Middletown transcript., 1871-02-25

through tho flap Of his offenders car--the
place the first mclon-sccd. snapped the
previous evening. had adroitly hit.
a month passed. Nothing moro had
been heard from the colonel IIe hud had
satisfaction for mn insult which. however
unprovoked, was thoughtlcss, and which
il was hoped he had forgiven. Not NO.
Another note, presented BY the same friend,
conveying in courteous phrase second
challenge. with another Of those nccurscd
melon seeds, arrived, with the coloncl's
apology on the score Of ill-hcalth for not
sending it before They met again This
time the fire was Simultaneous. The az
gressors shot failed. The colonel, on the
contrary. shattered with his ball the elbow
Of his antagonist.
This was terrible. The romance of cx-
quisitc skill was turned into n drama of
slaughter. The third mclon-sced was to
come, aud it was that which, aimed at the
breast of the unolfending stranger, had
struck, amid cheers Of derisive laughter.
directly above his heart What instructor
ever taught good behavior like this? Z? The
note arrived ut last, II contained the
melon-sccl, but no challenge.
" And what sir" asked the young man
Of the messenger, lam | to understand by
thi, y
You will understand sir, that my
friend forgivcs you. lie IL dead ~
have said that according to tho code,
no man who does apologize fer intention.
ally insulting another oan refuse to fight.
This is one thing. But did the code, as
Sam johnson said ia his ingenious argu.
meut n, General Oglclhorp's ,ablc--dii
the code danish from from society man
who put up with an nfIron, without fight
ing duel! = Tha, it professed to do 50,
is true. Tha, i, did a,tcmp, 10 do is with
out doubt. But during the prcscn, ccn-
,ury, whether in this country or in Eng
lamp, that it has ever succeeded in doing
so is doubtful. Take for example, the
ease OF General jackson, when l.icutcn-
ant Randolph pulled his nosc---,lid the
former lose caste by refusing to challenge
the latter? Or Josiah Quincy, for de-
cllueug to accept the challcuge of South
crn llotspur? Was Judge Thatcher. Of
Maine, irss respected for his quaint an
swer to his challenger, that he would
talk to Mrs. Thatcher about it aud be
guided by her opinion " Or .Indgc Brecl
cnrilgc, who, when positively declining
70 accept chal!chg told the challenger
that he might draw his tthe Judges iig-
urc on board, and fire at it n near and
as often us he pleased, aud that if he bit
il, upon certificate of the fact, he should
have the credit Of it.
Passing over ,hrse rather exceptional
eases however, woGl either Mr. paull or
Sir Francis Burdcti. who fought II duel
together ahought the Westminster election
in lSUI have been hani,lIed from good sn-
cicty hal one or the other refused to ight?
Or lad cbaaiJg declined Lord Castle
rragh's challenge. in 1919: or O'Conncll
Mr. d h>,crcs, in l5l5; or Grattnn thr
Earl Of Clarc's. IN ls2D: or Wellington
the E,rl of Winrhclseas, in 1920 or
l,orbuck Mr HACKS. in 1850 or tht
Earl of Cardigan Mr.. Tufkrt,'s, in 1910
would the same result have followed?
Or 10 come back to our own country.
how abou, Alcxgner Hamilton. had he
declined the callcngr OF Aaron Burr -
The former, was the aggressor. They had
been rivals. Before they met there was
between them deadly hostility That
Hamilton did not IN an 10 fire at Burr.
and that Burr did not neag 10 kill liamil
ton, does not alter the previous fact tha,
llamilton had put Burr III the position 10
be considered coward il he fnreborr To
challenge his opponent. How, then, when
the alternative was shifted when Burr.
by sending a ehailcng,. had put llamil-
ton in the position 20 accept, or be con-
sidercd coward In that day of politi-
teal halrcls. would Hamilton have eseap-
cd that which he feared more than death,
had he declined TO fight? Would his
transccnlcnt abilities. or distinguished
civil services, or loyalty CT military re-
nown, or social position, have saved his
good name!
The brutal murder of cillcy, of Mninc.
by Graves, Of Kentucky. is not relevant.
A congressional committee, indeed dcci-
dca that everything had been fairly trans
acted according to tho code. but then the
motives Of tho principals are not apparent.
nor Graves had ill-frelng the one for the
other. On the field. where rifles were
tho weapons, aud deadly aim the necessi-
", they two, had neither been wounded,
nigh, have hob.nobhed the moment af-
tcrward without grudge or even passing
irritation. They fought because Cilley
declined to say that his refusal 10 receive
a note froIi James Watson Webb was no
reflection upon Webb's character Cilley
rcxonerated Graves. But he would 90 no
Iurthes. and hence the challenge from
Graves. II would have been tho mos,
absurd Of duels but for its tragical end.
There was no occasion for il. Neither ol
the principals would have suffered in char
meter had hc declined tho contest, even Al
the last moment Cilley would have lost
no position had be refused 10 fight, NOT
would Graves have violat cd the code had
hc withdrawn his challenge.
Tho same is equally truc in regard to