Southern banner. (Athens, Ga.) 1878-1879, June 25, 1878, Image 2

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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-