A series of contemporarily typical events led to the stand-off that took place in the grounds of Richmond House: an insult had been given, offence had been taken, and there had been a determination by each man to assert his honour and stand on a principle.
Negotiating the dispute between newspaper editor William Nairne Clarke and his adversarial challenger, merchant George French Johnson, to a swift, bloodless conclusion was the responsibility of their respective ‘seconds’, William Temple Graham and Thomas Newte Yule. A written apology and a handshake should certainly suffice.
Customarily, Doctor Thomas Harrison stood at a distance, his eyes averted from the illegal proceedings lest the matter be brought before the courts and he be both implicated and able to provide witness testimony.
By 7.20 am, however, with peace negotiations having failed, Clarke and Johnson found themselves at the pointy end of pride.
Now, despite this grave situation, both
