Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-10-14

and frivolous items, and stigmatizins him
as unworthy the naval service of this re-
public and an unfit associate for those sons
Of chivalry. integrity and honor who adorn
the navy"
Lieut.. Randolph was then but little over
thirty years old. of an impulsive but fear
less disposition and high-strung tempera-
ment. Smarting under the disgrace and
what he considered the injustice Of his dis
missal, he spread the facts in the news
cauon OF his honor, and then proceeded to
blde his time for VENGEANCE. On May s.
1853. the opportunity desired presented it
self. President jackson, accompanied by a
party Of friends, embarked on the steam
boat Sydney at Washington to 60 down to
Fredericksburg and deliver an address and
oficfate in laying the corner stone Of the
monument to Mary Washington, mother OF
the first President. At noon the boat
stopped for few minutes at the King
street wharf, Alexandria. and an impromptu
levee was held on board. Randolph. dressed
In citizens clothes, placed himself In the
line Of people gathered In front Of the Pres
ident paying their respects, and when his
turn came, so Mr. Major related with dra-
matte power. he stepped forward and said:
My name Is Lieut.. Randolph. / will take
the liberty Of pulling your nose!'
With that he reached forth his hand and
gave his wrist a sudden twist within a
hairs breadth of the Presidents nasal
organ. According to Mr.. Majors narrative,
this action was pure pantomime, so skill
fully executed as to lead any casual witness.
especially If standing in front or behind. to
believe that the presidential nose had really
been tweaked.
A Most Exciting Scene.
Instantly there was a great hubbub, and
score Of bystanders struck at the Presidents
assailant, while the President himself, in
excitement and evaporation, exclaimed:
Let me get at him! Let me get at him.
and began to lay around him right and left
with his big umbrella, which he happened
TO nave with him. Meanwhile his friends
surged round him to prevent another at
tack. while the irate old warrior continued
his effort to press through the crush in
order to get a whack at his antagonist.
Make way! By the Eternal. make way"
ne cried. Let no man stand between me
way"
But Randolph, hatless and somewhat the
worse for the pulling and hauling he had
received, managed to escape in the scrim-
mage mage; ana there the incident closed in
deeds, though not In words. He made his
way In safety to the woods on Shooters
Hill. Va, and kept hidden for some days.
But IN the course of week he appeared at
Fredericksburg, and secured boarding with
John Major and other young men Of the
place at house on Main street. He re-
NAMED In Fredericksburg undisturbed
throughout the following summer, and
during that period gave Major his utmost
confidence. and the two were fast friends.
IT is true an attempt was made to arrest
him Immediately after the woodworking
pantomime. and the marshal Of the District
or Columbia-which then included the town
OF Observation-Disclosures for him all night,
armed with a bench warrant for his appre-
hension. But the chase was abandoned the
next day, the President magnanimously
intimating that he had no desire to prose-
cute, and no further official action was
taken, except that town meeting in Alex
andria that evening. with Bernard Hooe.
lutions expressing the public indignation
and denouncing the outrage committed on
the President.
1t Was Not Really Pulled.
Mr. Major at Huntington said that his
father. John Major, ST.. then a merchant
Of Alexandria and an ardent admirer of
jackson. was on board the Sydney at the
time and witnessed the encounter. He
stood at Jackson's side and had a good
view OF his profile, and he always declared
emphatically that Jackson's nose was not
pulled, but that Randolph merely went
through the motions Of pulling 1t.
Said Mr.. Major further: During my
close Intimacy with Lieut.. Randolph he re-
peatedly recounted to me all the circum-
stances OF the affair. and he would invari-
ably wind up by assuring me solemnly that
he did not touch the Presidents nose, al
though he tried to and wished he had sue
ceeded. as he considered it rank injustice
on the Presidents part to hold him re-
sponstble for stores he had never seen and
to asperse his personal honor in the way
he did. The assault, he said. was COM
United solely as an indignity, not with any
desire to infiict physical injury. I myself
saw the President the night he arrived at
Fredericksburg. after the assault at noon,
and our Rifle Grays received him with O
salute and escorted him to headquarters.
Again on the next day 1 stood beside him as
one Of the guard about his person during
the public dinner at Fredericksburg, and
at neither Of these times, although looked
carefully. could I perceive on his counte-
| nance the slightest scratch or abrasion or
trace Of violence. which certainly would
have been apparent If his nose had really
been pulled"
Heretofore, like Banquos ghost, the ques-
ton would not down. But this new evil
depce from contemporary. commencing
| itself as 1t does to credence for many rea-
| sons, may happily prove an effectual quiet
US and justify the declaration. once for ALL
| that President Jackson's nose was not
| fyo kaA