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THE LION HEART.
drilling Arroitnl f Ih* klMMiy t'lgtil
Mclwcph Jude* '•••• *mH Hob. Alti
■uiiti r >l. Hlaphrnaa.
During Mr. Stephens’ congressional
service, and pending the campaign of
1848, lie returned from Washington to
Georgia, lie was fresh from the great
dehates on the acquisition of California
nnd New Mexico as Territories, and for
having taken against the wishes of a
majority of the Southern memtiers, a
most prominent part in opposition to
such acquisition, he was met with much
ndverse criticism. Judge Cone, who
was at that time one of the leading pel
iticians of Georgia, was particularly
severe in his comments upon Mr. Ste
pliens’ action, and was rejiorted as hav
ing publicly denounced him as a traitor
to the South.
Hardly luvd Mr. Stephens reached
his home when these and similar re
ports were conveyed to him. At first
he did not credit them, but ns one kind
friend after another informed him that
Cone had culled him a traitor, and ad
vised, in true Southern spirit, that he
owed it to himselt to demand what is
called “ satisfaction,” the fires of pug-
nacity in his nature, which are always
smouldering, blazed up, and he declar
ed that if Judge Cone would admit
having called him a traitor to the South
he would “ slap his face.” Not long
after this lie met the Judge at a numer
ously attended Whig gathering, and
going up to him, quietly said :
‘‘Judge Cone, 1 have been told that
yon, for reasons of you own, have de
nounced me. as a traitor to the South,
and I take this opportunity of asking
you if such rejHjrts are true ?”
“ No, sir,” w r as Cone's reply, “ they
are not true.”
“I am very glad to hear you say so,”
said Mr. Stephens cordially, and in the
same friendly tone -continued: “Of
course I do not desire to he in any way
offensive to you, Judge Cone, hut in
order that we may Itave no further mis
understanding through the misrepre
sentation of others, I think it right, to
tell you that I have said I would slap
your face if you admitted having used
the language attributed to you.”
Upon this the Judge again disowned
having spoken disrespectfully of Mr.
Stephens, and so for the time the affair
ended. It, was the sotueet of mneh
discussion all over tlie State, and the
general verdict was that Cone, a very
powerful man, by the way, had shown
the white feather to “ Little Aleck
Stephens” In such a community, no
public man resting under such a charge
could hope either for political prefer
ment or popular respect. Cone, of
course, knew this, and very much heat
ed and annoyed by the comments which
were being made upon him, wrote to
Mr. Stephens demanding an immedi: te
and public retraction of bis threat. In
reply, Air. Stephens wrote that the
threats of slapping the Judge’s face
had been made contingent upon the
truth of reports regarding him which
he (Cone) had pronounced to be untrue,
and that such being the case, there
could be no cause for offense or angry
feeling on either side. Unfortunately,
this letter was not received by Cone.
Three or four days after it was written,
however, he met Mr. Stephens on the
piazza of a hotel in Atlanta, and dis
regarding that gentleman’s friendly
greeting, said in a very offensive tone:
• Mr. Stephens, I demand that yon
make an immediate retraction of your
threats regarding me.”
Sick and weak though lie was. Alex
ander H. Stephens could allow no one
to speak to him in the fashion describ
ed. Cone was a very giant in size and
muscular development, yet the frail
man whom he addressed, with aggra
vating politeness and without hesita
ting a moment, replied. “ Pardon me,
sir, I have already written you fully on
that subject; I must decline to discuss
it further.”
“ Am I to take this-as your answer?”
asked Cone excitedly.
“ It is the only answer I have to give
you,” was the calm reply.
“ Then I denounce you as a misera
ble little traitor!” said Cone, mad with
excitement. The last word had hardly
left his lips, when a light cane, wielded
by the quick hand of the man he had
iusulted, left’its red scar across his
cheek.
Wild with pain and passion, without
a word, he drew a keen pointed dirk
knife and made one thrust at his weak
little adversary's heart. Instantly as
he did so, however, Stephens, seizing a
stout umbrella which he held in his left
hand, interposed it as a defense, and
was able, for a moment, to hold him at
arm’s length. The knife fell short of its
mark. Once more it was thrust at
The H artavell Sun.
By BENSON & McGILL.
VOL. IV—NO. ','o.
Stephens, cutting a deep gash in his
arm, but reaching no vital point; 18
times it cut deep into his breast, arms
and body, but still he did not fall.
I hen lie could hold on no longer. No
courage, no spirit, however firm ami
unyielding, could long withstand such
an attack. Cone was determined to
to finish his work, lie threw all his
'jrreat weight against the nmbrella which
held him away from the man he had
determined to kill. It broke; Steph
ens, half fainting fell upon his back.
