to visit any patient on any emergency when called on to do so, transferring the case afterwards to the surgeon of the corps that the sick officer belongs to.
18. DUELLING.—This has now become an obsolete practice. The world and the legislature have put it down, officers have seen the folly, the barbarity of the old mode of demanding satisfaction, and a duel is now a much rarer occurrence than a deliberate murder. It is now a branch of military law to fight a duel. In all cases, both principal and seconds must undergo the ordeal of a court martial, involving the risk of loss of commission, and in fatal cases the risk of being indicted for manslaughter or murder. Nor are insults and outrages more frequent from the suppression of the duello; on the contrary, I believe they are reduced in number; nor is the vindication of insulted honour the less, but satisfaction is obtained by other measures. When an insult is offered, the usual course to follow is to leave the spot immediately and without altercation, and either by letter or the medium of a friend, to demand explanation and apology. In most cases, this is complied with, but if it is not, then the alternative is to make a public complaint to the commanding officer and leave the affair in his hands. To take no measures to obtain reparation for insulted honour, subjects the officer insulted to the ordeal of a court martial.
