Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-06-19
THE DUEL.
A Story Of Its Far.IIsachlng Effects
on Two Virginia FPm"ies.
Lippincott's Magazine.l

Lippincett's Magazine.l
In 1915, Armistead II.
Mason, of Loudon county, Va, en-
tered the senate of the United
States-young, handsome, gifted,
wealthy, with all his family pres
tige about him. He was also quick
to anger and rather overbearing.
When in the senate | believe he
was the youngest member of that
body. His father had been a United
States senator before him, and was
a nephew of the illustrious George
Mason just mentioned.
The McCartys were related, re.
motely in blood, and closely in
marriage, to the Masons, the sister
of this Armistead Z. Mason having
married William McCarty, after.
ward a member of the house of rep
resentatiyes. In 1919, when Mason
had been about four years in the
senate, and when he was not much
over thirty years old, there arose
between him and John M. McOarty,
the brother of William, some diff
Guilty Of a political nature, which
became more and more embittered
by the influence of injudicious
friends, until the usual result of
such difficulties" in those days
was reached.
Mason had a young and devoted
wife, with one child, a pretty little
boy but a few months old. Their
home was called Selma, in the
county of Loudon. John NJ. Nc.
Carly was brilliant young lawyer
of the same county, and he was
soon to be married to the lovely
Lucinda Lee. When about to start
for the Z" field of honor" Mason
persuaded his unsuspecting wife to
go on a visit to his mother, who
lived at the old Mason homestead,
Raspberry Plain, a few miles dis.
tant. All were in total ignorance
of his intentions. He left with his
physician letter directed to my
mother, asking her, in case of his
dcath, to go to his wife and COM
fort her.
They fought at Bladensburg,
Mason fell at the first fire, and never
spoke again. The old physician
and my mother hastened to his
young widow and darling boy, and
had the hard task of telling first
the dreadful news, and transform
ing a world which held nothing but
beauty and happiness for them into
dreary desert, scarce better than
the grave. Weeks passed, so over
whelming was her grief, before it
became certain that she would re-
gain her senses. Scarcely less
heartrending was the sorrow that
bowed down the dead senator's
fond neither.
In the meantime McOarty had
written to Miss Lee, relating what
he had done, giving her a week for
reflection, and asking her to tell
him at the end of that time whether
she would marry him after what
had happened. She related to me,
long afterward, the agony of that
week-how she knelt in despair at
her mothers feet and asked her to
decide, how the old lady could only
advise her to follow her own heart;
how at last she sent note to her
lover inviting him to call. Their
meeting she did not describe, but it
was said that, sitting at the instru-
ment as he entered, she sang the
words
dear; -
Though tho herd has flown from thee, Thy
homo is still here,
know not, | ask not. II guile's in thy heart I;
but know that love thee. whatever thou
artp
After their marriage they settled
in Leesburg, near Selma.
The young widow Of Mason at
length asked to go back to Selma,
the scene Of her short welded life.
Not anticipating what was to fol-
low, her attendants carried her into