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P'4 : : . IRr
j , , II nwf tten Law" ;
Notable Instances
I . of Its Application.
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< lts Application , Bereaved tbe
Bmperor of Austria , 'Vho Took
No Rcven7O : for tbe Killing of
.
His Son-Prince. Daldwiv of
BcJ ium , Hclr Apparent to tbo
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. Throne , VJoJatcd Its Pro'J.
sions , nnd Hls Slayer , an lIldig.
: t nnnt Husband , ' \Vas Nc"er
i , Troubled by the AuthoritJes-
, It BnsJ Relation , Too , in Ju.
_ : . ropeu ountrios to tlo Duel.
& \ " . , to Cheatzng and to SUIcIde.
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. eeordinc to It the Co.rt'sponc1-
"Nf ellt in D Db/orct' Cafe Is Ex-
( I ; ; :1 : . \ ' . Peeled to "Perjure Him ! = elfLikc ' I .
; . : J Gentleman' - Unlt'F < ; Stan-
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: ( ( ) r d Wbite Was A ( { ually
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CauglJt iv the Art of Infoultin ; :
lUrsHnrry TbIU' , Ber Hils-
1I.1nd Was Not JUfotJfjrd JU IiJI.
i , , Bw Under the" L'ul\'ritLen
. Lolt' .
Of all the popular phrases of the
EnglIsh language there is none that
Is more misused and misunderstood
than that of "unwritten law. " And
just at the present tlmo It Is on every-
body's lips In connection wIth the
trial for murder of Harry K. Thaw.
To judge from popular comment ,
one would Imagine that Its jurisdiction -
tion was restricted exclusively to ono
or at the most two particular classes
of homicide. But It covers a. far
larger ground and affects almost
every phase of our llfe.
Among the several stories current
concerning the mysterIous tragedy of
Moyerllng , which robbed the venerable -
able emperor of Austria of his only
son , the most generally accepted
, I version Is that he wail slain by the
. . . .
"ti uncles of Baroness Marie Vetsera , or
else that he was subjected by them
to such bodily Injuries that he blew
i
_ . his bra.ins out , the men having learned
of the prince's Inteltion to cut adrift
. ' from the girl , In compllance with his
pledge to his parents , instead of
marrying her aUter securing a dl.
vorce from Crown Princess Stephanie.
Prince Baldwin Paid Penalty.
In Brussels , In the Avenue Louise ,
to reign visitors are still shown a de.
. serted house , where 'Pr nce Baldwin of
Belgium , favorite nephew of King Leo-
pold , amI heir apparent to the throne ,
" was Idlled by an Indignant husband
of princely but not royal rank. In
this Instance , however , the tragedy
was followed by a separation of the
noble couple Involved. Baldwin of
Belgium , In spite of his popularity ,
-
man and race horse owner , in the
apartments of Mrs. Deacon on that
memorable night In the hotei at Nice ,
and shot him as he endeavored to
conceai himself behind a sofa , he
acted str.lctl . In accordance with the
demands of unwrItten law , and it 1I1U '
safeh' bo assumed that If he had been
a Frenchman Instead of a foreignm' ,
and an American at that , he would
never have been sentenced to even
tlle brief term of hnllrisonment to
which he was condemned.
Unwritten Law and the Cuello.
Duelllng is even moro stricth' Cor.
bidden by law In England than on the
continent. But if a member of the
Ei gllsli diplomatic service , or nn om-
cer of the English arJ ' or nav ' , 1'0-
caives wh11e 'abroad a clmllenge to
fIght , or is madu the subject of an in-
dignitycalUng for redress to fight , ho
Is forced to resign not oniy his commission -
mission but. also the membership of
his clubs. Not oven all the Immense
social Infiuenco of colonel the Hon.
