Newspaper Page Text
SOUTHERN BANNER: JUNE 25, SS7S.
THE DUEL.
A STORY AND ITS FAR REACHING EF'
FECTS ON TWO VIRGINIA FAMILIES.
[From Lippincott’s Magazine.]
In 1815, Annistfea-l T. Mason, of
Loudon county, Ya., entered tlie
Senate of the United States—young,
handsome, rafted, wealtliy, with all
his liimily prestige about h’.in. lie
was also quick to anger and rather
overbear ing. When in the Senate I
believe ite was the youngest member
of tiie body. His father had been
a United States Senator betore hi m,
and was a nephew of the illustrious’
Georg Mason just .ncntionert.
Tlie McCartys wore related, ie-
inotely in blood and closely by mar
riage, to the Masons, the sister of
this Armistead T. Mason having
mairied William Mcfhirty, afterward
a meinber of the House of liepre*
senlativcs. In 1819, when Mason
had been about four years in tlie
Senate, and when lie was not much
over 89 years old, there arose be
tween him and John M. McCarty,
the brother of William, some diffi
culty of a political nature, which be
came more and more embittered by
tlie influence of injudicious friends,
until the usual result of such “diffi
culties” in those days was reached.
Mason had a young and devoted
wife, with one child, a pretty little
hoy Inti a few months old. Their
home was called ^elnro, ia the county
ot L oudon. John M. McCarty was
a brilliant young lawyer of the same
county, and he was soon to be mar
ried to the lovely Lucinda Lee.
When about to start for the “ field
of honor” Mason persuaded his un
suspecting wife to go on a visit to his
mother, who lived at the old Mason
homestead, Raspberry Plain, a few
miles distant. All were in total ig
norance ut his intentions. lie left
with his physician a letter directed to
my mother, asking her, in case of
death, to go to Ins wife and comfort
her.
They fought at Bladensburg. • Ma
son fell at the first fire, and never
spoke again. The old physician and
my mother hastened to his young
widow and darling little boy, and
had tlie hard task of telling first the
dreadful news, and tTansfortning k a
world which held nothing but beauty
and happiness for them into a dreary
desert, scarce better than the grave.
Weeks passed, so overwhelming was
Iter grief, before it became certain
that she would regain her senses.
Scarcely less heart-rending was the
sorrow that bowed down the dead
Senator’s fond mother.
In the meantime McCarty had
written to Miss Lee, relating what
lie had done, giving her a week for
reflection, and asking her to tell him
at tlie end of that time whether she
could marry him after what had hap
pened. She related to me, long af
terward, the agony of that week—
how she knelt in despair at her
mother’s feet and asked her to decide;
liow the old lady could only advise
her to follow her own heart; how at
last she sent a note to her lover in*
viting him to call. Their meeting
she did not describe, but it was said
that sitting at the instrument as he
entered she sang the words—
“ Come rest in this bosom my own
stricken deer;
'’Though the herd* has flown from
tliee, thy home is still here.
I know not, I aslc not, if guile’s in
that heart; I but know that I love
thee, whatever thou art!”
After their marriage they settled
in Leesburg, near Selina.
The young widow of Mason at
length asked to go back to Selma,
t^e scene of her short wedded life.
Not anticipating what was to follow,
bar attendants carried'her into tlie
wide hall. There, raising her eyes,
they fell upon the hat and coat,
hanging just as he had left them,
which her husband had on when she
saw him last. She covered her lace,
and with a shriek begged to be taken
loathe rear rooms of the house. There
she remained. For twenty years
she did not enter the front part of
the building. The rooms there,
opening from the dreaded hall, were
kept in perfect order and guests oc
cupied them as usual. But on the
day when her bo)—the lisping infant
when iiis father fell—became 21 years
of age, she invited all his blood rela
tions to dinner. I was one of tlie
number. We were all sitting in the
library, toward the rear of the house,
when the door was thrown open and
the gray old butler bowed his an*
nouncement. Without any intimation
of breaking the habit of twenty
years, Mrs. Mason promptly arose—
a frail, fair woman of 40—and, ta
king tlie arm of her son, walked
directly into the front hall and tbeuce
to the dinner-room, as of old. Our
surprise was great, but no word in
dicating that this was unusual escap
ed her or any of the parly. The
spell was broken, and she shunned
the ball uaiuore. —
From the date of the duel, even on
her deathbed, she never mentioned
the name of her dead husband. Her
boy grew up with the knowledge
and feeling that an unspeakable
shadow rested on the house, concern
ing which, however heavily it might
press upon their souls, he must for
bear to question even his mother. I
was the first to tell him alter he had
reached manhood all he wishes to
know concerning his father’s death.
