, 1872-12-27

luctiou into England is comparatl%s " leecAt
tian civilization has been the gcin niorg ~ Ea.md
observance OF the Christmas ftns1t1es IN Ene.anu.
Tho Christmaa-tree sheds its 1euo~ ,nao d
moro quiet but not less enjoyate scene. Nnutenes
home sanctuaries robo themsee N etesefeen 10y
ivy, and laurel. Generous rons OF oeeI ana oaeso a.
;eweed bands. wLc The Cristnas bells atill ring ou
their silyerv chimes on the:rlsp morning alr ooyoy
and chee21ully. Nor is tere "anung Spns the1e
.twas brought the 1usty Drawn
By old blue ,155lnSS 5aoS nsn 91sn1od On birb
Crested Viii bays ad rosemary.
ar esss., s;;ss sGg sis .or
Tosav nothing ofhe roast beef and p1unn-pudding,
Christmas ries fu,oty, and snap-1ragons the fuie-
1oo and the mistleae have not finally abdlcatei while
boar head 1T we h III
and ia stil eryed up II great state at the Royal
Christmas table
congressional dignity may not be absolutely
good even 18th snapp on the floor, but IL mas i;I
Certainly noaing to fear by being compared with
that Of tli1y years ago. In those days, duels
between mmbers Of Congress were OF constant
occnrrancf and often there were hsticuf1s on
tho fioor, An old stager recounfs some OF the
MOST NOTED DIFFICULTIES
OF this nture:
noor cny lost his life The quarr'l Was political
one au Cilley sacrifice to th' IEucor OF party
strife There was no personal snirasity On tne par
Of tlolntagonists They fought with rifles, ut forty
naces. Cley was an expert SHOT with the ride while
Grave was wholly unused to the wepon. side wind
lowing fresh as the parties TOO net o, Inu
wasA bravo man, but he could not :ontrol ms nerves.
On he first fire his bail struck the ground not more
cGected, @ and at tho tnird shot dlley fe mortaily
xr11pded. Henry i. Wise accompanied Graves to the
3D. and General jones' Of Iowa. sas tne seeona oa ot
tan one shot, tho difficulty being 3eehnlcai ono only
out the fact IT, they went on the gound ted up oy an
agreement made BY the great eadss o. tho .%o pont u
liberty to deyiate. Their fatal mistake consisted N
Accepting the conditions By which tle combat was to
be cey died On the @ Dud 5 a aate was
n melancholy wreck, wasting AWAY te fenalnoe1 Oh
his life in remorse and misery. a.,
Personal collisions occasionally TOE place on tno
floor Of the House, but such quarts we're generaly
adjusted on the spot John Bell, aferWnfq secretary
Of War under General Harr1son truch nopA1ns -
Terry in tho face retort for anlnsu31g remark
Bvnu1n, Of North Carolina, had a'eraona1 encounter
With Rice Garland Of Louisans. tar!ana was large
and very powerful man, while By11m WAS OF d1unnu-
tive stature, but active and wiz Is sco.cn ,e''asr s
They clinchcd, and there are struggling anu
tmbbng about among the desk ana caalts, ou' 'nes
were separated before any in lur.~as 4uliietca. ~.
1yhen Wise and Stanley came bows there Sas the
greatest excitement in tho Houe, anu ior 10" Ino
ments general fight seemed i!mlnen,
presented some ludicrous fetures, notW1thstanqng Ing
the diggraceful and painful Character OF the Inc
Clerk q the House, st. Clair 1brk seized the speas
ers mace, and in loud voc. ar ad ennpP ,Iu over
the heads OF Intervening 1nemeis' ~ ~ T4;; 1ro1u
the combatnts. General Do'son Of Lots1ahn M M @ ure"
q bowie-knfe from sheath at hc back o. ms ngrS
and plunged into midst e r., row 3 !tns, Gensfn an2
Butler seized Arnold of Teuess@ by the throat anu
half srnged him. app' ~ At thi:
critical moment Dion Lewis 3f Missisarpi' @ mSI
Of aze "a at sasfngn gu " M
o,tor eIoe of t.o scmicircle the central door o
the LaIl. He ~ writing at his teak when the atfr']
,maoccd lid SO absorbed w9s he In what he val
a, ~ first stage Of tue :fray did not nttrac
o.; 49, s.sion noise, basle, and confusion being Ut
na ce "Snon things in the House. Hearing yociferou
anation ho rose to his feet, mud seeing Butler ant
rnod in desperate struggle, Ee called out What
tlis2" and making his way through the throg by slu
momentum Of his great weight, he graepcd the com
~ mother might separate two contepling children
He inquired, What the devil is all this abont?" Tin
effect WIS electrical, and quiet WIS rcatortd.