Fredorlclt Wellesley , brother of the
late Earl Cowioy , and now husband
of the widowed Duchess \Velllng- -
ton , was able to save him fl'om a fate
such as this wh11e acting as charge
d'affaires of Great Britain at Vienna.
some 12 or 15 years ago. Col. Welles.
ley , who was also A. D. C. to Queen
Victoria , became Involved In the Aus.
trlan capital in a quarrel about a wom.
an with an Austrian nobleman , Count
K. , who resented to such un extent
his behavior , as well as his remarlts ,
that he struck him. with lis glove
across the face and challenged him to
fight.Ve'iiesley refused , however , to
accept the challenge on the ground
that by so doing he would render him.
self liable to dismissal from the army ,
owing to the fact that the Engllsh
articles of war prescribe the penalty
of being cashiered for every officer
Involved In a duel either as a prlnci.
Iml or as a second.
Called to Task by His General.
Wellesley was at once relleved of
his omco of charge d'affaires at the
suggestion of the Viennese court ,
which did not rellsh the Idea of being
compelled to accord diplomatic honors -
ors to 0. man who had thus shown the
white feather , and shortly after his
return to London one of his fellow-
officers of the Guards , Capt. John Del-
acour , who had witnessed the affair
at Vienna , brought the matter before
the notice of the other members of
the corps. In due course It reached
the ears of the old dulte of Cambridge ,
cousin of Queen Victoria and general- .
Isslmo of the British army. He sent
for Col. Wellesley and aslted him If
It were true that he had talten shelter
behind the army regulations to avoid
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/lE I lflllC ' u , ) ; . ; . :
I - " ' Jf' IlIIJLLE Y . ' . , .I
) J/lI/f/J/EIICtJiP' t4'tPtfEf ;
I ; ] RGI-iDUI < E Qrro
-
. WIlS universally regarded as bnvlng
received his deserts , and his assa11ant
looked upon as having complIed wllh
the requirements of the cede of social
ethics. Nor was he over troubled br
the authorltles In connection thore.
with , and remained a respected memo
ber of his class , and of Ule communi.
ty In general , and of socloty , both at
, home and abroad.
dt- r 'Whon the late Edward Parker Dea.
eon found A , Abelllo , the French clu
the eonsequenco of a quarrel at
Vienna , thereby brlngln discredit to
the corps of omcers of the famous
regiment to which ho belonged. Wells-
lo ' , of course , was obliged to
admit that he had been gulltr of the
chargo. "Then , " said the duke , " 'ou
had bettor leave the army. "
"Loavo the urmy , sir ? " exclaimed
the colonel. "llut what am I to do It
I leave the army ? "
"Turn dancing master and bo
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damned to ) 'ou I" replied U10 burly
oid ro 'al llrlnco , swinging on his heel
and ordering his ulde.de.cum11 in waiting -
ing to show ho coionei to the door ,
A few days luter It wus announced
that Col. Wollesle ' , who In his bor-
hood lUlll been a page. of honor of
Queen Victoria , hud been "graciously
Ilermittell" to roslgn his commission
In the arm .
How an Emperor Avenged a , Blow.
In the sl\mo wny that I urolloan or-
ficel's are debarred' ' from flgllttng
duels with people , of the wol'ltlng'
classes , so aro. they.l1rcchltl d' from
meeting ro 'al personages and , crowIed'
hands 011 the nelll of honor. If a young
olllcoI' ' . heuted
dw'lng 11. argul110nL
with some comrade. of royal or imperial -
perial rank receivcs a blow , ho has no
alternative but to blow' hl 0\V1l1
brains out.
