Evening star., 1935-01-20

length being only 53 inches, or inches SfAOrter
than the Rives piece. while the caliber was
only 80. 1t was OF Tyron make. Both rifles
are now in the National Museum.
Nearly all duelS are said to have been fought
at Bladensburg, but this one was not, for 1t
took place near the Marlboro road just over the
District line, in Maryland. and the distance be-
tween the parties was about the length of an
ordinary city block
At the first fire both missed; at the second,
Cilley was mortally wounded. Cilley was a
hkable man and hence very popular. His
funeral took place from the House floor. with
crowd in attendance. The matter was taken
up in Congress and year later law was
placed on the statute book against duelling.
From that time on duelling became gradually
less. and today 1t Is a thing we seldom hear OF
in America.
The first paragraph of the law reads:
"If any person shall give or send or cause
to be given sent. to any person in the Dis
trict any challenge to fight a duel, or to en-
gage In single combat with any deadly or
dangerous instrument or weapon whatever, or
If any person in the District shall accept any
challenge to fight duel or TO engage in single
combat with any deadly or dangerous instru-
ment or weapon whatever, or shall be the
bearer Of any such challenge. every person SO
giving or sending, or causing to be given or
sent, or accepting such challenge. or being the
bearer thereof, and every person aiding or
abetting in giving. sending or accepting such
challenge, shall be deemed guilty Of a high
crime and misdemeanor, and on conviction,
shall be punished by Imprisonment and con-
finement to hard labor in the penitentiary for
term not exceeding five years, in the dis
cretion Of the court"
The house In which Jonathan Cilley lived
still stands at 219 Third street northwest, and
here also resided such prominent men as Frank
lin Pierce James M Mason and Robert @.
winthrop, while members Of Congress.
JOHN c. RIVES was an unusual man, and
wrote an unusual biography of himself,
somewhat along facetious lines. It was pub
lished in the Globe OF June %, 1856. and reads
In part:
I'VE must admit, as charged a shaggy ex-
terror and very brusque Manners Well! We
are able to bear it all Who cares? We don't.
Nature compensated us-we believe In COM
pensati0n-for our lack of outside polish, by
putting good work inside.
THE time has been when We would have
been glad to be handsome; but we now see
that beauty would have materially injured IL
not entirely ruined If We had been hand
some we would have married while young and
would not have had a dollar wherewith to pur-
chase furniture; but, being as we were we
lived single until we had made money enough
to support a wife and take care OF any rea-
Sonable number of responsibilities that might
befall u.s. and then married a girl of IS. who
suited us to IT,, as she brought us no money
to throw up to us II we should happen to run
through ours, and hers, too; but everything
else necessary to render married life agreeable.
we now look back upon our contemporaries
who were handsome, and see them with wigs on
their heads, false teeth in their mouths and
paint and paste on their faces, to hide the
marks Of age while we defy the tooth of time
dreading none Of its effects, except decrepitude
and death.
I'VE are feet inches high, weigh 24O
pounds, when in good humor. which is usually
the case with us, but how much we weigh when
mad we do not know, never being weighed when
in that condition. are belligerent. though some
what bellicose in body too timid 70 attack
anybody. but not afraid Of being attacked by
any ore.
"NUR biographer gives us credit for financial
talent All our art in that line lies in
sticking to a good business, keeping but one
iron in the fire and living within an income
We plead not guilty to the charge that we now
coin money out of the Congressional Globe >
since we made the contract with Congress in
the year 1846, to publish its proceedings at
certain rate per session. they have increased
about one-third; the wages OF printers have
been raised 362s per cent the wages of re-
porters 1919 per cent, and the price of paper
about 16 per cent. and it is now very hard for
us to raise the wind