Ihe giant Cone was at his throat in a
moment; his head, by a grip of iron.
was held against the cruel floor; the
keen and blood-dripping knife was held
aloft before him ready for the last fatal
thrust but still the poor pale face of
the little hero was set and defiant—his
black eyes still flashed undauntedly.
“ Retract or I’ll cut your cursed
throat!”
“Cut! 11l never retract!” gasped
the almost lifeless Stephens.
Like a flash the knife came down.
With almost superhuman elfort the
prostrate'jnan caught it in his right
hand ! Clean through the muscles, ten
dons, and bones of the hand it cut.
then stuck fast and reached no vital
part. With desperate strength, Cone
tried to wrench it free. With a grasp
almost of death, the horribly mangled
and mutilated band held it fast. In
the struggle Stephens was once more
dragged to his feet; the blood was
gushing in streams from his many
wounds; his bol l upon the knife which
sought his brave heart began to relax ;
lie was dying. But even when lie be
lieved the next moment would be his
last, strong men came to his rebel.
Hie madman Cone was secured and
held fast.
Then quickly the wounds which Mr.
Stephens had received were examined*
Ff. WOO “ 1 •
etrated to within a sixteenth of an inch
of his heart. An intercostal artery had
been cat. The doctors declared that he
would surely die. Happily their pre
lictions were not verified. His life
was saved by the tfn remitting care of a
surgeon, his devoted friend, who, as
good fortune would have it, happened
to lie in the city at the time. When he
recovered, with a magnanimity' of which
few men are capable, even of under
standing, be refused to prosecute Cone,
and that person, instead of getting his
deserts in a dark cell of a state prison,
was fined SI,OOO, and with his “ honor
vindicated,” was allowed to go free.
To this day Mr. Stephens speaks of
him in terms of consideration and for
giveness. Not long ago, referring to
the terrible struggle I have attempted
to describe, and showing me the great
hole in his mangled hand, he said, with
a quiet and far away look in his dark
eyes: “Poor Cone! I’m sure he’d
be sorry if lie knew what trouble I
have to write with these stiff fingers of
mine.”
She Had Him.
A Quaker shop keeper once met a
Quaker customer of his going hofhe
with her bundles. lie had been absent
from his place, and had a notion iu his
head thas she had been trading with a
rival whom he did not very much love.
“ How much did thee give a yard for
this, Mary?”
“ One dollar.”
“ Why, lam surprised at thee ! I
could have let thee have it for seventy
five cents. And how much for this?”
“ Two dollars.”
“ Why, that was unreasonable. I
could have let thee have it for 81.50.
Why will thee go away trading with
strangers and the world's people, Mary?
“ I don’t know what thee is talkiug
about, friend John,” she said ; but I did
buy these things at thy store, and if
thee says the truth, thee must owe me
considerable money.”
phonograph: The youthful, rose
budish-lonking editor of the Madisonian
blushed clear back behind his auricles
the other evening, because a gentleman
friend remarked in the presence of some
ladies, iu speaking of the weather, that
the wind had shifted. Such an innate
sense of delicacy of feeling is rarely
found in the profession which he so
ably illustrates,
HARTWELL, GA.. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1880.
BURIAL OF PERSONS ALIVE.
Chieago 1 n(rrM)ctmn.
“ All, merciful God!” piously ex
claims Camillo, “how many livingpcn
and women are annually taken tothoir
graves !" Were it possible to get at
the truth the victims in this country
alone might be numbered by many
scores—possibly by hum! reds. Mr.
G. Eric Mackay, in the current num-
ber of Belgravia, gives a very interest
ing article on the subject of “ Prema
ture Burials,” in which he points out
how difficult it is to discern the differ
ence between death and a case of
trance—indeed, lie goes so far as to
claim that the ditrerence has never
been quite clearly understood by the
generality of mankind. The article
calls attention to several instances of
premature burials on the (ffntinent of
Europe; instances which involve sto
ries of trance, the semblance of death
holding Us sway over the human body
for hours and days and not merely for
minutes, as in the case of ordinary
fainting fits. In his opening remarks
the writer says ;
“ In days when land is dear, and
burial rights less sacred than the rights
of builders and contractors, coffins have
been opened with the pickaxe, in the
act of converting cemeteries intostreets
and gardens. Here a grave has been
discovered whose inmate has turned in
its shroud ; here a corpse clutching its
hair in a strained and unnatural condi
tion ; dead men and dead women lying
in their graves as the dead never lie in
a Christian land at the moment, of
burial.”
