Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-05-17

Grammercy Park Hotel, in order to IN
troduce him to the customs of the great
American people, and said that the only
part he desired me to take in it was to
be sure that Lee should be on hand at
the appointed hour, which was noon Of
the following Sunday. To this |
agreed. knew, of course, that some
sort of joke was to be perpetrated upon
Miss Nelson's husband, but l pledge
my word that I was not fully let into
the secret, and was not advised of the
programme. At the designated time l
escorted Lee to the banquet room, which
was on the first floor in the rear Of the
hotel Office. I found out afterward
that by special arrangement with Mr..
Judson. the proprietor, the doors and
windows had been we'll padded and COW
cred so that NO noise from within could
reach beyond them. The apartments
were lighted with wax candles. Those
assembled were John Mccullough, Har-
~ Montague, ]. S. Polk, Charles Gay
Tor, all of whom had achieved fame upon
the stage; Dan Bryant and Nelson Sey-
mOur, the most famous negro minstrels
of their day; Commodore Dickson, Of
the New York Yacht Club: George
Brown, of the chop house which bore
his name: a gentleman named Cooper,
and. of course, Sothern, Lee and my
self. None other than these was pres
ent." u
Think of how few of that jovial party
are lett to-day! Florence, Mccullough,
Montague, Sothern, Lee, Seymour, Bry-
ant, Brown and Cooper all are dead; the
only survivors Of that occasion are DOS
sibly Polk, Gaylor, Dickinson, and they
may have passed away.
"The oysters had been disposed Of"
continued Florence, "and the soup had
just been placed on the table, when
Charley Gaylor arose, and, in very i'm
presSive tones, spoke about as follows:
Gentlemen. I think this is a most aus
picious occasion TO bring about peace
between two who. while strangers, were
once devoted friends. ! do not think
that rancor could exist in any heart at
a gathering Of this kind. To be sure it
may i'll become me to act the part of a
peacemaker, for, while it is true that l
have shed human blood, that my right
hand has been red with the gore of an
other, it must also be borne in mind
that I was triumphantly acquitted OF
the offense and that jury Of my peers
said that 1 had acted only in self-de-
Tense
you can readily imagine that this
took the breath out Of my friend Lee,
who had been seated upon my left. He
whispered to me: What has he done?
Did he kill anyOne?' I looked at him
warningly and put finger on my lips
as l whispered back 'S-h-h-I 1t was
nothing; only his mother / heard him
mutter, My God as he shrunk in his
chair. and he leaned toward me and
whispered OF whom is he speaking?'
AS l didn't know myself. I couldn't well
tell him, but I warded him off by saying:
You will learn ii all in a moment. His
words might apply to any two men
about he board, because every fellow
here has killed his man
Just then Gaylor threw light upon
the subject by saying, as he pointed
with one hand toward that clever negro
minstrel, Dan Brant, and the other to-
ward that equally famous deineator of
cork humor, Nelse Seymour, of course.
gentlemen, it is hardly necessary for
me to say that l refer to Americas
most famous poet, William Cullen Bry-
ant, and that equally distinguished GEN
tleman, NJ Seymour, the son Of the tai
ented Ex-Governor Of the State of New
York, Horatio Seymour, and | now re-
quest that these two gentlemen shake
hands across the table and let the
bloody feud which has existed between
them end here
q had scarcely time to give an affirm
alive reply to Lees whispered inquiry,
Is that really William Cullen Bryant?'
when there ensuad the most remarkable
scene which l ever witnessed in my
life I cannot, even after many years
have elapsed, think of it without the
tears of laughter coming to my eyes
Seymour was man over six feet in
height and with legs the length of
which were absurdly out of proportion
TO the rest of his body. He appeared
to be split up almost to his neck. One
of his most famous feats upon the min
strel stage was suddenly TO throw one
Of his feet about a mans neck and draw
the other fellow toward him. Upon
this occasion Bryant, in obedience to
Gaylor's summons, had reached forth
his right hand, when Seymour suddenly
threw that dreadful right leg of his
across the table, caught his friend and
fellow minstrel by the back of the neck
drew him toward him and hit him
sQuarely between the eyes. In another
instant both men were on top of the
table amid the soup dishes. and were
snarling and biting and tearing at one
another like pair of bulldogs. Cooper
and Dickinson, who were not in the
secret. became so alarmed that they
got under the table. while I only could
hold Lee in his chair by main force
In the midst of the contest the table
upset and the poor Englishman was al
most drowned in soup. While Bryant
and Seymour were making a mockery
of struggling beneath the debris, Sey-
mour, by wetting the fingers of one
hand, secured a quantity of backing
from one of his shoes, and with this
gave himself the semblance of a black
eve. When some appearance of order
had been obtained a truce was patched
I'D between the contestants, and, after
Seymours blackened eye had been
bandaged, they were induced 10 shake
hands, whereupon the other members
of the. company. who were in the Sc
cret. exclaimed admiringly. Once a
gentleman, always a gentleman and
declared that a true American gentle
l. e.-1l /