Anti-slavery bugle. [volume] (New-Lisbon, Ohio) 1845-1861, 1859-06-25
The Pacific
THE SECOND

"You have stabbed me l could kill you, but
will not, on account of your wife and family"
This is the language as reported in the Sacramento
Union, of MIR. G. S. Fairfax, clerk of the Supreme
Court, to Mr.. Lee, its official reporter. 1t seems
that during q conversation between these two. con-
corning the Withholding from Lee las the official
reporter) the transcript of cases decided in the Su-
preme Court, Mr.. Fairfax became much excited
and told Lee "You lie" or '.you ore a liar" at the
same time giving Lee a slap in the face. The lat
ter having a sword-cane in his hand, drew it at
once and stabbed Fairfax twice. Mr.. Fairfax
then drew a Derringer and presented it at the
breast of Lee all ready to fre-when, to the aston
ishment of all present, as it must indeed have
been, as well as to that of Mr.. Lee himself, in
stead of shooting. he said, You have stabbed me-"
etc. etc.; and as if afraid to trust himself with the
dangerous weapon, delivered it into the hands of a
friend,
We cannot refrain from expressing our feeling
of establishment as the very strange but fortunate
termination of this street quarrel. We feel that
we can quite forgive Mr.. Fairfax sor his impetu-
Gus and what seems ungentlemanly conduct to-
ward Mr.. Lac, when on the second thought he re-
strained his passion and refused to harm a hair Of
lis ucdl tuJu1u LIZ . ltu Wao AZ AK HAMA ~
was nobis i'm pulse and promptly needed. Al
ready twice stabbed, Fairfax knew, if he stopped
to know anything, that no Jury in California
would have convicted him CT crime, had he sho,
Lee dead on the street-a moment before, boiling
with rage and passion, q sword hourishing before
him., not, as one must confess, the most fit means
to soothe into its proper mood the flushed, excited
temper; at the SAM time goaded on by ideas which
so generally govern those who have grown uI
where Gan eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth
principle is the infallible and memorable law and
test of chivalry and honor-these things taken into
account, and it is surprising, as it was indeed
manly, noble and right, that Mr.. Fairfax did no
shoot Mr.. Lee. What good angel made him thinl
Of his antagonists wife and childreni And wha'
better angel told him, for their sakes, to drop and
I, hand over that terrible weapon which, like The
> swift angel OF death. stood ready to hurl a fellow
being into eternityf
If Mr.. Fairfax never recov ers from his danger
+ GUS wounds, it will not add to his pain, it will no
!. be a sore and reinorsoful pang of conscience tina
8 his hands are clean, and that there is no blood up
( on them. If he recovers-which we hope anc
! pray he wilt will not be against his peace O
mind, or against his good fame, that in the las
moment, when he held the life of another in biz
J., hand, he took counsel of a second and bette,
thought, and deliberately turned from tho demon
of passion and revenge to the good angel tina
e pleaded for the wife and children.
+ The ghasily index finger will not pick him GU,
o Of every crowd, or point at him from every corner
as the man who drew his fellow into a quarrel
n provoked him to a rash act. and then, under th,
sham-the miserable pretext of selfdefense-bru
tally shot him to the ground, dead as a stone. HI
, will find that he has lost nothing, but gained ey
7 e~rything in stopping just where he did, though
, driven under tremendous pressure to 20 to the las,
extreme.
Nc one will question the manliness of the deed
but few who will not admire and praise the true
! and sober thought which prompted the step-and
all will appreciate the magnanimity Of the act the
a more, involved as il was in circumstance s which
in ninety-nine cases out Of a hundred would have
terminated the scene in the death Of Lee. But we
can not suffer the notice Of such an occurrence ia
a pass without once more calling attention to the IN.
, wise, if not guilty, as we'll as dangerous practice
I Of carrying deadly weapons. -a
These weapons--a man might as we'll lean bis
head on q lightning-rod in q thunderstorm and