On ono memorable occasion l m"
Iloror Francis .Joseph Intervencd' in'
) lOl'Son to ) lrovont an act of solf.llu-
struction of this kind. The lateArch -
t\ulw otto , his nephew , whiTe endeavoring
deavoring in n clrunltClt freal to. . con-
- - . . . , _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . . . . . .c _ _ _
vr : " -
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slon , cxtortol1 ftom lHln in , 0. moment
of aSl1l'ration ami when smurt1nJ ;
lIIUil' " a sense of InJustlco , rcsulted , in
tll,1 ruin of his polltlcal cnrvcI' and In'
his being IHueltllstcd b ' l ngllshl society -
ciety ,
Perhups lIie most moi.t1\i or- all slntJ
in the O 'I'S ot' unwritten law is untuir
) lla ' at canIs , and' there a1'O few faml-
lias of birth amI } ) l'eeding on either
side or the Atlantic who would' not In-
flnitoh' prefer to' ' hl\ve n. murdoror'
among Wolr reintiVes than 0. man
who hns boon caught chentlng at thO'
cnrd tahiu. For it Inlllcts. n. staht IIPOlt
the rtuu11y cscutcheon which cnl\ '
no\'or ho ortacel1 ; Ulul which is 1'01110111-
bl'r d ngn.lnst the , 1Iousu concol'ncd
froll1 Jonoratlon- generation. A
man caught In the uct of unfuh' IllnY'
Is OXOtllpt fl'ol11 puuishment by the-
tribunals of the.1ul11. : But the llcnaltr
hnposL'tl Ullon him b } ' unwritten law
Is hUl11easUl'ahh' moresovcro than
an 'thln ! ; : that stntuh could devise.
For instotnd of being restricted to
hll11self , it exto11l1s to these who 1\1'0
, neltrost and dearest to him , a 1111 he
. ( fa I I
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. TtlRNI1NCING
- - /11l6TER fiND Btf.
IJ///1I1E/J TO YO/
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.J/II1RO IhRIr' tf'lCeN.
duct 11. bacchllnallan party of men and I
women Into the apartments of his I
wife , the Archduchess Marie .Josepha
-In order , llS he explained , that they
might see what an archduchess
loolwd Ulw In bed-was stopped In the ,
corridor leading to her apartments by :
his who his I
aide-de-camp , drawing ,
sabre , threatened to run through the
hody an3'one excepting the archdultC
who endeavored to pass him.
The crowd , sobered by the serious.
ness of the situation , hesitated and
then withdrew. But the archdllite was
so beside himself with rage at being
balked In his project that he struclt
the young officer 11. blow In U10 face.
The matter was brought to the imme.
dla.te . notice of the commander of the
arrison , who communicated by tele.
graph with the emperor. Francis
Joseph ordered that the young officer
bo prevented from , doing himself any
harm , at all costs , hastened to the
scene from Vienna and , having assembled -
sembled all the principal omcers sum.
moned both his nephew , Archdulw
Otto , and the young aide-de-camp to
his 11rosonce.
Apostr0phlzlng the latter In his
l < lndllest manner , he exclalmod : "I
have to express my gratltnde to you ,
sir , for having lll1 el'talwn the de. 1
I
fense of my dear niece at a moment
when she was In urgent need of YOllr
I
protection. In so doing } 'Oll received
a biow for which YOll yourself cannot
obtain satisfaction and which YOll
could not return. But I can redress
that Indignity for you ; " and with that
he strode up to Archdul < o Otto , and
hefore all present slapped his faeo ,
thCl'oupon ordering him under arrest
for a llerlod of six months , and do.
prived him of his command. The
: "OImg officer was promoted and decorated -
rated , nut had It not been for the
omperor's interference and for the
manner In which ho nvenged the af.
front Imposed upon the : roung A. D.
C. , the latter would have been com.
lJlled ) b ' unwritten law to have blown
out his brains.
Unwritten Law and Perjury.
Perjury is according to every crlm.
Inal code of Europe a felony , yet the
co.reslondent In a divorce case , no
matter how gullt. ) . , Is compelled by the
unwritten law to 11erjure himself In
the witness box " 1I1w a gentleman , "
and falluro to comply with this reo
quirement entails an ostracism which
uy many Is regal'lled as worce than
death , as one of tIte most eminent
of English statesmen found to his
cost. In endeavoring to excuipate him.
self of the unfounded charge of haying -
ing hetra.'od a young married woman
whom ho had Imown fl'om childhood ,
he admltte under mmminutlon that
ho had. been gullty of too great In-
tlmucy with her mother. 'l'hls conCeB-
.
has no alternative but either to Itlll
himself or else to disappear and seele
his fortune In some remote forolgn
country , where , disguised as to appearance -
poarance , sl1ent as to his aright , und
under an assumed name , he passes
his time In fear and trembling lest he
should be recognized nnd bo once
more driven forth HIm the wandering
Jew of old from : lis temllorary refugo.
