Dickens probably wrote the concluding paragraph of 'Duelling in France.' Dickens may also have rewritten or added to the opening paragraph.
In addition, Dickens seems to have pruned, smoothed, and otherwise edited the piece. He may be the author of some of the transition sentences and summary passages; for example, the passage beginning, 'but, the gendarmes came', and ending 'conceivable and inconceivable cause' (p. 619). And he may be responsible for pointing some of the brief antidueling comments and for sharpening some of the acid opinions scattered through the article. See, for instance, such phrases as the following: from 'such savage, ruthless, uncivilised fellows' to 'sanguinary times' (p. 614); 'or, more properly speaking, murderers' (p. 615); 'or rather to assassinate' (p. 615) ; 'and celebrated cut-throats' (p. 615) ; from 'so little' to 'repudiate crime' (p. 617); 'of what we would call blackguardism' (p. 618). Since the Contributors' Book lists Dickens as joint author, and since he seems to have added little original matter, he probably made a great many minor emendations and deletions.
Dickens may also have made a more fundamental contribution to the article; he may have suggested the topic and some of the episodes recounted. In his early writings he had mocked the practice of dueling, and he owned a two-volume History of Duelling (1841) by John Gideon Millingen, M.D. (1782-1862), a book which served as the source for much of the article. This source contains many errors of fact, misspellings of names, and confusions of dates - all of which are repeated in the article. Dr. Millingen, an old acquaintance, had proposed Dickens for membership in the Garrick Club, a body to which he was elected on 21 January 1837.
Harry Stone; © Bloomington and Indiana University Press, 1968. DJO gratefully acknowledges permission to reproduce this material.
