The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, February 14, 1879, Image 1
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VOL. X.?New Series. UNION C. H., SOUTH CAROLINA, FEBRUARY 14, 1S70. NUMBER 7.
THE GAMBETTA DUEL.
How Mark Twain Distinguished Hiinbelf as the
Statesman's Second.
Mark Twain writes fur the February
number of the Atlantic Monthly an uccouut
of his participation in tliu recent duel between
Uamhclta ami Fuurtou. When ho
bad heard of the outbreak in the Assembly,
he says that lie called ou Lianibctta, whom
lie found "steeped in a profound French
calm." Mr. Tivaiu, after being embraced,
began the conversation :
I said I supposed he would wish me to
ncc as his second, and he said, "Of course.
I said I must be allowed to act under a
French name, so that 1 tight bo shielded
^ , from.obloquy in my country iu case of l'a"tal
results, lie wiuced here, probably at
the suggestion that dueling was nut regarded
with respect in America. However,
ne agrccu to my requirement, i ins accounts
for the fact that in all the newspaper
reports M. flauibetta's second was apparently
a French man. First, we drew up
my principal's will. I insisted upon this
and stuck to my point. 1 said I had never
heard of a man in his right mind going out
to fight a duel without first making his will,
lie said he had ucver heard of a man in
his right mind doing any thing of the kind
"When we had finished the will, he
wished to proceed to a choice of his''last
words." lie wanted to know how the
following words, as a dying exclamation,
struck me:
"1 die for my God, for my country for
freedom of speech, for progress and the
universal brotherhood of man !
I objected that this would require too
lingering a death ; it was a good speech for
a consumptive, but uot suited to the exigencies
of the field of honor. We wrangled
over a good many ante-mortem outbursts,
but 1 finally got him to cut his
obituary down to this, which he had copied
into his memoradum book, purposing to get
it by hcait:
"1 die that France may live."
I said that this remark saemed to lack
relevancy ; but he said relevancy was a matter
of no consequence in last words?what
you wanted was thrill.
I then wrote the following note aud
carried it to M. Fourtou's friend :
Silt; Mr. Gauibetta accepts M. Fourtou's
challenge, and authorizes me to propose
JMossis-Fiquet as the place of meeting, to- J
morrow morning at daybreak as the tune;
and axes as the weapons. I am, .sir, with
great respect, Mark. Twain.
M. Fourtou's friend read this note and
shuddered. Then ho turned to me and
said, with a suggestion of severity in his
tone :
' Have you considered, sir, what would
be the inevitable result of such a meeting
as this?"
"Well, for instance, what would it be?"
"Bloodshed !"
"That's about the size of it," I said.?
"Now, if it is a fair question, what was
your side proposing to shed ?"
I had him there; he saw he had made a
blunder, so he hastened to explain it away.
Ifo vii ill In* Ii'iil Sttlf iL: i*ll lrwt lliirl \r TIlPlI 1
lie added that lie and his principal would
enjoy axes, and indeed prefer them, but
liuch weapons were barred by the French
code, and so I must change my proposal.
Alter proposing (ratlingguns, rifles, navy
pistols and brick-bats, Mr. Twain left the
choice of weapons to the other second, who
fished out ol' his vest pocket a couple of
little things, which 1 carried to the light
and discovered to he pistols. They were
single-barrelled and silver mounted, and
very dainty and pretty. I was not able to I
speak for emotion. 1 silently hung one of;
them on my watch chain, and returned the
other. My companion in crime now tin- I
rolled a postage stamp containing several !
cartridges and gave me one of them. 1
asked if ho meant to signify by this that
our men were to be allowed but one shot
apiece, lie replied that the French code
permitted no more. I then begged him to
go on and suggest a distance, for my mind
was growing weak and confused under the
strain which had been put upon it. lie
named sixty-live yards. 1 nearly lost my
patience. I said :
"Sixty-five yards with these instruments?
I'op gaus would bo deadlier at lilty. Consider,
my friend, you and I arc banded together
to destroy life, not make it eternal."
j?ut with all my persuasions, all my
arguments, 1 was only able to get him to
reduce the distance to thirty-live yards;
and even this concession he made with
reluctance, ami said with a sigh :
'I wash my hands of this slaughter; on
your head l?e it."
