Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1859-11-09
Tho Last Duel,

live devoted 20 the wOnderul ana eHaitlNe before
gaping populace, From the fantastic tricks ofsage
Senator's down to the frantic performances of tho
stump orator, or highly enthused popular preach,
er, all is aimed at the wonder loving propensitlcs
of our nature, and tho hidden tragedy that lies
in every heart, In the good old times of our
gand-Rthers, when men acted as men, and had
not discovered the availability and scenic effect
of this sudden power, men met in mortal com.
hat and wiped out the stain upon their honor with
the Others blood; but now, when duel or a
fight is to como of, the whole world must be let
into tho secret t,--chemi1als introduced to raise
stage fire, claqueurs paid to cry "a bas," or to
cry "encorc, police officers set on tho ''qui
e,"-writs issued to arrest bloodshed and
mutual friends meet ON tho bloodless field and
with vocierous rcjoicings affect happy recon
ciliation. Both parties return to their homes,
surprised mt themselves, for even indulging in
such ultra notions as the lighting of duel Tho
memory of Burr and Hamilton ia lost the dar-
ing chivalry of Crump and Archer, lost in tho
thaumaturgical effect Of getting all the honors Of
the duclo without its risks and dangers. On the
/ ~ 10 pcnb W Dc cu,--billH 10
age of improvement, and why not improve in this
particular rs in others The duclo is immortal
and its participants are not,-henCc the necessity
of arriving at some means of keeping up both, -,
with some show Of respectablity. The duel is
being revived with alarming symptoms of vigor
and alacrity. The late California contest, in
which valuable life has been lost and still
later, the one in which Mr.. Paul, editor of the
Petersburg Express, and Capt. Goode, the defeat
ed aspirant for Congressional honors, came near
having n round, show this fact. This last en-
counter contains rather more chyalry and ro-
nance than such affairs usually represents. Mr.
Paul is devoted friend OF r. A. Pryor, the NOM
incc of the convention for Congress in the 4th
District, Va, and Mr.. Goode one of the defeated
aspirants. 1t seems from the mcogre accounts
we have received, that Mr.. Paul was engaged
more on Pryor's account than his own hence
We conceive the case with which the duel
was stopped Friendship then, Is not all a
name,-it has some reality, and Mr.. Paul is en-
titled TO more credit for his devotion to principle
than if he had fought twenty duels, and we, for
one, like to render it to him. But while we
praise him for his noble qualities, VIC would not
be understood to do SO in connection with the at
tempted duel. Modern ducls are different af
lairs from those fought in the days of Hamilton,
there was a reality in them, but in later times,
too much Of the thaumaturgcal is visible in their
too public management. Newspaper publica-
tions seldom apply the balm of healing to woun-
ded honor, and whenever this is wounded, it is
too serious to admit of public interest and inter-
ference Hence we condemn the modern system
of dueing.
"ENcoUnAcINc NEWS FROM TIE $. P. RAILROAD
We make an extract from q letter just received
from a gentleman at Ma, shall, giving an impor-
portant item of news concerning the Southern
Pacific Railroad. 1t says
"You may safely state that the r. r. IS now
carrying cotton from Marshall to the Lake. and
that 25 or even so miles will be in operation
West of Marshall, in the next Is or Is months"
From late New Orleans papers we learn that
the Hon. j. Edgar Thompson, President elect cf
the Road, has despatched an accomplished engin
Ger to Texas, and had tclegraphed to Dr.. Fowlkes
TO meet him in Memphis. The Pacific Road is
no longer myth and if Major DeMorse will
listen some quiet morning for the scream of the
whistle, and not fancy that it comes from the
Memphis and El Paso road, he will be convinced
that it is not all q ''rotten conccrn.'' Come
Major, help both roads, and let them slide on to-
wards Ell Paso, until they meet somewhere in
this vicinity.
Correspondence of the Dallas Herald
An Indian Murder.