In the second session Of the Twenty-eghth Coz
grcss ARRAY occurred between cS-SpeaSsr Whit
and George Rathbun. member from the Cayuga Di-
trict, New York. They wero both active, Musculr
men, full Of spirit, md blows were being rapidly
changed, when a pistol was fred ut door-kee1rr
outside the han by m insane man, vino trying u
force his way into tho House There was immcnse e.
ccnleut in the House and throughout the Capitol tie
runor flying about that member had been shot, all
taincl that Rathbln White had fred tho pistol.
The Q,arre was not prosecuted aftcrward.
Forty a:d even thirty years ago, personal altc1ca-
cations often took place in Congress between Northern
and Southern members, having their origin In Sec
tioual esagr :meus. There alwaysa class Of
in the House from tho South who sought to make
reputation with uaer constituents BY pittiug thc1,1-
selves against Northern members, whose principles
and education made aueng rcpugnant to their feel
ings It was cheap Method Ut gaining distinction,
wholly unworthy Of men of truo chivalry Occasion.
ally these men ran against Lg-sprited Northern men
o a1a 10 m to rs
Of that kind the re-eaers Ware often signal,
tias of r i sonSoa rs taat da5ng s
red i'll the Senate between General sam
ucl Smith, Of Maryland and MIR. Lloyd Of M:ssachu
B.tt the result Of which gave much satisfaction tht
North General Smith known fighting 1ua1. {
brave soldier who had rendered important seryice
the Of 1872. He WAS lnrsc imposing figure Of
the dictatorial and oycrbcaring. Mr.. Lloyd, on th
contrary, small i'll stature, delicate, md a1rnoa
ccminate in appearance. dressing always in elegn1.
eylc, aud locking like couzticr Of the days Of Lou
XIV. In tue course Of discussion, Mr.. Lloyd had cor
trovertc with sharpness and great effect certain
statements and arguments Of General Smith. loeica
reply suitable to the did not the Seuntor
so. instead Of reafrming his facts and attempting tt
confue the reasoning of Mr. Lloyd, he tried the eiec
Of little personal intimidation.
A1r. President" said he in the tone Oft schoo1mas
ter lerturng his pupils, gentlemen coming from
ton Of te country where the doctrine Of personal
sIonsiIit3 is not recognized ought to bo special,
cautious in tho language they toward gentlemen j,
this Chamber. IF their principles or tho senti
ncnts Of their constituents prevent Them from givuI
satisfaction for words not properly chosen they should
take care not to wound the feelings Of Senators VIII
we're educated in a different school,"
the Senate in the absence Of the Vice President ant
he, knowing the stuff Of which Mr.. Lloyd was n}ade
smiled quite Significantly rs General Smith took hi
scat. On the part Of Senators generally there
expression Of lively interest as Mr Lloyd rose to reply
He spoke In low voice, aud i'll tone mild If Ii
! wero inviting lady to take . turn in waltz.
'Mr. President, am not acquainted with tho eenti
| ments Of my State upon what the Senator calls til
doctrine Of personal responsibility. recognize thi
doctrine to Its fullest extent, and prepared to
held responsible in any way for every word utter
this floor. Furthermore, Sir In order to prevent an
Maryland to know that / shall hold him reapousinl
for every word he speaks derogatory to my characte
| or injurious to my feelings"
General Smith made rejoinder, mud the durr
passed. but it observed thereafter that there WIS
studied courtesy IN the bearing Of all the hrc-e.tcr
toward Mr. Lloyd.
1S THE EDITORS EASY CHAIR"
A1r. Wilson Flaggs "Woods and By-Ways O
New England " IS pronounced ono Of the NOS
delightful of recent books. AIr. Curtis is dis
posed to defend M[r. Froude against his critics
and particularly Father Burke, whose lecture
are called " stump-speechcs." Says the ''Eas,
Chair
AS for Irish nationality, 1t s enough to Eay that
mover cxisted tho country conquered before thcr
any such sentiment as that which we mean bv til
word nationality. This is not justification OF ap
thing but statement Of fact It disposes of the plt
Of i conquered nationality. Father Burke indeed
in his lecture upon ireland in its ruins