Mr. Mackay gives an account of a
young and beautiful women who, it is
supposed, died of over excitement at
the prospect of being married. When
t J‘ wasW"
on the inside. The coffin was unscrew
ed, but tpo late. The girl was found
in an attituHe’of horror and pain impos
sible to describe —her eyes wide open,
her teeth clem h?d, her hands clutching
tier hair, but life was extinct. An in
stance showing the utter depravity of
the Italian undeitakers and grave-dig
gers is given in which they actually
tried to snatch the body of a lady from
her friends, one of whom thought she
was not dead. As they were about to
drag it from the bed the “ dead body ”
moaned, and soon afterward was thor
oughly revived by a medical practicion
er of the neighborhood, and lived to
tell the story of her escape from the
tomb. A learned Cardinal incurred
the displeasure of the King, and on
being rebuked fell to the ground, to all
appearance, dead. It was decided that
the unfortunate Cardinal should be em
balmed, but when the surgeons began
their operations the patient awoke, but
too late, for the wounds were mortal.
A case is given in which a young
lady arose out of he* coffin and appear-
ed before the family at supper, “pale
and frightened, but fair to see as be
fore death.” The doctor, the priest,
and the undertaker saw the error of
their way, but the priest alone made
amends by. officiating at the young
lady’s wedding a year after he had
reached her funeral sermon. Petrarch,
when a middle-aged man, lay twenty
hours in a trance, and narrowly escaped
being buried itllve. We have often
heard the story of the Consul’s wife,
who was buried alive and released from
her painfdl position by robbers, who
broke open the coffin to steal the lady’s
jewelry. Among the other stories of
resuscitated victims of apparent death,
is one of an old gentleman who was
revived by one of his skeptical friends
putting a burning taper to his nose,
llis life was saved but the sad story
of bis escape from the very jaws of
death was ever afterward told by the
scarred and crimson beacon on his face.
A number of stories are given of the
revival of hospital patients after they
have been carried out to the dead house.
This seems a very common occurrence
in Europe. Two of the most terrible
statements are of children being born
in the tomb, one of whom, according
to Mr. Mackny, being discovered by a
lucky incident lived to be a man, and
occupied for several years the post of
Lieutenant-General on the frontiers of
Devoted to Hart County.
truth was discovered.
It is impossible to prolong the list of
examples, but enough has been already
to show the wickedness of hasty
funerals, and the necessity of estab
lishing a proper system of tests. Does
it ever occur to the minds of Ameri
cans that funerals are often conducted
very quickly in this country, as well as
in Tfaly and the warm countries of Eu
rope > It Is diSßhtful if the bodies of
peojJleJwho live in the tene
ment houses of our large cities are ex
amined very closely before they are in
terred; it is doubtful if the greatest
eare is exercised in this matter in the
rural districts, where good physicians
cannot be at the death beds of sick
persons, apd where tick and poor alike
are often instrusted to doctors who are
neither famous fyr learningor intuition.
Ilie writer in Belgravia iis ifcclinod to
think that onej of? the nels of‘the
world is a simple test ami not a com
plicated serie* of tests, which would be
out of the resell of the poor and be
yond the power of inexperienced or
badly-paid doctors. It will be reas
suring to have that test as soon as pos
sible.
Fiflif Dot ween a Cat mid a Snake.
Sumter Republican.
A gentleman who witnessed the fol
lowing, gave us the particulars. About
three Weyk&.W'whirhijr .Utp. beautiful
siiUO-V the trees to bud and Liloon, j n .
was walking ill my garden one morn
ing, thinking about preparing for an
early start for spring vegetables, when
I saw a large rattlesnake sunning. My
first impulse was to go to the house,
get a gun and kill it, but looking around
I saw a very large house cat cautiously
creeping upon the reptile. Anticipa
ting a fight, and equally desirous of the
death of the cat, which killed chickens, I
concluded to witness his attack upon the
snake. The cat crawled upon its stom
ach, pulling along on its feet, whisking
its tail from side to side, and every now
and then stretching its neck to view
the snake. When about eight or ten
feet olf the snake suddenly coiled up,
sprung its rattle, faced the cat and
darted its forked tongue out rapidly.
The cat commenced a rapid cii*Cle
around the snake ; so fast in fact that
the eye could hardly keep up with it.