There was nothing for mo hut to go homo
to my own lion-heart and toll my humiliating
story. When I entered M. (iambetta
was laying his last lock of hair upon the
4 altar, lie sprang towards me, exclaim'
' in? :
"The weapon, the weapon, Quick ! what
is the weapon
"This !" and I displayed that silver
mountvd thing. lie caught hut one
glimpse of' it, then swooned ponderously
to the floor.
When he came to ho snid. mournfully:
"The unnatural calm to which I have
subjected myself has told upon my nerves.
Uutuway witli weakness ! 1 will confront
inv fate like a man and n I'rcnohniaii.'
lie rose tu hid feet aud assumed an atti-!
tude which lor sublimity has never bceu
approched by mau aud lias seldom bceu
surpassed by statues.
Alter a long silence he asked :
' Was nothing said about that man's family
standing up with him, as an olfsot to
my bulk '! Hut 110 matter; L would not
stoop to make such a suggestion; if lie is
not noble enough to suggest it himself he
is welcome to this advantage, which uo
lii)iinr:ilili> 111:111 VV1111I1I f-iL-i? "
' At what hour is the engagement to begin
r
"At half-past D "
"Very good indeed. Ilavc you sout the
fact to the newspapers ?"
"Sir! If after our long and iutiuiatc
friendship you can lbr a moment deem me
capable of so base a treachery"
"Tut tut 1 What words arc these, my
dear friend ? Have L wounded yon ??
Ah, forgive me; I am overloading you
with labor. Therefore go on with the other
details, and drop this one from your list.?
The bloody-minded Fourtou will be sure to
attend to it. Or 1 myself?yes, to make
certain I will drop a note to my journalistic
friend, M. A'oir"? _
"Oh, come to think, you may save yo^V
self the trouble ; that other second has informed
M. Nuir."
"Il'in ! 1 might have known it. Tt is
just like that Fourtou, who always wants to
make a display."
At half-past 1) in the morning the procession
approached the field of Plessis-Phjuet
in the following order : First came our
carriage?nobody in it but M. (iambctta
and myself; then a carriage containing M.
Fourtou and his second; then a carriage
containing two poet orators who did not
believe in (lod, and these had MS. funeral
j orations projecting from their breast-pockets;
men a carrier containing me ncaa surgeons
and their cases of instruments ; then eight
private carriages containing consulting
^surgeons; then a hack containing the coroner:
then the two hearses; then a carriage
containing the head undertakers; then a
train of assistants and mutes on loot; and
alter these came plodding through the fog
a long procession of camp-followers, police
and citizens generally. It was a noble
turnout, and would have made a fine display
if we had had thinner weather.
'f'liii iintituul iliut. tl?? puKli*
! masssd themselves together on the right
and left of the fijld ; they there'ore bogged
a delay while they should put these poor
people in a place of safety. The request
was granted. The police having ordered
the two multitudes to take position behind
the duellists, wc were once more ready.?
The weather growing still more opaque, it
was agreed between myself and the other
second that before giving the fatal signal
' we should each deliver a loud whoop to en- !
; able the combatants to ascertain each olh ,
I er'.s whereabouts.
1 now returned to my principal, and was j
distressed to observe that he had lost a good
deal of his spirit. I tried my best to heart- !
: en him. 1 said : ''Indeed, sir, things are ;
! not as had as they seem. Considering the j
I character of the weapons, the limited uutn- I
i her <if shots allowed, ?lie generous distance, I
the impenetrable solidity of the log, and
i the added fact that one of the combatants
: is one-eyed, the other cross-eyed and nearj
sighted, it soemes to 1110 that this conflict
! need not necessarily be fatal. There are
i chances that both of you may survive.?
i Therefore, cheer up; do not he down-heart- j
cd."
The speech had so good an effect that
my principal immediately stretched forth
his hand and said, "L am myself again ;
give nic ti?c weapon."
