New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1912-06-26
THE. FIehT.
Sssatsefa X scGgsA1s3s tAajas- s. y.
nun,or PROVED u's vIotof n The
Dusi It u,s Spout.

a Ouot q No Spout.
AIALE Of OLD TIME POLITICS
cslensi Fitzhvsh's chivsiry u ossrins
Dsth Nfhiss and osmssrats Wsa Him
. Challenge and the vvsapsns He %.
lsetsd Avsrtsd ths Meeting.
In book long out Of print ! con.
trtbutor to the New York Sum has
found tale Of old Maryland politics
which shows th1t, the knight Of La
Mancha to, the contrary notwith-
standing. an almost exuavagant ideal
OF chivalrous conduct II not incompat.
ible with a keen sense of humor.
Colonel Fitzhugh Of Calvert county
was a pattern Of generosity and no.
bility Of character. He was once
candidate for office. In those days it
was the custom for rival candidates to
stump the county together and speak
from the same platform.
On certain occasion Colonel Fitz-
hugh and his opponent were to speak
in joint debate. When the day came
his rival did not appear. The people
assembled and grew impatient. Final
~ Colonel Fitzhugh. taking out his
big watch and glancing at 1t. got up
and delivered his speech. In it he took
all the liberties that gentleman Of
the Democratic party might take with
Wing principles and closed amid pro-
longed cheers.
AS he was concluding he received
message that the rival candidate was
critically i'll. Colonel Fitzhugh looked
round for representative Of the Wing
party who might take the place Of the
sick man, but could not discover one.
Finally the colonel rose again with
the announcement, that he believed in
fair play. He said that as his oppo-
nent could not be there to reply to the
arguments that he himself had ad-
vanced and as there was nobody of
bis political faith to take his place
he would himself deliver a.speech for
the sick man. He added that he would
keep his watch open before him to see
that he gave just as much time to his
opponents cause as he had given to
his own.
He then began. If he had scored
the Wings he now scariied the Demo
Gratis. If the Wings had been men OF
broken promises. Of smirched reputa-
tons, tricksters and rogues. the Dem
ocrats were now liars. thieves and
murderers.
From the Wing point of view the
address was mastery. But among his
own partisans there were some who
refused to see that the colonel was do
ing anything chivalrous and who were
unable to appreciate the real humor OF
the situation.
One Democrat in particular, whose
name tradition has not handed down.
was much offended. The next morn
ing he sent his seconds to the colonel
with a challenge. AS no explanation
would satisfy him. the colonel reluc-
family named his seconds. who ac-
copied the challenge. The Spout-a
stream Of water that gushed from the
side of hill on st. Leonard's creek
was selected as the place of the duel.
The time appointed was the following
morning at o'clock.
When the challenger and his seconds
rode up to the Spout little before 3
o'clock they found the colonel and bis
seconds, but could see nothing that
looked like weapons of any kind. On
the beach near the Spout. however.
there was a big iron kettle steaming
away over q 6re that was being indus
triously fed with cordwood BY two Of
the colonel's darkies.
where are the weapons? demand
Cd one Of the challenger's seconds.
Colonel Fitzhugh, as the challenged
party. has the right to select the weap-
ons," was the reply. 'They win b
produced at the proper time"
When the seconds agreed that the
time for tho duel had come Colonel
approached the pot, holding
his hands behind him. The challenger.
In turn. demanded to know
what the weapons were to be.
''Nr. Blank" said the colonel. sthe
u in the pot The weap-
ons are behind my back. THIS pot
contains boiling pea soup. Herr afe
two ladies'. propose to give you one
Of them. and l will keep the other.
propose that you take your stand on
the other side Of the pot and that We
ding hot pea soup at each other until
one or the other has had enough"
But this IL ridiculous, DIR. ridlcu-
lousr' exclaimed the other.
mot more ridiculous, sir" gently re-
Colonel Fitzhugh. "than
your quarrel with me!'
The other saw the point, and they
shook hands.
Father Was Neglected.