At last it got.near enough and made a
dart at its enemy, but through provi
dential reasons, it went high above the
snake which also struck at the cat, thus
breaking its coil. • The cat went too
far, and by thfe time it had turned to
face its foe, the reptile was again coil
and ready for the attack. The same
method was adopted and carried on for
four or five times, occupying at least
half an hour. The cat wished M catch
the snake but seemed aware that if it
missed the neck it would be certain
death. At the sixth assault they met,
and instantly, the snake was wrapped
in several folds around the body of the
cat, which used its sharp claws with
deadly effect. The cat had been bitten
on the bead and neck several times,
and both continued to fight. The snake
was torn nearly to shreds, but did not
unloose its coil around its victim. The
poison was swift and deadly, but be
fore the cat died it caught the snake’s
heat! in its mouth and crushed it, and
fighting they died, the snake enwrap
ping the cat in its coils. The snake
measured four feet eight inches and
had thirteen rattles.
Cherez.
Several instances are given of per
sons who have been cognizant ot what,
was going on atmijtfl them, yet power
less to stop their burial. One case is
given of a schoolmaster who, had it not
been for the arrival of a sister, would
have been buried nlive. 'flic passion-
of the sister caused the eye
lidSof the deceaseifto quiver, and the
A little Woodstock, Conn., miss had
long desired a sister tor a playmate, and
having been taught to ask God for ev
erything, she asked him for a sister, tel
ling her mother she would do the pray-
ing if she would make the clothes. Af
ter praying several nights and getting a
little impatient that her request was not
granted, she said one night: “ O Lord,
send mo a little sister right away. If
81.50 Per Annum.
von haven’t got a white one, send me n
black one." This same little girl anus
corrected by her mother the other day
for being naughty. ” Well, I can’t help
it,” she said; *• when you prayed forme
why didn’t you pray for a better girl?"
Advice to Newspaper Correspondents,
First, and most important: Deal
onlv in facts, nnd only such facts as
come under the head of news.
Use the simplest words, or at least
only such as you can spell and know
Imw to use.
Remember that you uro writin ,r for
the entire county ; that it is not quail
tity but quality that is wanted—that is,
the news furnished should bo of a na
ture to interest the general public. It
will be seen that the general public do
not care to know that, the Squirts boys
have bud their heads shaved, to bo in
stylo, or that Deacon Snille's new pig
pen is rapidly "approaching comple
tion.” The public want meat.
Don’t hurt, anybody’s feelings if you
can help it. If you do, and the other
fellow comes out in a “ card,” don’t
you fly off the handle and try fo get
even. Nobody cares.
Never try to be funny. Never!
The country is now groaning under the
weight of about 0,000 “humorous”
writers. Besides nothing is drearier
than a labored attempt at humor'. Be
funny only when you are so by ncci
dent.
When you know a good joke on any
body, tell it if you want to, and it will
not make him an mv. If you arc afraid
to tell it, don’t insinuate. Never in
sinuate !
Avoid prolixity or diffuscuess. Pro
lixity degenerates into redundancy,
than which nothing is more ridiculous.
Call tilings by their right names. A
cow is a cow ; but a cow- is not a bo
is tint a ten fie, mu a t*og ea
These words are adjectives, and it is
altogether wrong to use them ns nouns.
Remember that.
In itemizing it is not necessary to in
dulge in introductory and commentary.
State the fact at once and—stop !
Avoid personalities, and ypn will get
along very well uptil next lesson.
Tlie Same Old Story.
The Oxford graduate was showing
his sister over his room in college, when
so ml: one knocked at flic door. Sup
posing that it was one of his friends,
and not wishing to lie chaffed, he hid
her behind the curtains, and admitted
an elderly gentleman, who apologized
profusely for his intrusion, and excused
himself by saying that it was inauv
years since he had been at Oxford, and
he could not leave without paying a visit*
to his dear old college, and the old
rooms lie luql occupied as a student.
“ Ah,” cried the old gentleman, look
ing ar< u k', “ tlie same old s< f.i! yes,
and the same old carpet —everything
tlie same!”
Then, walking into the bed-room, ho
remarked : ” Yes, and the same old
bod ! and the same old washstand ! Yes,
everything the same.”
Presently lie stepped toward the cur
tairts, and remarked, ” Ah, and the
sameohl curtains!” Looking round he
beheld the young lady, and turning
round, lie said : ‘‘Ah, you young dog!
and the same old game!”
“ lint,” hastily replied the other grad
uate, ‘‘that young lady is my sister.”
To which the reply came, “Yes, I know,
and the same old story !”
Little Henry returns from catechism.
He wears an air of melancholy. “ What
is the matter, dear,” asks aunt Augusta.