Construed Insults.
There are all sorts of minor provisions -
visions of the unwritten law which It
would take too much time and space
to enumerate here , but ' mong which
may be mentioned the rule which construes -
strues It as an Insult when a man In
filling his neighbor's glass slants the
boUlo backward Instead of forward.
More than one sanguinary duel has
been fought to the personal lmowl-
edge of the writer in Austria for a
breach of etiQuette of this l < lnd. In
the sllmo way in the orient , If In
showing the bla e of a sword to an
acqualntanco ono happens to turn the
edge thereof toward him he wlll consider -
sider his honor Impugned , and If by
any chance he II : ! a Japanese of ranlt
he Is capable of going off and committing -
ting suicide by ripping himself open ,
leaving a document staUng that havIng -
Ing been insulted honor demanded
that ho should commit hara.klrl , and
call1ng upon his nearest rolatlves to
avenge him.
In Relation to the Thaw Case. _
With regard to the application of
the un writ ton. law to the case of
Thaw , there are sovernl con.
sldoratlons to he noted In endcavOl'lng
to bring It to boar upon the tragedy
i of Madison Square roof garden. If
roung Mrs. Thaw had been without
any stormy antecedents , and had been
subjected by Stanford White to Indignities -
nities and Insulting prollosals since
her marriage , her husband wouid have
been justUlod , according to the terms
of the unwrllten iaw , as understood
abroad , In shooting him , though of
course It wouid have heon more chivalrous -
alrous to have given him a chance of
defending himself Instead of taking
him at a dlsadvan.tage and unarmed.
I But , unfortunately , young Mrs.
I Thaw Is not without a past ; that she
I wa.q edueated at the cost of White ,
and had Imown him first as a school
girl , then as 11 model , and finally as a
chorus girl , for several years prior to
hel' marriage , cannot be denied. lIer
relations with White before becoming
Mrs. Thaw , and also her career in
New York and Paris prior to her marriage -
riage were of a nuture to debar her
husband from shooting White unless
ho had actually caught him In the
very act of Insulting her. That at
least Is the status of the Thaw.Whlte
drama from the point of view of unwritten -
written law.-Now York World ,
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A .BILLIARD BET'
By HARRIS DEEMS :
( Copyright , 1m , by JOBoph n. BowloB. )
Mr. Jamcs liard on was 11. mild
tooklng ) 'oung man , with light sandy
hair curofu'UY parled down the center
gt his hoad. Thnt ho lookOtI milder
and younger U1 n ho reaUy was ,
may or may not have been his
tnult-U cortalnly was not hio mis-
fortune. '
lIe had arrlvod two days 11revious.
ly at. the llttlo town , of Coleman , to
rccuporato after n. Catlguing whtter
sel1son.
Quito what his occupation WnB very
few 11eoplo know. lIe occasionally
backed 110rses-to lose ; knew a Cow
cant trIclts with which ho amused
strangers ; (11111 a good many moro
which ho neither showed to thom nor
amused them with. 110 was a fairly
gool1 pigeon shot ; amI an mtceptlon-
ally clever bllliard piayor.
Coleman had been recommended ! to.
fl'lond Samuel Dug-
him by his bosom ,
ger , who was a native of the l11aco.
On 'this 11l1rtlcular afternoon ho was
gazing mildly at the "Froomason's
Hotei" debating whether ho should
enter or not. After a tow minutes
cogitation ho sauntered In , and made
tor the bllliard room.
Calling for a scotch anll soda , he llt
a cigarette , and stood watching a 111110
taced , lanky h1l1lvidual awkwu1'diy
I010clting the balls about the table ,
"Do you play ? " quorled that gontlq.
man , catching Mr. 11ardon's Interest-
cd look.
