Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1869-04-30
From the National Intelligencer'
a.. satisfaction i'm Some Way

.Can honor set leg :" Inc manne!
N which honest Jack Falstaf propoundee
this interrogatory plainly indicated ina
his opinion was IN the negative, ~
liked not the glittering honor On
Walter had He utterly repudlated tnt
Hotspur theory OF the suoJecl anu 'oot
he conrse for the more practical good
Tins of this life, without much regard tC
,lare sentiment. He fought in the field
- is trne, but quickly declined the duellt
Irben the "true prince" set upon him
hnt then. all men are towards in the
This old question of honor" returns
IN yex US once more, even now, while
Tature puts on her mildest, sweetest, most
loving aspects. In vain does she plead for
neace the passions of man defy all her
Gentle instruction, and our city is convul-
sel with talk of s. satisfaction among the
very fathers of the Senate. Our last
..n0tcs," TO our deep regret, must not be
words, and, it may be, the "notes OF
rombatants, which, however politely
Dhrased, cover the most deadly, unsparine
purpose.
The argument of the piece runs on this
wise: Mr.. Nye, of Nevada, rose to continue
the war which for some time has been in
progress between himself and Senator
Sprague, and had his say. Mr.. Abbott, of
North Carolina, asserting himself as a rep
resentative Of State which is just now
on her good behavior. had no business in
this fray it did not concern him but in
he went, carpet-bag in hand, dealing with
the other very rude and offensive blows at
the Rhode Island Senator. The imputa.
hons of Mr.. Abbott were as gross as they
were uncalled for. His speech was osten-
slbiy to vindicate Gen. Burnside, but re-
ally it went far beyond this, and was
meant to be a contribution to the war on
the Rhode Island Senator. After a very
fierce assault he exclaimed what does the
reader suppose? Why, those words of
love and charm LET US have peace. -
Mark the sequel, and observe how Mr..
AbbottS peace was nicely sandwiched be-
tween slices of war.
Conscious that g he had stepped out of
his own natural path " to defend General
Burnside and assail Governor Sprague, our
new - travelled Senator was ready with
m admirable explanation. He defended
General Burnside because he had been the
first to invade North Carolina. A capital
idea !; but who else would have thought
Of it?
Mr.. Sprague returned at his two assail-
ants with much spirit and effect. He de-
poured on him that day reminded him of
an attack By two dogs-"a large mastiff
and a mongrel puppy dog. The little
dog moved on with rapidity from behind,
bit at his heels, and, frightened at his
temerity, ran bowling and crying away,
followed by his larger companion
Said Mr.. Sprague 1.-The Senate will
observe that the mongrel, whining puppy,
encouraged by the mastiff, and embol-
lened to make attack from the shadow of
his hacker, ran rapidly away, alarmed at
his temerity, while the overgrown cur fol-
lows after, with ears Topped and tail be-
tween his legs, to place of safety beside
hi6 diminutive companion"
Now, the first question that any one
would naturally raise on reading this would
ne to ask who was the mongrel dog? His
antecedents, mode of existence and sub
,istence, and future state, if any, would be
an interesting branch of study.
To Mr.. Abbott the matter presented it
self in an altogether different aspect. 1t
vas q question of wounded honor. He
liked not the style of Mr.. Sprague's simili-
tudes. Not even a good dinner had SUI
iced to put him in good humor, as it does
most men. In the evening he returned to
the charge, came back on Mr.. Sprague,
and defined his position in words that we
shall not mar by chaDS6:
what | did intend to do was to ask the Sena-
tor from Rhode Island if he meant to apply the
term puppy to me, as is implied in the connec-
lion of that language and if he did intend to ap-
ply 1t 20 me, my purpose was to ask him for re-
traction IS full as the implication OF the Ian
guage THAT would depend much on the size of
the dog I and if he refused that retraction, my
lne,tio1l auas to ask for satisfaction out Of the
thGnber."
We could hardly believe our own ears.
70 hou no N
the halls of Congress and do revolutions
90 backward Z? The civilized world is
much divided, indeed on the subject of
the duello. In old times it was general
custom of Christendom. Wellington, Cam
ming, and others fought not many years
ago, as did Clay, Randolph, Hamilton,
Jackson, Benton, and many of our most
conspicuous public men ; and others de-
clared that they were ready to come to time
il needed or invited In England the duel
is now out of fashion, save in the army and
navy where it still exists, and III Ireland
there is yet weakness for the old ways,
though we suppose the thlrty-nlne articles
Of the Galway code are not so rigidly held
rs of yore Gross the British channel and
behold all changed. In France, Italy,
Spain, Germany, men do fight duels every
jlay, and an American who would lay down
lie law to them that they were barbarians
WouId be told to mind his own business.
In this country the duel. though rarer at
the South than during the ante belun days,
is still an institution there, so much OBJ
served that Radical papers are never tired
of making this an occasion of denunclation
Of the Southerners. It is, forsooth, "a
relic of barbarism, an ofshoot Of the old
slavery oligarchy, proof of diabolical,
blood thirsty spirit" &C., &c.
In this highly moral view assaults upon
character are nothing whether it be a
mans or woman's reputation that is drag
ged in the dust; all this is lawful, but do
not touch the person. Fisticuffs on
weaker person may sometimes be allowa
bic; other and grosser forms Of outrage by
negroes, where the victims are white wo-
men, are to be condoned with light punish
ment, if any; but duelling must be punish
ed with death and Acknowledgement.
1t was strange, therefore, to hear this
New England Senator hold forth language
ike this savoring of the code. What
could it mean? Three years only in North
Carolina, and had he already acquired the
truculent ways of the ''slaveholding oligar
chy" and become practically a champion
of the code? If the righteous can scarcely
be saved, what shall become of the sim
uer? The problem troubled US. The