A Full And Exact Relation Of The Duel Fought In Hyde-Park On Saturday, November 15, 1712, Between His Grace James, Duke Of Hamilton, And The Right Honourable Charles, Lord Mohun. In A Letter To A Member Of Parliament. Duelling.

First edition of this account of the duel between Baron Mohun and the Duke of Hamilton, in which both men died. Though ostensibly fought over a disputed inheritance, the duel between the prominent Whig Mohun and the Tory Hamilton, the latter the Ambassador to France, had political overtones and caused a sensation. The Tories presented the duel as a Whig plot to derail peace with France, aided by the fact that Mohun's second fled to Hanover, while Hamilton's second turned himself in and was able to shape the narrative. The violence of the duel, fought with swords, led to a public outcry. Queen Anne spoke against duelling a few months later, and the practice declined in Britain. Increasingly, duels were fought with pistols and without seconds. The pamphlet's sympathies are with Hamilton, devoting two pages to praising his life and character and describing him as a "Prince of unquestionable bravery" who is "universally lamented". Mohun's virtues are reduced to a single telling sentence: "Lord Mohun is also very much lamented, as being the last male of his family". Addressed to a member of Parliament, the pamphlet beseeches the legislature to end the practice of duelling, holding that the events will change the mind of the parliamentarians who had formerly turned a blind eye to the practice. ESTC T76866. Octavo (215 x 133 mm), 24pp. Recased in old paper wrappers, leaves uncut. Bound without half-title. Last page lightly soiled, peripheral nicking, minor type offsetting. A very good copy.