giving such assistance, and went there for that purpose, then he was considered to be aiding and assisting. If a party killed another in a deliberate duel, he was guilty of murder. Whenever two persons, in cool blood, met and fought on a preceding quarrel, and one was killed, the law said the other was guilty of murder; and he could not help himself by alleging, that the other struck the first blow, or that it was his intent only to vindicate his reputation: he had engaged in an act highly unlawful, and must abide the consequences; and not only the principal, but all persons aiding and assisting, or knowingly present at any deliberate duel, would be liable to a charge of murder. Where two persons went out with deadly weapons, tending to produce death, it was impossible not to see that they must have contemplated the possibility that death would ensue. The two principals in this case had had a personal altercation, but the other gentlemen had not. There had been messages to and fro, and great attempts to prevent a duel. They would say whether those attempts, and the ultimate arrangements to meet at Halden, would or not lead them to believe that it took place in the heat of blood. He confessed he had extreme difficulty in seeing how they could arrive at such a conclusion; how it could be said, the duel took place in the heat of passion: if they believed it did not, then it was a deliberate duel; and if so, the law pronounced it to be murder. He would say nothing as to whether duelling ought to be tolerated: it was not tolerated by the law of England.—After detailing the whole of the evidence, the learned judge adverted to the high characters the parties had received; which he said was not inconsistent with that sense of honour, which induced them to go out and render their assistance to two persons in a deliberate duel. The question was in their hands, and they would decide according to their consciences.
The jury remained in consultation for a few minutes, and returned a verdict of “Not guilty.”
BETWEEN M. CHARLES LEON, NATURAL SON OF NAPOLEON BUONAPARTE, AND CAPTAIN DE HESSE.
August 1833.
In the course of this month, a case came on to be tried at the assizes of the Seine, in which a charge of murder, committed in a duel, was made against M. Charles Leon, a natural son of the late Emperor Napoleon. M. Leon dined, on the 31st of December 1831, with M. de Rosambert, and met there another guest, Captain de Hesse. After dinner, play was introduced, and M. Leon was so unfortunate as to lose eighteen thousand francs. When called on to pay, he contended, that M. de Hesse had pledged himself to give his antagonist a revanche; which was only consistent with the laws of honour applicable to the game. An angry discussion arose, and M. de Hesse published some particulars of the affair, which were considered prejudicial to the character of M. Leon. The differences between them at last arose to such a height, that a meeting became inevitable; and, on the 24th of February 1832, the hostile proceeding took place. The result was, that M. de Hesse was mortally wounded, and died three days afterwards. On the ground, M. de Hesse admitted the bravery and strict honour of his antagonist; his wife was, nevertheless, determined to prosecute. Accordingly, the seconds were summoned; of whom only General Gourgaud and M. May appeared. General Gourgaud gave his evidence to the following effect:—“I am not able to give any details respecting the circumstances which gave rise to this affair; for I am wholly ignorant of them. My friend M. Monneval, commissioned by the Emperor Napoleon to superintend the conduct of M. Leon, was indisposed at the time, and requested me to act for him in this very serious matter. I undertook the duty with regret; for I was well aware of the ties which bound M. Leon to the Emperor, and I was conscious of all that his Majesty had communicated to me on this subject at St. Helena. It was with me a sacred obligation, imposed by gratitude, not to abandon him at such a moment.”
After a short deliberation, the jury found M. Leon “Not guilty,” and the court acquitted him.
BETWEEN THE DUKE DE ROVIGO AND COUNT DE LANGLE.
February 14, 1835.
A meeting with swords took place this day in the Bois de Meudon, between the Duke de Rovigo, lieutenant of the first regiment of the Chasseurs of Africa, and the Count de Langle, captain of the National Horse Guards, in consequence of some offensive expressions uttered by the Duke, relative to certain recompenses granted to the National Guards. The Duke de Rovigo received a wound in his chest, which prevented him from continuing the combat.
BETWEEN MR. ST. JOHN AND COUNT CATRAFFIANA.
April 25, 1835.
In consequence of a dispute at a ball, on the 20th of April, Mr. St. John and Count Catraffiana left Rome for the Neapolitan territory. On account of a supposed rudeness on the part of the Count towards Mr. St. John, the latter had pulled his nose publicly in the ball-room; the consequence of which proceeding was a formal challenge the next morning from the Count. The duel was first to have taken place at Rome; but the police, having got wind of it, had taken measures to prevent it. They accordingly left Rome on the 24th, and arrived on the following day at the Valla di Cicerone, near Mola di Gaita. Each of the combatants was attended by two seconds. They remained five minutes opposite to one another after the signal was given, each expecting the other to move forward. Mr. St. John then advanced a few paces, and fired with fatal precision; his ball entering the chest of his opponent. The Count, after being wounded, put his hand to his breast, walked forward nine paces, fired, and dropped down dead. The Count’s ball carried off a part of Mr. St. John’s ear, and penetrated his hat. The Count was a practised duellist, having wounded several antagonists on similar occasions.