The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1900-09-13
4 Memory
Of the Code. n
How an ex-Confederate and a
Brilliant Young Lawyer Fought
a Duel In Richmond Shortly
After the Civil War.
ooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Ded.-At ms nome In Richmond, Va, May 2oi
1900, Captain Page Mccarthy, aged 81 years
General Robert Il. Lee had surren-
dered. The Confederacy had fallen.
Thousands of young southrons had
come from the war TO find their homes
In ruins and their fortunes lost. Moth
ing but the land remained, and many
of them settled down when the FIRST
shock Of defeat was still fresh to plant
cotton and tobacco Proud young men,
the product Of the chlvalry of the old
south, who had never done n stroke of
work, they lived tor time the life of
field hands. They got up with the sun,
hitched the only remaining mule TO the
rusty plow ana worked hard I'm the
fields all day. In the Intensity of the
labor they were able to forget the bit
terness Of their lot
Meanwhile Itlchmond, the old capital
of the lost cause" became more than
ever the social center of the south.
outside of New Orleans Richmond was
the largest of southern cities. TO 1t
had gone most of the few old planters
who had managed to save a part at
least of their fortunes Naturally the
more ambitious and enterprising Of the
younger generation gravitated IN the
same direction.
Two years after Lee issued that last
sad farewell TO the remnant of his
shattered army Richmond was gny
and bustllng city. Half the great fam
ilies Of the old south were represented
nd Ga,
tempt was made TO carry on the stately
and splendid social life which the war
had ended forever Big clubs were
opened, and gambling and drinking,
both fostered by the excitement and
temptation Of army life, so recently
over, ran high. The mansions Of the
Richmond gentry We're the scenes Of
nightly hospitality, and each weel, the
fashionables drove IN their coaches 60
a ball
Gradually the young men who had
gone home to their plantations from
the war gave up the fight with nature,
and one after the other gathered to-
gether the little remnant of their for
tunes and came TO Richmond to prac-
tice law or attempt to earn II living
In some other way Hundreds OF
young men, dependent on their own
resources for the first time, and all
Of them of the highest social standing,
added to the excitement and gayety Of
the Virginia capital.
Among the fashionable beaus of Rich
mond nj the time was Captain Page
Mccarthy, then a man Of 20 and
descendant of famous Fairfax coun-
ty family. His father had served sew
eral terms in congress and had met
and killed his man according TO the
regulations of the code of honor All
over the south an appeal TO the code
had always been the first resort of an
insulted gentleman and now, since
the four years OF war had taught these
defeated soldiers how cheap is human
/ life, duels were more common than
ever.
The belle of Richmond during this
/ period of unrest and excitement was
Mary Trlplett Half the young men
in Richmond were in love with her and
there was great rivalry among them
al for the slightest favor from her
hand She was the nightly toast and
ut the weekly ball reigned supreme.
One of the most fervent of her ad-
mirers was Captain Page Mccarthy.
Miss Mary, however, did not favor the
captain, and finally n quarrel arose
between them, as a result of which
they passed each other on the street
without speaking.
nf at.tin
happened that Mary Trlplett was plac-
ed In the formation of some figure
directly opposite Captain Mccarthy.
She could not refuse to dance with him
without creating scene, 50 she walk
cd through the figure with great cool
ness and dignity only so far recog-
nizing the captains existence as was
necessary under the circumstances.
Already Captain Mccarthy was an.
CRY, but this treatment made him
furious. He left the ballroom few
minutes later In the next issue of a
Richmond paper there appeared n
little poem Of perhaps six stanzas,
which set all Richmond in fever Of
excitement. -Four of the lines were as
follows
When Marys queenly form press
/ IN Strauss latest waltz
might as well her lips carcss
Although those lips be false
The poem was entitled ''To Mary"
and, though everybody recognized the
application OF the lines and was moral
ly certain that Mccarthy bad written
them, nobody had any proof that he
was the author.
Half of the beaus of Richmond start.
ed out TO run down the man who had
written and printed the cowardly lines,
determined 10 call him to account on
the field of honor Among them was
John Mordecai, u newcomer TO Rich
mond and young lawyer Of great
brlliancy and learning. Mordecai
made It his business TO visit all the
clubs frequented by Captain Nc
Carthy and In the presence Of the fire
eating captain and other club members
TO forcibly express his opinion Of the
coward and cad, whoever he may be-"
who wrote the offensive lines.
Finally Mccarthy turned TO Morde-
cal, with whom he had been on init
mate terms, ana said, with threaten
ing manner,'"I wrote those verses, Mr..