1 laid it, all lonely and forlorn, in the
' centre of the vast solitude of his palm.?
lie gazed at it and shuddered. And still
mournfully contemplating it, lie murmured,
| in a broken voice :
"Alas ! it is not death I dread, but mutilation."
I heartened him once more, and with
j such success that he presently said, ".Let
i the tradegy begin. .Stand at my back , do
' not desert me in this solemn hour, my
Ifrioml."
I gave him my promise. I now assisted
him to point his pistol toward the spot
j where 1 judged his adversary to he stand;
ing, and cautioned him to listen well and
j further guide himself by my fellow-second's !
j whoop. Then 1 propped inyselt against
M. (ianibctta's hack and raised a rousing
I i.ltfl. ? 99 MM ' . 1 I*. ..
iiuup-cu . i. his was iiiiswrini iuiiii \
out Llio lar distance of the fug. ami 1 inline- I
diatcly shouted ;
' ( )ne?two?throe?-fire
Two little sounds like ! fjnt! luoko
upon my car, ami in tin* same instant I was
crushed to the earth under a mountain of I
flesh. lJuried as 1 was, 1 was still able to j
catch a faint accent from above to this effect
:
1 die for . . . for . . . perdition
take it, what i< it I die for?
Oh, yes?I'ltANCK ! I die that France
may live !"
The surgeons swarmed around with their
prohes in their hands and applied their
| microscopes to the wlmlc area of M. (lamj
Intta's person, with the happy result of
finding nothing in the nature of a wound.
Then a seene ensile.1 which was in every
way gratifying nud inspiriting.
The t\v?? gladiators fell upon each other's
nc.-ks, with floods of proud and happy tears;
that other second embraced ujc ; the surgeons,
tho orators, the undertakers, the
police, e\ crybody embraced, everybody congratulated,
everybody cried, and the whole
atmosphere was filled with praise and with
joy unspeakable. It seemed to mo then
that 1 would rather bo tbe hero of a French
duel than a crowned and sceptred monarch.
lnrnm.ti.ti iiai, Tillauk.?At our request
the lbllowiug was furnisnhed us by
Dr. J. 1*. Stevens, of Lee Co ., (ja., well
known as a prominent and scientific farmer
in Southwest Georgia. ?t is Tnte.v^Hig asJ i
being the first effort we have heard of to
test by cxpeiinient the new theory in our
southern climate :
k'l IV.'IK ViM'U innoli inLiHAcfn.l ? ?
- I. MW ? VI J I1IUVII llltv I tov^u ill uilll lcvant's
"New Theory of Tillage" and tried
an experiment with it in my garden, on a
plat of ground 10."> by -15 foot. L broke
up the ground with a turning plough; manured
in the drill uuiihruily over the plat
with cotton seed compost, and then planted
corn at intervals of three l'ect. The first
working was done by siding with a long narrow
scooter, and breaking out the middles i
with a six inch round shovel plough. I i
then selected three contiguous rows for tcst|
ing the after culture, which, at the second
ploughing, was done with the round shovel,
running near enough to the corn to throw
' the dirt to the stalks. The remainder of
the plat 1 ploughed out with the sweep.?
Just when ike corn was "bunching" to tassel,
I gave the whole plat the third working
precisely similar to the preceding, and runniug
near enough to thro.v the dirt up to
the s*nlks of the experimental rows.' The
plat received no further tillage, and when
the cars of corn were fully matured, 1
counted those upon the rows that received
the deep culture, and each row yielded ten
cars more than cither of the three adjacent
rows that received the superficial culture ;
and there was no apparent difference between
the size and perfection of the cars ,
of corn. 1 will remark that when the corn
received the last ploughing we had had no |
rain for ten days, and not until ten days (
thereafter, yet there was apparently no wilting
of the leaves upon the rows that received
the deep culture. I had another
Xllnt. A!' Aoim? - * '?* M"!** 1
with which i had commenced a similar experiment,
but personal illness compelled me
to leave home for the remainder of the
summer, and the experiment was not completed
by uiy agent in charge of my business.