This son, Stevens Mason, was a
true hearted young man, but with
little knowledge of the world. With
a private tutor, with servants to an.-
ticipate every wish, with a stricken
mother to idolize him, he missed till
too late certain necessary lessons in
life which these coulu never give
him. He could not refuse to endorse
a note for a friend, and Iiis mother
could not refuse to join him in what
ever he put his name to. For one
moment the shadows on Iiis pathway
seemed to lift, but only to settle
more heavily about bis way. He
married a young lady who seemed
worthy of him, who was a belle and
a beauty, He brought her to Selma,
where as they fondly hoped, bright
ness and happiness were to reign
once more. . But his mother, wliile
outwardly fulfilling every obligation,
did not receive her as a mother
should, greeting her with but a for
mal offering of the hand instead of
the expected .embrace anti kiss of
welcome as she crossed the threshold.
It was doubtless because her shatter
ed life had made her own affection
for him too selfish, and she did not
wish him to *narry any one. Fol--
lowing closely the first shock of
disappointment to her joyous. young
heart came a sudden fever, and in
three months from her arrival poor
Stevens laid his bride beside lus
murdered father. : <«j ; j>
Their, fine estate, with all that,
pertained to it, already melting from
their hand, was soou possessed l»y
strangers, Mrs. Mason did not long
survive tlie loss of Selina. Although
a wife had never loved her husband
better, yes she not only refused to
speak his namu from the day of the
d\iel, but requested that her own
remains should not be burned at
Lbesburg, and that no mark should
be placed above her grave wherever
it might be. She lies in the Con
gressional Cemetery at Washington,
with only the earth and grass above
her. Then came the war with Mexi
co. Her son for 4 little time had the
opportunity to forget his troubles
under military excitement. Ho was
mortally wounded by a cannon shot
—I think it was at Monterey—and
died, a captain of rifles, in the arms
of his lieutenant, one of the Rhetts
of South Carolina. It was an im
pressive day in Loudon when the
body of young Mason was received
from Mexico and laid in the shade
of the old church beside his father
and his brides All the people as
sembled and made a public ftmeral
lot'him. One of the arrangements
was that oMy* the blood relations
should pass within a certain railing
close' hbdu^the family grhves, and I
weH remember that although a
goodly company had followed him to
dinner wbteir' he was 11, where the
same relationship‘Was exacted; 1 and
although be was but about 27 at this
death, yet only three were there—
tw-T besides myself—to enter the
narrow indo6ure. So family and
But not even here endeiLtho effects
of that pistol shot at Bladensburg.
McCarty, the other principal in the
duel, also had an only son, very
promising, iu whom he took great
pride. Though living but a,few
miles apart, the two families never
renewed their acquaintance or spoke
of each other. There was^ mutual-
avoidance—nothing more. Young
McCarty was a frequent sportsman,
but in all his gunning was never
known to set his foot on auj 7 part ol
4he Mason estate, whatever the look
it might promise. One fatal day,
however,fin following tlie flight of
game, he mounted a finite dividing
the Mason property from another’s.
Attempting to load in tiiis position—
Iiis attention diverted, no doubt, by
the movements of-ihe birds or" the
dogs—lie let slip his gun, which ex*
ploded and sent the ramrod through
his head. He fell on the Mason side,
wuich lie had avoided all his life—
upon the ground which lie was to
press only in death. And to make
the dramatic situation complete,
bteveus Mason at that moment came
riding by, and the dying youth was
carried to Raspberry ITain.the blight
ed homestead «.*f the Masons, the
birth-place of the father’s victim,
and laid dead in the hall.
, /
fins was almost a death-blow to
tlie parents of young McCarty. Iiis
bereaved father, the slayer ot Senator
Mason, became erratic, and for much
of the time a wanderer. He would
leave his home without a word and
be gone for years, his own wife not
knowing where, and then whuld as
suddenly reappear, unkempt and
haggard, witli hair long on his
shoulders, and beard descending to
his waist.
After all this the old Mason house
at Raspberry Plain stood shut up amj
empty for years. In diio time, of
course, it became “ haunted,’’ and,
as might have been expected, a pis
tol shot was sometimes heard there
at night by veracious pas-ers by.
But at length it pissed into eaicful
though stranger hands, :mdj£Ws'—
with Selina also—oil je more the seen
of prosperity and happiness.
BLACKSMITHING
—AT—
OUR NEW BRICK SHOP
—AT THE—
Corner Clayton And Jackson Sts.
First-Class Horse-Shoeing.
A Specialty, by the best Slioer in Georgia.
GunsniitMiig.
on-, Pist -is, locks, etc., repaired at short
notice and satisfaction given.
STFEL WORKING.
S’STWTtWG; i@@¥A3X.XS$ga!re:$i"X > ,
Axes,
Miii Picks, Iioes
temper. Work
, etc., of tlie finest
warranted.
PLANTATION WORK.
Plows, WagousTTIafriagcs, etc., repaired" in flic
best maufter and at shartnotiee.
