Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1867-11-05

claimed New York as my native State and
consequently, enlisted under the banner of the
| North ] vas not ultra in my nofioas but
urged on by the impetuoslty of nly nature, |
frequently, in debating questions before the
'Cicefoneen Society,", gave vent to such ex-
pressions which [ regretted as quick as uttered.
/ 1T one Of the meetings of this societg spir-
tied debate took place between the members Sc
lected for the affirmative and negative of a
question which involved principles st that time
| bearing on Southern Institutions. The sboii-
| ton of slavery at the period alluded to, Vyas
just beginning to show Its gorgon hesd; the
heart-burDings between the North and South
were Just being kindled, though fanaticism
showed so feeble front that it was only
laughed st, and treated as dogma that would
expire in its shell. [, unfortunately, allowed
my eloquence to carry rue beyoad diseretion.-
| With 81 the FIRE oF q youth anxious 10 let the
listening world know that nc wes sn advocate
for the soil that gave him birth, / hurled my
shafts with stupendons power against the iron
shield CT the South, and, with cutting phillip
les and sarcastic asusions, brought, as thought,
| the entire host Of hre-eaters groyelllug at my
| feet. 4 chivalric young Southerner arose in
reply-a bold and unfinching son Of Virginia,
lie calmly reviewed my arguments, dissected
| them peacemeal and scattered them to the four
winds OF heaven. This done, he plunged into
me 9th one hundred horse power and totally
| annihilated me! felt cilagrned at this per-
sonal attack, and made personal rejoinder.-
| Hard words we're uttered. and both speakers
| were called to order The result Of this war Of
words wss personal recoptre, IN which beth
| came OF second best. Il did not, however, end
here; for the next nioruiug I received formal
challenge from the orator OF the Old Dominion.
| Here was pesplexiag situation for boy of
| nineteen years Of age! However, must was my
| masser-there could be- in this case, no retro
gade movenlent-the horror Of the North re
| quired that should MAKE q show Of courage,
| If had it not; SO, | selected friend, and,
through him, accepted the invitation to mortal
combat with dragon horse pistols The affair
| was managed SO quietly, that none but the sec
onds knew OF II; and all the preiminaries were
conducted IL due form according TO the code Of
honor.
| I felt awfa!ly bad en- the night previous to
| the meeting. L endeavorad to coax sleep to
| light upon my eyelids in VAIN Ny ftful sum-
bers were made anything but comfortable by
visions Of raw head and blood bones, y pistols,
hair-trlggeTs and collins, saying nothing Of Sur
geons' probes and knives. | tossed and
| turnbied about on my COS like q ieht-boat on
stormy coast, ard longed for daylight to drive
away the horrors OF darkness and the fearful
| forms that haunted my imagination. I asked
| myself II be thought was q coward? Myself
| answered with very little hesitation-he thought
| was. | then asked myself if I had not better
back out Of the affair? and ,Dyself decidedly
answered no because honor and my reputa-
ton demanded my antagonists life as sacri-
fee Finally, myself got the upperhand in the
argument, and L arose al early dawn with nerves
| screwed up to a proper tension and a firm re
| solve to do my duty, ~ let come what would.
| My friend, a noble specimen Of the hardy
| sons OF ermont-tall and muscular, and pos
sessing more than boy 5 share Of the requis-
ties which constitute the man, rebuked my
tagdlnes5 IN dressing myself when he arrived
with the formidable weapon that was to exter-
inmate my adversary.
The reveie drum beat it's rattling alarum,
and the morning roll was called, but the parties
concerned In the affair OF honor were among
the missing ard, consequently, their names
went to headquarters absent from roll-cai'
That wildly romantic spot known as kosci
usko's Garden'' situated about midway be-
tween the virge of the bluff and the waters Of
the Hudson, under the 'Old Fort was the
place selected for our meeting. l must confess
tet OF lttle value to the world as descended
the rocky stairway that leads to this haIlowed
retreat OF the Polish hero, especially when saw
that my antagonist and friend were awaiting
our coming. | thought of nay mother, father,
brothers and alsters-but / was determined not
to snow the white feather.
lhe thermometer Of MY courage rose and fell
according to circumstances 1t was nearly
down to zero when the seconds began to meas
ure the ground-ten PAGES being about the ex-
tent OF the garden. A short conversation took
place between the seconds; the mercury rose
to 50O. They shook hands and parted-again
down to freezing point | looked at the stern
Vlrginlani he was oooliy examining the lock Of
huge U. S. Dragon pistol-the mercury
tf1ed to sink lower A boat containing two
olhcers was seen darting down the stream in
the direction OF cur battle ground. The ther-
mometer indicated blood heat, and | stood up
boldly while the seconds loaded the pistols
The tlrglnlan had hardly noticed me; he
seemed to cherish the opinion that |, OF course,
Was to be peppefed, while he was to come off
without single scratch Ills baughty bearing
raised my iTe and | made up my mind to plug
hlm--lt | could, and, at that time, [ had no
mean opinion Of my skill as a marksman My
courage was now up to fever heat, and | lmpa-
tlently demanded my weapon. This appear
ance OF ptncG drew the attention Of my oppo-
nent second, and | saw my friend smile, for
the sl1opo at all events, argued well for my de-
! termination.
HE ground was measured and we took our
stations L drew myself up into as small a
! space as posslbie-ny heart beat violenfy-a
thousands thoughts ot home and those | loved
most dearly rushed upon my mind. | began
to ieei my nerves qulvering, and the foreinger
| OF my right hand was almost TOO weak to DO it's
deadly office. 4 cold sweat issued from every
pore OF my body us The woGd ''one' came roll
ing out, At TWO" feeling Of cowardiy des-
peration came over me, and thought, to pre-
serve my own life, [ could have ezterminated
one thousand Southern fire eaters. At this
critical moment the friend Of my opponent, at-
| ter nodding Significantly TO my friend, said
'Gentleane!, would il moi be better for US to
prevent blood shed? This is u foolish quarrel,
and, assure you, if carried out, it will end in
the certain death OF one OF you, and that one
will not be mg friend. .
OF course / was the one to undergo certain
death. My Vermont friend then replied
I'VE are willing to listen to any proposition
from the challenging party, although we, at
the same time feel conscious Of the business of
our position and our skill in the use Of fire.
| arms.
1t was then agreed by the seconds that each
of us should try our skill as marksmen; aud
that the best shot at an object of the size of
quarter of dollar, should receive the apology
OF the other AS my antagonist seemed to ac-
cede to this, I chined in, feeling pretty conf
dent that / should not have to make the ac
knowledgment.
A piece Of paper of the size agreed upon was
placed upon the fat surface Of a rock and, the
first chance having fallen to me, took ny sta
ton at ten PAGES. My nerves were now in
j l. II