“ Monsieur de Cure is always scolding
me. To-day he asked me how many
Gods there were.” “ Well, you told him
only one I suppose?” “Oh, aunty!
told him five, and even that many die
not satisfy him !”
“ A senses taker,” said the old lady ;
“ waal tliar’s me an’ Jeremiah, an’ Sa
rah Ann, an’ that’s all, ’cept Jim, an’
he's a fool an’ ain’t got no senses to
take.”
Man’s inhumanity to woman makes
countless thousands crawl out of a warm
bed to kindle a fire these cool mornings,
while they roll over and take another
1 snooze.
WHOLE NO. !*•_>.
CALLING THE DOCTOR.
BuMmort .1 mcn>nn.
The otlver morning as u belated
member of the Owl Club was steering
home through the dense fog, which tire
writer is reliably informed hangs over
this city at 3 a. m., he passed a boii'C on
Mission street, where resided a well
know n physician. The vestibule of this
residence was open, and on its side tl e
dim rays of tho moon, s'rigglirg
through the gloom produced by the
efforts of the City Gas Company, ant}
I inclosed the mouth of an acoustic tube,
underneath which was the inscription.
“ Whistle for Dr. Potts/’
Not wishing to be disobliging nlwut
-o small a mutter, the Ow l stumbled up
the steps, and, steadying himself, up
against the wall, blew into the pipe with
all the .strength of his lungs.
The physician, who was awakened
by the resultant shrill whistle near his
head, arose, nnd after wondering at tho
singular odor of whisky in tho bed-room,
groped his way to the tube and shouted,
•* Well?”
“Glad to know you’re well,” was tho
reply; “but being a doctor, I s'jiose
you ean keep well at cost price, can’t
you?”
“ " hat do you want?” said tlai man
of pills, not caring to joke in the airy
nothing of his night gown.
“ " ell, said the party at the other
end of the tube, after a niotffent’s medi
tation, ‘‘Oh! by the way, are you
young Potts, or old Potts?”
“ I am Dr. Potts —there, is no young
Potts.”
“ Not dead, I hope?"
“ There never was any. I have do
son."
“ Then yofi arc young Potts and old
Potts, too. Dear, dear, how singular.”
“ What, thj do you want?” snap
ped the doctor, who was beginning to
feel ns if his legs were a pair of elonga
ted icicles.
You know old Mrs. I'cavine, who
lives in the next block?”
“ \ es. Is she sick? What’s the
matter?”
“ Do you know her nephew, too —Bill
Briggs 5”
“ Yes. Well ?”
“ Well, lie went up to Bridgeport
shooting this morning, and .”
*- • ’ 1 > i -fc t. . rr i.i
“ No, he’s all right; but he got sixty
two ducks—eighteen of ’em mallards.
I thought you might like to hear it.”
And the joker lning on to the nozzle,
and laughed like a hyena digging up a
missionary.
“ I say,” came down from the exas
perated M. I)., “that’s a jolly joke, my
friend. Won’t you take something?”
“ What?” said the surprised humorist,
pausing for breath.
“ Why, take something, 'l ake this.’
And before the disgusted funny man
could withdraw his mouth, a hastily
compounded mixture of ink, ipecac and
assafelida, squirted from the pipe and
deluged him fr< m head to foot, about a
pint monopolizing his shirt front and
collar.
And while ho danced frantically
around, sponging himself off with his
handkerchief, and swearing like a pi
rate in the hist act, he could hear an
angel voice from above sweetly mur
mur:
“Have some more? No? Well,
good night, (mine again soon, you fun
ny dog, you. Bv-hy.”
Remembered Exactly.
A lying witness will often tell a very
glib story, but he generally fails to guard
all his weak points. At a recent trial
in court the following took place in at-
tempting to prove an alibi:
“ You say that Elias plowed for you
all day on the 20th of November?” ask
ed the attorney.
Witness, referring to his book, “ A es.”
“ What did he do on the 30th?”
“ He chopped wood.”
“ On the 31st?”
“That was Sunday, and we went out
squirrel-hunting.”
“ What did lie do on the 3‘2d?”
“ He thrashed wheat on that day.”
“ What did he do on the 33d?”
“It was raining, and he shaved out
some handles.”
“ What did he do on the 34th?”
“ He chopped wood.”
“ What did he do on the ?”
But before the question could he fin
ished, the witness’ wife seized him bv
the collar and whisked him outside of
the witness-box,yelling in his affrighted
ear: , .
“ You ohl fool! don’t you know that
there are only thirty-one days in the
month of November?”
February, May and October of this
year will each contain five Sundays.