On this day in 1825 twenty-three-year-old Alexandre Dumas (Sr.) embarked on his self-proclaimed "career as a romantic" by fighting his first duel, and having his pants fall down. Dumas's memoirs are about as reliable as his historical-fiction, but they tell the pants story in glorious, comedy-of-errors detail. He had issued his challenge after quarreling with a soldier over billiards two days earlier. He confidently assured his seconds that he was adept with a pistol, only to find that swords had been chosen. Less confidently, he attended the appointed place and hour, and then a second hour, only to have his still-sleeping opponent postpone for a day ... FULL STORY »