It is my purpose to tost the experiment
upon a more extended scale the present
y&ir, although of course, without incurring
anv material risk.?.1. 1'- S'rr.VKXS. m
Southern C 'ufticntor.
]>HKK!)S (.! ' 1'ofliUV FOlt TilK SOLTII.
? 1 am often asked the question, " What
breed of fowls do 1 recommend V' Before
I can answer this question' I am compelled
to ask another. "Be you desire a fowl
lor eggs or for table use "
'flier arc some breeds that are classed as
non-sitters. As they seldom manifest any
desire to become mothers, no time is lost
in cgg-pioduction ; and hence, duiing the
year, they lay many more eggs than those
breeds that are all the time getting broody
and want tosit. As great layers, the Brown !
Leghorns stand at the head of the list.?
They lay a white egg of over moderate size,
but not as large as the Black (Spanish,
while the Black Spanish chicks are very
difficult to raise; tlio Brown leghorns are
hardier and grow more vapidly. They are
larger bodied than the llamburgs, and their j
eggs will weigh more to the dozen. Their
party-colored plumage, beautiful combs, and
proud carriage, make them particularly attractive.
For a table fowl we need something
larger than the Leghorns. We need size
and compactness of body; and one that
will take on fat easily. These qualities wc
find in the Partridge Cochin. For size of
body and eggs, the Brahtnas head the list.
The chicks of these breeds are hardy and
very easily raised. Tlicy arc good sitters
and excellent mothers.
Thj Plymouth Bocks arc an excellent
fowl both for eggs and table use. They
are not as larire bodied as the Partridire
Cochins, nor cither I lie l).uk or Light
i?r:?l>mas. but they dross well, have yellow
skin, flesh lender and juicy.
Any of the above breeds arc well suited
to our southern country. It. is time our
farmers were waking up to the full appreciation
ol the value of good poultry. Fowls
well kept, and properly attended to. pay as
well, if not better, than any other farm
stock, in proportion to the money invested.?.1.
1'. II. I>it*>WN, in South/I'll Cultil'iitoi'
. 0.
When the train cotiveyiny General Slyerman
to the South stoppedat Kettle llollow,
Montgomery County, Virginia, Tccuinsch
' walked out to view the sterile aspect of the
j country. Seeing an old resident standing
I near, the General inquired: "What do
they raise in this country, anyhow
I The aforesaid Kettle Hollow man replied :
I "They raise h?II here about as quick as
any place you ever saw." Tho general
tucked his feathers and sought refuge in
(ihecariD.ta.fr.
CULTURE OF TEA IN SOUTH CAROLINA.
It is well known that lor many years the
tea plaut has been grown in the South.?
The plants flourish luxuriously in most
parts of the Carolinas, ami in Georgia and
Louisiana. Occasionally the leaves were
picked and dried fur use, but the process
was tedious and the lea strong and rank.?
Last year, however, a quantity of leaves of
the tea plant grown in Georgetown, S. C.,
were sent to importers of tea in Baltimore,
and by a member of the firm were made
iutoexccllcntmerchantable tea. Mr. Gillct
Gill, of the firm of Martin Gillct & Co.,
superintended the drying, and was so encouraged
by the result^' the experiment
that lie is now travellii^Pthrough the South
with a view to disseminating information
relative to the cultivation of tea, and to .
ascertaining what are the capabilities of the s
most favored localities. Mr. Gill had charge ;
of a tea factory in Japan, and is familiar |
with the whole process of growing the plant, ,
i i -i ?
illU Ulllt |>l I'JM 1 111^ II1CI1I JU1
market. 1 le bus already visited Charlotte, |
Columbia, Augusta and lower Ccorgia, and ,
arrived in Charleston yesterday ou his way (
to Georgetown. <
There is no doubt that the tea plant will .
grow well throughout South Carolina, and j
belter in this State than in Georgia. The |
plant is not injured by ordinary cold weather,
bearing without danger temperature as low (
as 2 dog.Fahrenheit. Such cold is au |
advantage to the plant as it checks the i
rapidity of development. It needs no spc- j
cial care, bat Mr Gill finds that the plant .
usually is not trimmed closely enough.? ,
The leaves used lor uiakiug tea are only .
one or two and sometimes three leaves on |
the extreme end ofeach limb or branch, and j
the object ol'tbecultivator, therefore, should ,
he to keep the plant down so as to multiply <
the number of branches. This, also, rcii- .
dors the leaves easier to pick. The plant ,
can be raised form cuttings or form seed, }
and requires no particular nursing, l'lants f
in hot houses, free from the influences of t
frost, do not bear as well as plauts in the j ,
open air. )
The common belief is that the nianufnc- (
turc of tea is attended with peculiar ditticullies.
