Bristol news. [volume] (Bristol, Va. & Tenn.) 1867-189?, 1877-06-19

0s | then ala, than 10 nave been COM
PEELED to drink that toast as he did and
stand paralized with conscious guiltun-
der it. At this juncture, rs if ncrved
by the bare recital of his treachery to
me, l wrenched the club from Major
Campbell, and called to the boy Har-
rison to see if any of my friends could
be notified, Major Campbell cried out
"LET's 60 BEN"
and sprang for the door as quickly as
ho could, followed by "Ben," and
followed with the captured club
Overtakiug DR.. Johnston at the door
l intercepted his retreat by q blow
with this same captured club, which
he saved his head from by timely
and upward motion of his arm. He
then whirled upon me and said
Nov, God damn you, | mean to shoot
you, and
get RID OF YOU,
II mean now to shoot your God damn
Ted heart out of you and finish you
Good damn you,n trying TO get mis-
pistol from his pocket. l clamped
him by the arms and prevented this,
but had not the strength to manage
him, for in the questionable adorn-
ments of brute force and base ingrati-
tude DR.. Johnston was far my superior.
But he had to abandon the pistol, and
then commenced choking me, saying,
you've got a man ahOld of you this
"time-yes, God damn you, you've
"got boss ahold of you, and 1 mean
Ito Kill you" L think it was at this
junCture that he "smote me under the
fifth rib" of the left side by blow
from his right fist, fracturing the
sixth rib and inflicting internal inju-
res, the extent of which l am not yet
able to speak of.
So this Centdur, according to his
own polished vernacular, this imam"
and "hOss," chOked me until Mr..
Childress and Mr.. Smith pushed him
off me. Major Campbell was some
distance away at the lower end of the
outside stairway. DIR. Johnston then
sprang down the steps and they fled
across the Tennessee side, but finding
no one on the street seemed to know
of it, they fastened to the Va. House,
mounted their horses and gallopped
out Of town with all the speed possible.
The concealed club with which Mai.
Campbell came armed had evidently
been huge cedar walking-stick, the
lower end having been cut of, so as to
leave the heavy end of it about "a to
26 inches in length. The knots were
numerous and had been cut so as to
leave them little swollen, as it were.
1t had been shortened. evidently for
the double purpose of hiding it under
his coat and beirg handled with more
ease and rapidity. It's dimensions
were about those ola policeman's club
] cannot say that | feel any resent
ment towards Maj. Campbell. He is
a miserable Boabdil-EI-Chico Il sor-
of Doodle Bug, digging his little Tit.
falls Of sand into which the unwary
foot had better never slip; used by
others to do the tufns and little chores
of the Ring, He has never amounted
to anything in the County more than
a Handy-Andy for emergencies con-
nected with the pot-liquor Of the pub
Ii. kitchen. ! never had any ill.feel-
ing for him. / have none now. He
was doubtless selected for this, as he
has been for other unworthy service
before, and has, no doubt, been sugar
ed and vanished with the idea that
he ought to show some sort OF fight.
Such being the case, it was natural lie
should make an unmanly and coward
ly execution of his artificial purpose.
If he had met me with anything like
instructive gentility, and allowed me
any chance whatever, instead of com
ing to my table with the prOflered
hand of friendship, just as he has,
time and again, extended it to me in
his own Masonic Lodge at Abingdon,
and had attempted to chastise me- l
should doubtless have been Inspired
with the first feeling of respected ever
awakened by any of his actions. AS
it is:
81 have no hate for him
"Thiugs, like him, mna sting and higher be-
ings suffer
1.-THE man who dies by the Adders fang
"May see the crawlor crushed
"But feels no resentment,
"For 1t is the worms nature.
That he had any idea that this was
n conspiracy to throttle an independ-
ent paper in the county, very much
doubt. 1 such an idea had been
planted in his head, much question
if it had ever been fertilized into any
thing like development The dog
that sneaks and bites some passer-by
in the calf of his leg is rarely inspired
by any nobler aim than the hope of
an additional crust from his master
/ had made no personal illusions to
him. l had carefully abstained from
such a thing. But it seems that he
tried this article on and decided that
it was no mean fit for him-that, as it
named the G, II. Ring, the use. of that
OuiOls pOpnOmpn WAS n DprgODal af-