The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-05-27

Judge Rowan was good friend of mine, used
to come to church, and talk to me often about
Lactantius and other Latin writer's, whom he
was fond of reading. The Judge was also
fond of high play, and many stories were told
of his exploits in that direction. Peoples
consciences were not disturbed by what would
seem grave delinquencies to Eastern men.
Many respectable people never thought of
paying their debts. 1t did not seem worth
while to do so Others, very estimable in
other ways, would win or lose fortune
at brag or poker with charming feeling
of innocence in regard to such transactions.
To have spree, or fit of drunkenness
of two or three days duration, did not
disqualify man from moving in the best
society Some Mississippi gentlemen on
visit to Louisville, attacked aud slew two or
three tailors in the bar-room of the Gait
House, in a quarrel about badly-cut coat.
This murder was utterly unprovoked and
barbarous, but the murderers were so well
defended by Judge Rowan that they escaped
unpunished, although the prosecuting officer
was assisted by the equally celebrated Ben
Hardin. But public sentiment was wholly
in favor of the Mississippi murderers. What
would the world come to if a large Missis-
sippi stakeholder was not allowed to murder
tailor or two, once in a while? The most
fashionable ladies sent flowers and pleasant
tlemen while in prison, and crowded
the courtroom on the day of trial. In
the face of SO much beauty desiring their
acquittal, what chivalric Kentucky jury would
venture to convict them? The Mssissip plans
went home in triumph, prepared to kill more
tailors if they should find it expedient to do
so. But 1 was not sorry to hear that my
friend Judge Rowan never received from
them the large fee which they had promised
to him before the trial.
One morning Mr.. John Howard Payne, who
was travelling through the West and had
brought nae letter, came to my room and
said: 81 have seen great variety of life, but
never anything exactly like this society in
Louisville. was last night at ball at the
house of Judge Rowan. In the same cotillion
were dancing son of the Judge, Mr.. Thomas
F. Marshall, and two ladies to whom these
gentlemen are said to be respectively en-
gagged. Every one in the room knew that
| Rowan and Marshall were to fight duel in
the course of week which would probably
result in the death of one or both; but no
one showed any surprise, and all was pleasant
on the surface"
The story of this duel illustrates the fea-
lures of society at that period. The judges
of the courts were paid such small salaries
that no good lawyer would accept the posi-
ton, consequently the judges had little infu-
ence, and were treated with small respect by
the bar. One day the Judge of the Jefferson
county district, considering himself insulted
by lawyer, one Colonel Robertson from
Virginia, committed him to the county Jail
for twenty-four hours. The bar, thereupon,
agreed to go to Jail too, and have O supper
At this supper slight quarrel occurred be-
tween two gentlemen, MIR. Thomas f. Mar
shall and younger man named Garnet
Howell. A glass of wine was thrown by one
in the face of the other, and a duel was
the result. Shots were exchanged
without effect, and the honor of both
parties was satisfied Then Tom Marshall
took his remaining pistol and fired it at a
small tree at some distance and the bark flew
from the sapling. This he did in order to
show that he had purposely spared the life of
his opponent. Mr.. John Rowan, Jr., who
was HowelPs second, and no friend of Mar
shall, thereupon remarked, 'It is singular,
Mr.. Marshall, that you cannot hit a man,
since you can hit a tree so easily" To this
sarcasm Marshall replied, ''If y0U were the
man, Mr.. Rowan, I should not have missed
YOU" Rowan responded, 81 will give you
an opportunity to try, Mr. Marshall" So a
duel was thereupon arranged, which was
likely to be much more serious than the first
as both parties were first-rate shots. In this
duel Marshall was wounded in the leg and
famed for life.
We quote the following from the paper or
''The Use of Dictionaries" by d. g.
Haskins:-
The word dollar is derived from the Ger
man thai, meaning valley. The little towr
of Joachimsthal (valley of Joachim), in the
heart of Bohemia, was the place in which the
Counts of Schlick, from the year 1917 tc
1926, coined pieces of about an ounce weight
and worth about 113 cents of our money
They were known in use as .jOachinasttdIer,
This word was afterwards reduced to Maler
and still later became Anglcized into dOIIar
The word taaodry, according to Richardson
is formed from Saint audrey "a con
traction of Ethelred), and ap
piled originally to laces and similar
articles sold at the fairs of st. Ethel
red, as the word BdrtIemy was applied to thu
fairs of st. Bartholomew.
Bumper is a well-known corruption of the
French words bon pere good father), mean
ing the Pope, whose health was Away
drunk by the monks after dinner, in full
glass.
Quandary is also supposed to have I
French origin, andto be contraction of Qu'el
. dirat.je? (What shall / say p, while the de
, rivation of chdnticleer from the same sourc
(chanter clair, to sing clear is almost to-
obvious to need to be pointed out
Maudtin, johnson says, els the corrup
appellation of MdgdaEen, who is drawn b.
painters with swollen eyes and disordere
looks"
!, The word 9rOg has very curious history
DIR. Worcester, quoting from ''Notes an
4 | OuariaS - oiveS thiS of EGOI5 4