This is a mistake. The different .
grades ol tea made in China come from the |
same plant. They are, in fact, the same ,
tea grown in this country should have the
same appearaucc as Chinese tea. The |
American teaisas fragrant and invigorating,
Mini ;i<5 nvmvnillu \ innrinnii ton will twiner
as high a price as the Indian, Chinese, or
Japanese variety. IMr. (iill is confident
that the c iriug and preparation can be done
with machinery of simple construction as j
thoroughly and more cheaply than by hand. I
The purpose is to form a company, iirtimc,
for the manufacture of tea, similar to the i
companies established in India, which pay i
their stockholders dividends of 18 and lilt i
percent. Our understanding is that Gillctt j (
iC Co. will purchase, at the rate of one dol- <
lar a pound, such Carolina leaves as may i
be properly picked and forwarded to ihcui ]
for manufacture. I
We shall await with much interest the j
formal report to be made by Mr. Gill upon
his return, and it is to be hoped that, in i
the meantime, they who are now growing l
tea plants will continue their cultivation.? |
There is far less difficulty in making tea <
than in growing and prepariug jute, and we i
see no reason why Carolina tea should not
soon he as well and favorably known as our I
famous long cotton.?.Ynr.s ami Courier. \
(
Srr I t* Yoi'u 11 a it at IIomk.?The
fallowing excellent suggestion L from a ;
temperance lecture delivered in Maysvillc, '
Ky., but it will answer equally well for
Charleston :
Barkeepers in this city pay, on an average,
6- per gallon for whiskey, one gallon
contains an average of sixty-five drinks,
and at ten cents a drink the poor nan pays
$li ">(l per gallon for his whiskey. In other
words he pays c'J for the whiskey and
8-1 f?lt to a man for handing it over the bar.
Make your wife your barkeeper, bend
hor two dollars to buy a gallon ol whiskey
for a beginning and every time you want a
drink go to her and pay ten cents for it.?
]{y the time you have drank a gallon she
will have $( 50, or enough money to refund
the ?2 borowed of you. to pay for another
gallon of liijuor and have a balance of ?2
50. She will be able to conduct future
operations on her own capital, and when
you become an inebriate, unable to support
yourself, shunned and despised by all respectable
persons, your wife will have
enough money to keep you until you get
ready to fill a drunkard's crave."
A lady taking tea at a small company,
being very fond of hot rolls' was asked to
have another. ".Really, 1 cannot," she
modestly replied; "I don't know how many
I have eaten already." "/ do," unexpectedly
cried a juvenile upstart whose
mother had allowed him a s ;at at the table.
"You've eaten eight; I've been counting."
A Kentucky paper remarks that the
look of intelligence assumed by tho young
lawyer as he sits in court should be put a
stop to. It is calculated to cause the presiding
judge to lose confidence in hitnsJf, to
make him believe he doesn't, know anything.
- H g. '
A Widow Sicckssfilly Tn acino
11 Kit Stoi.kn Child.?A romance in real
lite, stranger than any fiction, has recently
had its denouement, ouo of the parties
most interested being a resident of this eity.
Tit is is a widow lady, whose name wo aro
uot at liberty to make public for the present,
who lias recently discovered the whereabouts
of a long-lost daughter, stolou from
her twenty seven y.'ars ago, when an infant.
