A TERRIBLE DUEL. IN the reign of James I., when Duelling rose to a fearful height, the following conflict occurred between the Duke of B. and Lord B., concerning a certain beautiful Countess of E. The Duke challenged the Lord, and, contrary to usage, gave him the choice of weapons, the challenger's privilege. They met the next morning—a cold, rainy, miserable morning; time, five o'clock; place, the first tree behind the lodge in Hyde Park. They stripped off their fine scarlet coats trimmed with gold and silver lace-the Duke excessively indignant that they should examine his vest, so as to be certain there was no unlawful protection underneath, but the Lord, more accustomed to the formalities, submitting to the search coolly enough-and then they took their pistols, before taking to their swords; according to the fashion of the times. At the first fire the Duke missed, but Lord B. hit his Grace near the thumb; at the second fire, the Duke hit the Lord. They then drew their swords and rushed on each other. After the first or second thrust Lord B. entangled his foot in a tuft of grass, and fell; but, supporting himself with his sword hand, he sprung back, and thus avoided a thrust made at his heart. The seconds then interfered, and attempted to bring about a reconciliation; but the Duke-who seems to have been the most fiery throughout-angrily ordered them back, threatening to stab the first who again interfered. After much good play and fine parrying they came to a "close lock, which nothing but the key of the body could open." Thus they stood, unable to strike a blow, each afraid to give the other the smallest advantage, yet each struggling to free himself from his entanglement. At last, by one wrench stronger than the others, they tore themselves away; and at the same time both their swords sprang out of their hands-Lord B.'s six or seven yards in the air. This accident, however, did not retard them long; they seized their weapons again and fought on. The Lord was then wounded in the sword arm; but bearing back, and before the Duke had quite recovered from his lunge, he ran him through the body. The blow left the Lord unguarded; and, with the sword through him, the Duke cut and thrust at his antagonist, who had only his naked hand wherewith to guard himself. After his hand had been fearfully mangled with putting aside his enemy's sword, the Lord was in his turn run through -one rib below the heart. Again the seconds interfered; again without success; when the Lord, faint from loss of blood, fell backward, and, in falling, drew his sword out of the Duke's wound. "Recovering himself a little before he was quite down, he faltered forward, and, falling with his thigh across his sword, snapped it in the midst." The Duke then took his own sword, broke it, and, sinking on the dead body of his antagonist, sighed deeply, turned once, and died: the cold, drizzling rain falling chill on the stiffening bodies, and the dank grass.* * Abridged from Chambers's Book of Days. HEROES OF THE ROAD. IN that curious record, Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, we find some fearful pictures of the crimes of the people, and the work of the public executioner-the institution which, since the days of Hubert de Burgh, had made Tyburn memorable ground. There was no official in the kingdom so actively employed in Luttrell's days as the finisher of the law. Every month the Old Bailey judges turned over to him a crowd of wretches, who were not necessarily of the lowest classes, to be hung, burnt in the hand, branded on the cheek, or to be whipped. Occasionally, the judges gave this busy functionary a woman to burn alive, for clipping the King's coin,— a crime in which parsons, baronets, bankers, barristers, and beggars dabbled, in spite of the inevitable penalty of hanging for male clippers, and of burning alive for females. A gang of gentlemen clippers, dissatisfied with the condition of the law, as it regarded them and their offences, passed over to Flanders and commenced clipping the Spanish King's coin. Whereupon they were caught, and the chief of them were, according to our diarist, "boyld to death," or, as he elsewhere describes it," scalded alive." Awful as were the executioner and his work, the criminal delighted to exhibit his contempt for him. “A highwayman (1690) lately condemned at the Sessions, was going to be tied up by the hangman according to |