"You can hardly call It playhlg , "
ho repIlod , hesitatingly. Seeing ho
made a fairly comfortable living with
his b11liards , this was perhaps a
tact. "nosides , I'm o.wfully out of
practlco. "
"So'm I , " confessed the young
manj "I was just lmocking the balls
about to see If I remembered the
gnmo. "
"Well , I don't mind trying my
hand , " murmured 1\Ir. Hardon.
"Rightl" cried the young man ,
briskly. "What shull it bo ? Fifty
up ? "
"Fifty up ? Oh , that means wo'vo
got to make 60 points doosn't It ? "
"Yos , " said the young man , chalkIng -
Ing the Ull of his cue Industriously ;
"tho man who maltes 60 first wIns. "
"I seol Which ball do I have ?
I'vo almost forgotten. "
About 20 minutes llay , when the
game stood 10 to 12 , the young man
carelessly suggested havIng 11. IIttlo
something up on It.
"Well , I'm not a gambler , " stated
Mr. Hurdon , "but I don't mind half a
dollar. "
" 00 1lead , Ulon , Ws your play. "
"Plnylng ping-pong ? " Inquired a
gentleman who had entered whilst
the game was In progress , after the
two Innocents had sent tholr balls
on the fioor half a dozen times.
At the end of an hour's play Mr.
Harden raced out n winner by 50 to
46 ; and It Is doubtful If he would
have won then had not the palo-faced
young man sent his last two balls on
the ground.
"Lot's Il11.vo anoUlOr game , " suggested -
gested the loser , payIng over his 60
oents.
"Don't torget they close at 12 , "
offensively remarked the gentleman
who had been watching the gamo.
"I don't mind , " answered Mr. Harden -
don , Ignoring this tndlvhtul\l , "Snmo
stakes 7"
"Let's have 11. decent bit up on It
this time , seolng wo're about levol.
What do you say to ten dollars ? "
"Go ahead , then , " said Mr. Hardon.
"Seo here , " exclahned the spectator -
tor who by his greasy appearance
seemed to be a butcher , addressing
,
Mr. Hnrdon ; "you're both pretty bad
players , but I rather tan y the other
chap Is a bit bettor than you. "
"You do , do you ? " answered Mr.
Harden , blandly.
"Yesl And In spite of your win.
nlng the lust game I'm ready to back
him. "
"Let mo see , " refiected Mr. Harden -
don , "I won the game on strange
table. "
"Thon what'll you back him for ? "
he asked , sUddonly.
"Same as the stakes. Ten. "
"Done with you , " said Mr. Harden ,
picking up his cue.
The palo young man and his backer
exchanged knowing giances.
"Go It , " cried the tormer llS hie I
opponent bent ov"r the table.
And Mr. Harden did "go It" to the
extent of malting a beautiul little
break of 22.
"Hero , what do you call this ? " ,
blustered the greasy gentleman.
"lll1llards , " said Mr , Harden , mild-
ly. "What did you think it was 'J
PIng.pong ? "
"Shut up , Barker , " said the youns
man , .Irritably , "you put mo out. "
Gritting his teeth ho surveyed th ! ;
table darkly. The balls were too bad ,
11 placed for him to make more
Ulan ten.
J.lulterlng viciously , he gave place
to Mr. Harden and watched that gen ,
t1eman " , hile he bandIed the balls
as If they were allvo.
Playing with rare skill , ho put to.
gether an admlrablo 18.
The landlord entered the room at
this moment and atood watching the
I
gnme.
I "Knows how to play , " he observed
to the butcher as Mr. Harden mad ! ;
1 the winning stroke.
Knows a little too much ! .or hiE
hcnlth , " was the Irrltablo roply.
"Knt"rfll a Iltlle too much for Tom. .