Sole patnntce of Bassett’s plow stock.
Johjo. Bassstt.
umreli20-ly.
T. S- E/CTCAS,
DEALER IN
COAL COKE AND LIME,
Coal a Specialty,
ik’fclaen.s, Georgia.
april23.3m.
PRESCRIPTION FREE!
For Hu’ speedy Cure of Seminal Weakness, Lost
Manhood am! all disorders bronght on 6y indis
cretion or exeess. Any Druggist has the ingre
dients. Aildrt vn, I>«*. !V. JAQl'KN *V t'O.,
130 IVciit Nix Hi Street, i’iufisuiiti, O.
Ft
PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY MORNING AT
,■ f\j| fj 1
ry r ■
Terms, $2.00 a Year, Invariably in Advance.
Soot- and Slioe-Ulalssr.
ATHENS, GEORGIA,
(Oveb Jacobs & Michael’s Store.)
■First class work turned out on short notice,
at liberal prices. Give mn a call and get geo' 1
material mid fine work. marchlS-tt
THEWHITE SEWING MACHINE.
fortune passed away.
Said to be tlie lightest-running, tho most
beautiful, cheapest, oest, and largest Sewing
Machine m the world, . Ladies and the public
are invited 1 to call and see, at the Office, next
door to Wm. McDowell’s, C liege Avenue, i
J. BANCROFT, Agent.
febVlyt) ’
CITY MERCHANTS AND OTHER BUSINESS MEN
WHO WANT CASH-READ.
A LL who have tried the experiment have obtained
ready money by advertising in the Hartwell Sun.
A spicy newspaper, sparkling with wit and humor,
keeps up with the times in everything. It is the pa-
£ er for —— 1 — 1 — J *--*•-
[as a t
lust the.
Its columns and see “ Ads.” of some of your leading
houses. They are regular advertisers. Ask them,
and be convinced that it pays. Rates low. Terms
liberal. Paper free to advertisers.
Benson & McGill, Publishers, Hartwell, Ga.
MARRIED
LIFE
DR. BUTTS
*•.1911. Eighth ««*
St. Louis, Mo*
! Is the most Kcnial balsam ever used by
sudVrers from pulmonary diseases.
1 It Is composed of herbal products,
which have a* sped tie effect on tlie throa t
ami lungs; detaches from thealrcells all
; irritating matter; causes it to be ex-
- pectorated, and at once checks the in-
* Aammation which produces the cough.
* A single dose relieves the most distress*
injr paroxysm, soothes nervousness,
ana enables the sulVerer to enjoy quiet
rest at night. Jtelng a lileaMintyordial,
. It tones the weak stomach, and is
Specially lxioinmended fox* children. I
j fy/mt nth cm say about
4 Ttitt’.'i Expectorant.
Had Asi. i niaThirly Y £ars
j Baltimore, February 3, iS;5.
* 44 1 have hn A Asthma thirty years, ami never
found a medicine that had f=u» h a hapuv t* fleet ”
•i W. F. HOGAN, Charles Si.
4 A Child’s Idea of Merit.
New Orleans, November u, 1S76.
44 Tutt*s Expectorant is a familiar nnsne in my
ii house. Jdy wife thinks it the best medicine in the
ri world, and the children *ay it is ‘nicer than
molasses camlv.* M
•; NOAH WOODWARD, 101 N. Poydras St.
“Six, and all Croupy. 5 ’
5 “I nm t lie mother of six children: all or them
have been cranny. Without Tutl’s Expectorant,
I don't think they could have survived some.m
tluMUtacks. It is a mother’s Idessia”.”
' , MARY/STEVENS, Frankfort, Ky.
\ Doctor s Advice*
41 In roy practice, I advise all latnlhes t«> keep
Tutt’s Expectorant, in sudden cir.crgei.ciy*, fox
coughs, croup, diphtheria, etc*.*
T. °. ELLIS, M.D , ■ r.-kjiN. J.
Sold by aUdrgggi*i* K p■[< >■ *0. Office ,
35 iVtrrrag btrvcl, JV« »r 1 or/.*.
The “Southern Banner,” established in the year 1816.
is, consequently, sixty-two years old. Beginning when sci
ence in this country was, comparatively speaking, in its in
fancy—when the “art” of printing was carried on by a slow
and tedious process—when “buck skin halls” were used to
spread tlie ink over the rough and unsightly types upon which
the paper was printed, with Home News one and Foreign
News two months old, the different Proprietors have battled
with the changes of time—kept pace with the advancement
of science, and the rude types and rough presses have been
laid aside and their places are now occupied- fcv^all the beau
tiful appliances known to the art.
