The recorder, or, Lady's and gentleman's miscellany. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1801-1802, 1802-06-02


" popular prejudice has had its food; rs
" ufual, the ehb fucceeds. - he hoarle cla-
mour MISREPRESENTATION IS filled; but the
" iilent underhand efforts of malignity are
T" nor relaxed we &
The public irritation has not fub'ded. Il
cannot, and it ought not to fubiide, until
the perion, who is iuppoted to have murdered
Armftead Seldcn, ihall be brought TO fair
bro5sti7h IS NOT Rilied. 1t has been petu
lantly iaid that as the relations Of Mr.. Selden
have not complained, no Stber bcyjoa has
ttfle 70 interfere. The authors of iuch a
doctrine difcover the darkeR ignofaitce.
Whenever this principle is to be adopted, 1t
would be much better TO burn, at once, all our
acts of atienbly, The occai;onal immunity
ofaf alfalfa, by the purchafe and ialeof blood,
formed part of the criminal law, when Ajax
addreiled Achilles in thcfe terms
4 Sire the Gangbte, ofbis Jan forgivet;
The price Of bleed atoz'd, the mardrsr HOe5
TIE bardsf hearts ar length their rage reign,
-4'fa Gifts can eon7He,- eVery Joai but thine. )
The fame cufton has been common among
the Indians. But in all civilized countries,
the law never troubles itielf about the wiihes
or feelings of the relations of the deceafed.
In the cafe of DIR. Read, the elder Jones az
fumed a very different ftile. When he was
taxed with barbarity for falling upon his own
father-in-law, his confant anfver was, that
he felt it his duty, as an editor, to a6t as he
did. This plea was uniutt. The aflepnbly
bad interfered. His yelping could be of no
iervice whatever. With Skelten Jones,
never once though t Of interfering But even if
had done 70, the meafure would have been
both legal and conlmendable whereas that
OF Mr.. Jones, was neither the one, nor the
other, The profound ilerce of the two
brothers, as to the particulars of the duel and
the death, proves that they are themfelves
convinced of Skeletons guilt. This mott ex-
ecrable rufhan borrowed pair of horfe pie
tolls, for the duel. He refufed 4 reaionable
coneeilion. He took deliberate aim. The
ball, and it was hot fnnall one, entered MIR.
oeiden'S body, under the right arm. and went
Out under the left one. The young man died
initantly. The ball is Eaid to have been traced
to tomc diitance, in It's progreis among the
bnfhes, after it had pa1t through the young
mans body In point Of humanity, there is
not an atom of diitin6tion between the feelings
OF the two brothers. When MIR. Jones HIM
ielt was TO fight with James Rind, whom he
had flrft infulted, and whom he then challen-
ged, he got pair Of large piftols from Jack
Stewart. Of the forenoon of the duel, he
ipent part in firing at a mark.
In Britain, duclling is, for the mott part,
little more than Ceremony. There is not
one inffance in twenty, where the parties go
to the field with ferious intention OF fhooting
each other. 1t IS even faid TO be common
to ftand back to back, and fire over one fhoul-
In NJ .ta ,AE
taking an aim would be held as an utrnoit in
Nance of depravity. One common practice
is for the parties to walk fpecifed number
of Aeps from a given point They then
wheel round, and fire at each other in the
fame Infant. Some years ago, one captain
vi Rae. man offortune, near Edinburg, had
praGifed much in fhoosine with pif}ol, at :
mark. At lah upon a fhalfow prttence, he
challenged Sir George Ramley, an old officer,
who had retired from the lervice. They
met. M'Rae took aim, and gave the old man
a mortal wound. He intfantly fed from the
vengeance of univerial deteftation. He was
pTtued quite acr0fs England Hehad a mar
row efcape into France. IF he had been ta-
ken, there was no doubt Of his being hung.
His name is fill mentioned in Ednburg, as
that or murderer, and villain.
1t cannot be faid that the aFenbly Of Viz
GINA gives countenance TO this favage cuHom.
Our laws againlt duclljng are abundantIy
ievere. But Of wha4 ufc are laws, unlefs we
nave men Of probity, and OF promptitude, to
put them N execution II was but in the
FELTON, OF December, 1900, that bill was
brought into the aHen,bly apainf tending Of
challenges; and this only failed Of final
pahage' on account Of its executive feverity.
The very hrR object Of civilized govern
rncnt IS to prevent all acts Of perlona violence.
Even the preferyation Of property G5fins but
legendary point,
/ hHd cot fhns f,r ~ L.. - -.