.
at any rato/ , said the landlordj ginnc-
Ing at the scoring board ,
Mr , Barker mad ( no reply ; he was
thinking deoply. In tact so deeply
that It required sovernl nUdges tram
Mr , Harden to bring to his mind
the fact. that ho owed him tell dol-
lars.
lars.F'or awhllo he stool1 talldng bil.
lIums with the iandlord. whilst 1\11' .
Barker nnd the lanky young man dls.
cllased , affairs III n. savage undor.
tone ,
"Suy , " sald the lanlty YOllth , sud.
donly nddresslng Mr , Barl1on , "be-
CIUISO YOII whaelwd mo , don't think
'OlL can Illay , yell Imow , "
"Great Scott , no I" replied Mr.
l mlon , cornfully.
"Becauso , " continued the young
ml1.n. cOlltrolllng hltnself with all effort -
fort , "wo'vo got much better pla 'ers
hore. "
"I don't doubt It , " saM Mr. IIardon ,
conllnl ! ) ' .
1 > lIshlng his agitated companion
into a chair , Mr. Barltor came for-
ward.
"Whnt d' ) 'OU say to backing your.
self tor $600 with one of our own 10'
cai mon'i" ho Inquired.
"DoIIGhted , " was the rOll1y ,
" \Vell , then , I'll bet ) 'OU nn even
five hundred that wo produce u. locai
mau the day aCtor to.morrow to
smash ) .ou. " '
"Done I 110 must bo bonafido yo.
kol-I beg llardon , I mean -local-haw-
ever , "
Being realsllred : on this point , Mr.
Hard on loft tllO room with the firm
conviction thnt , as' a holiday resort ,
Coleman wanted wme beating.
At the apllointod hOllr Mr. Harden
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"Now Suppose You Give Mo Ono
Made by the U. S. A. "
entered the crowded blIllard room of
the "Freomason's Uote } . " There was
sllenco as ho wallced ever to the corner -
ner where his friend , t.he butcher and
the lanky young man , were. "Two
to one on the city CIISS , " cried a
voice.
"This Is your man , " said the butcher -
er , waving his hand towards n genUe.
man sitting near.
I
Though In his opponent Mr , Harden -
don saw his bosom trlend Mr. Samuel
Dugger , ho made no sign of recolJnl-
tion. I
"Is this gentleman a native of the'
place ? " he Inquired.
A chorus of triumphant voices
quickly vouched tor this.
As soon as It was seen that Mr.
lIardon was resolved to play the
match out , a tlred.looklng strange'r
'
announced It'as his convIction that
ho would win. Immediately ho was
surrounded by a throng of excited betting -
ting men , who expressed their 1I1s.
belief In this statement at five to
fOllr agalnat.
Whllo the tired looking strangor-
waking up slightly-was busy making
entries In his notebook , Mr. Harden ,
standing by his opponent's sldo , was
seized with the spirit of praphecy.
"I win ! " ho muttered , apparently
to himself.
"Halves , " sighed Mr. Dugger Into
his' half empty glass.
The ensuing game Is remembered
by the sporting Inhabitants of Cole-
man to this day.
From the first stroito It was a neck
I and neck race ; and when , the score
I standing at D6 all , Mr. Dngger In a
moment of great excitement missed
his strolte , even his backers murmured -
mured nothing hut words of sym-
pathy.
Mr. Harden , with a whlto face ,
chalked his cue carefully , as , how.
over , with a trlclty ball he cannoned
and went off the white , n muffiell
t groan went round the room.
" 1\Iy game , I think , " ho said , with
a smile.
On leaving the hotel he mot 1\11 :
I I Dugger outside.
, "Hello , " was that gentleman's greet-
, "thought It was you when they
wired mo. "
"What did they ofter you ? "
"A hundred tor 11. win , twenty tor 11.
lose. I brought Johnnie down to
; I make a book In case It was you. "
"Three hundred and twenty-tour , "
I said Johnnie , coming Ull at tlla
I momcnt.
"Add on your five hundredcal -
I culated Mr , Dugger.
"And the twenty , " put In Mr , Har.
, don. "Not bad , eh 1"