The Banner is not only-the oldest but-the largest paper
North-east Georgia, nnd.it/columns are weekly filled with
* ■ • ' *" •*’'at i r» <<*•<>
ading matter suited to all classes and conditions, embracing
NEWS, POLITICS, • h ' **
ART, SCIENCE,
LITERATURE, POETRY,
AGRICULTURE, HORTICULTURE,
DOMESTIC AND OTHER RECEIPTS,
STORIES, WIT, HUMOR, &C., AC’.
ill
re
NO\Y
Shecs 1
“THE TREE IS KHOWN BY ITS FR'JIT.”
44 Tutt’s Pills are vl-ortli tlx'ir w i-jlit in gnlil.' 4
REV. I. R. SiMPSOM, Louisviile, Ky.
“Tutt's Pills nre a sj.L-ii.il blessing of l!iu
nineteenth ccntnrv.”
■: REV. F.JUOSG003, NevVork.
“Ihave usctl TiiuT. - 1’ills f t ter—r i’l t' ■ *
liver. They are suj'trinr to any 1:;..o lor
biliary disorders ever mad;-.”
I. P. CARR, Attorney^Law, At;::*.:, Ca.
” I have\:scd Tutl’s Pills fiveyt-nr' i;im> f.o-;-
ily. They are unequaled lor Wtivcinss m d !•;!-
lousncss."—F. R.WILSON^Georg«town,Tex:i.
‘•I.bave used Tutl’s Medieinc with great
bcnefit.”-W.W. MANN^Edi to r Mobile Register.
44 We'scll fifty hoxesTnit's Pill* to five of
all others.”—SAYREj&_CO., Cartersvllle, Ca.
•• Tutt’s Pills hlvT’Tmiy lo l-e tried to es
tablish their merits. They wotk Jil-e magic.”
W. H. BARRON, 96 Summer St., Bostoa
41 There is no mcdicnu!"s(7 well adapted to the
care of l.ilious disorders as Tull’s Pills.”
JOS. 8RUMMEL, Richmond, Virginia.
AND A THOUSAND MORE.
Sold bu druggists. 25 rents a bn.r. Office
33 Murray Sir. cl, Acre York.
cractice In hit tw* warka. in.l
The PHYSIOLOGY OFMARRIAOEl
I Tht PRIVAIS MEDICAL ADVISER
JOBBU&^uly andmtood. The two book, embrace MS
contain rataakl* lafbmatl*. for both muritd and
Lhtherrerntimrvo™.,^
rjUMtionsble char-
LEMBEj[^Hrl!*rretio!r;
gHNnffwit^ran|M
hu S’*"”"
ieoeu.J
both in on* volume, tl; in clcthid
*ilt,.25cU. extra. Sent under .rah
r*ce:pt of pric* m mou*y or ,t*mD*
J OB WORK OF ALL T ESCRIP-
lionjt'eally done at tb>- office
SUBSCRIBE,
which are agitating this and
x ff b I t * J
foreign countries, and the elections that are to take place this
• r a v- ■ \ ■ .j
fall in Georgia and throughout the United States, a synopsis
and discussion of which will be contained in our columns,
we are sure that our paper will not Qnly be acceptable but a
necessity to every family. Therefore, send in your names
and money and keep posted with tho progress of the times.
„Wj*wX vr®. ■
CORRESPONDENCE.
A
Recognizing the fact that nothing addlbfidfd to the popu
larity of a paper than an interchange of views between
those among whom it circulates, we invite correspondence
upon all topics of interest to the p»hlin r and fiapefijajly the
IMPORSSBi'—■»*
HIGH TESTIMONY. .
FROM THE PACIFIC .lontX ik. f
which restores youthful lu>auty to th<‘ bnlr.ig
That eminent chemist li»s sneceed. 1 ii.se
produelue a Hair Dve Whirl,
nature to nerfectlou. Old hai liel;:; .- ica; gi
aowrejdlce.”
Price 01.00. Office 35 Murray fit..
Sew York. Sold by all druggists. !
cr. asosam w
Watchmaker and Jeweler,
(Singer Machine Office, College Avonue)
ATSBSTS, - GEORGIA.
I havo opened at the above place, where I
will give strict attention to repairing and
cleaning of Watches, Clocks and Jewelry. All
work done in first class style and at reasonable
rates. Give me a call. april 23-6m.
OPIUM
and Morphine habit eared.
Opium Rating, to W. B. 8qali%
WortMxuUn. Orceno Co^ Xad«
current news and agricultural progress of tlie section of coun
try in the territory of North-east'Gcoi’gfcik^**’
i*.
i. TO ADVERTISERS.
With a bona fide circulation of 2,000. copies weekly which
guarantees not less than 8,000 readfers, throughout Georgia
and the South, and especially in North-east Georgia, one of
* 3 ; r ■«>*
the richest sections in the South, we are confident that ad-
vertisers could find no better medium through which to make
their wants known than the columns of the Southern
Banner. Address, H."H. CARLTON,
Editor & Prop r-