The lady, though a resident of iSprinjgtioKI
for some years past, is a native of lJartiprd,
Conn., aud went with her husband, after
her marriage, to Western Now York, which
was then a good deal of a wilderness as
compared with its condition now. Her
first child, a girl, was born there, and sho
was ou her way to join her husband, after
a temporary separation, when the infant was
stolen from her during a long stage jouruey,
aud she has never seen the child since,
though, as noted above, she has recently
discovered that she is alive and living 111
Wisconsin, where she is married and has
throo children. The anguish ot the mother
at losing her first-born child can be conceived
but not described. A long fit of
sickness followed, and after her recovery
ill possible search was made for the missing
babe, hut without success. Hut the
mother never gave up hope of hearing of
her child, and after twenty-seven years had
elapsed her faith and patience have at last
been rewarded. It seems she always suspected
a man who carried her some fifteen
miles by private conveyance to meet the
stage, when on her way to join her husband,
>1'stealing the child, with the intention of
adopting it as his own. Sho now knows
that he was the abductor, lie gave it to
hi accomplice, who took it some fifty
miles across the border, into Pennsylvania,
where it was placed in a family, with a
>uin of money sufiicicut to provide for its
wants for some time. 11 is evident intention
was to reclaim the child when he could do
;o without suspicion. Hut the time never
mine when he dared to do it, and the little
girl grew up as the adopted child of the
arnily, finally married the younger brother
if the master of the house, nud removed to
IVisconsiu, where the family is prosperous
nid happy. Commuuicutiou has been csablislicd
for some months now between the
mother and daughter, and photographs cxJ.
- - w?i, , ?.? M -u?i. . ? ? ??
the relationship, it* any had existed Leforc.
I'hey propose to have a meeting soon near
the scene of their tragic parting more thau
a quarter of a century ago. What a meeting
it will be !?Springfield(d/oss.,) Union*
Silvkr Wiu, 1 >0 foii Him.?A Washington
dispatvh to a Chicago paper souio
time ago stated that " 'J'reasurer (iilfillan
has attempted to make Secretary Sherman's
plan more successful by sending a great
number of circulars to private individuals
is well as to banking institutions, notifying
them that silver in amounts of from 31,1)00
to 310,000 will be sent free to any adJress."
Some of the Western people have
not gouc deyond what was said in the dispatch
and grasped what was meant to havo
been said. As wittiest1 the following extract
from a letter just received by tlio treasurer
from tin Illinois back woodsman : ''I have
seen tho plan of Secretary Sherman, also
[lie plan of yours. Now I am a desorviog
poor man, with a large family and no mou?y;
and you say that you will send free
;o any address from 31,000 to 310,000.?
I will take any amount from the lowest
ligure named up to the 810.000, and will
make good use of it. 1 think if you want
lo give it away, give it to the deserving
poor. I would, indeed, like, to be one that
L'ets some of the silver dollars. So let me.
it ml semi as much as possible to a needy
poor man, and do a God's blessing. Enclosed
you will find the piece cut out of the
paper. My address is," Ac.
o ?
l*o i so no r s Stockiniss.?A dyer wrilc9
to a New York paper as follows: So much
has been said about dyed stocking poison j
ing, which remarks have been confined entirely
to the medical profession, that a few
words from a dyer may not be out of place.
It does not appear as if any of the gontlomcn
have given the matter any really practical
lest in the way of chemical analysis,
simply 1* lying upon mere guess-work. After
many investigations the writer has concluded
that in the cases where bright anni1
ine shades arc desired, acids (principally
sulphuric acid) are used to devclopo
and brighten the colors, and the
simple cause of so much trouble lies in tho
fact that the acids have not been rinsed
out properly. When tho stocking arc
worn, perspiration releases the acid, which
causes irritation of the skin, and continued
wearing naturally causes the iflamation
complained of. Again, if the stockings aro
(through an economical uotiou of the dyer)
not properly scoured, they will crack off
and color tho l'cct, which, without the acid,
is perfectly harmless. In concluding, I
can mlil this simple caution: Always
wash them in soap and water before wearing.
This will neutralize all acids in the
yarn and render the objectionable colored
stockings perfectly safe to wear.
?
Man wants but littlo here below; but
woman wants most everything she sees her
neighbor have?excepting her toothbrush
and youngest baby.