p. 190

171.

returned to the Chesnut street theatre, finally separating from Anderson. Her wrongs seemed to justify the act. But in domestic matters we give no opinion.
This untoward event to Captain Hook bore upon his feelings with peculiar hardship. He felt that he was affianced in good faith to the object of his love by all moral law and hono-rable principles of civilized society. To him the blow was keenly severe. Mr. Jefferson, in giving his consent to his daughter's union with the Captain, coupled it with an earnest request, that, as the Captain had been bred to mercantile business, the father thought it would best consult his daughter's future hap-piness if he would retire from the army and establish himself again in his original voca-tion. To this request the Captain acceded and the nuptials were postponed for one year, so that preliminary steps could be taken to resign his commission and to establish himself in business. He had received his appointment in the new regiments, raised in 1812, for the war, and served through that period with cre-dit, and, of course, was in the line of ready promotion, being retained in the peace army establishment. He was on the point of re-signing, when the astounding news broke upon the parties interested of the "Clandestine Mar-riage" having been enacted. Here was a ca-tastrophe to the family and the Captain. Thequestion of veracity was here at fault, or mooted. One affirmed and the other denied that there was an engagement. But the deed was done, and, as Shakspere says, "past pray-ing for." The lady denied the major and mi-nor, and, being married, was pleased with theconsequence, we opine, and thus solved the syllogism. Hook's fancy dreams of domestic felicity, of proftable mercantile speculations, and the delicieus comforts of the family fire-side, in exchange for the barracks, the garrison in the wilderness, or the tented field, vanished like Prospero's spell in the "Tempest." He had to remain in the army, as a soother to his disappointments, wherein he realized all the discomforts of the martial avocation; as he was doomed thereby to receive a wound that maimed him to the wretched condition of a cripple in his nether limbs, destroying his lo-comotive powers for any duration or valuable purpose. In 1816, Hook's regiment (the 4th infantry) was ordered to Fort Moultrie, Charles-ton harbor, where it was quartered during the winter of 1816 and 17. It was then ordered to one of the posts in the Creek nation. Dur-ing the time the troops were quartered there, the officer of the day, Lieut. B., (the precise name forgotten,) ordered a private of Captain Hook's company, who was then on duty at the guard-house, to go and get a horse of his and take him to the regimental blacksmith shop and have him shod. The soldier replied that he was on duty, and could not, dare not, leave the guard. This reply the Lieutenant took as gross insolence, and aimed a blow with his cane at the head of the soldier which the lat-ter dodged. At this moment Lieut. Sands, of Hook's company, came out from the guard-house, and inquired of the Lieutenant the na-ture of the difficulty. He replied that the sol-dier had refused to obey his orders, briefly re-lating the affair. To which Sands said: "Why, sir, he dare not quit his post on any account, except in the line of his duty." After a few ve-hement ejaculations the officer retired to his quarters. Capt. Hook soon became apprised of the event, and waited on Lieut. B. to learn the particulars of the case. After inquiring the nature of the transaction, he received a cavalier answer, the Lieutenant demand-ing to know "what business it was" to Capt. Hook? Hook instantly replied that the man belonged to his company, and he should not allow him to be abused when he was truly innocent. Capt. Hook then withdrew to his quarers, and shortly after received a note from Lient. B., couched in something like the fol-lowing terms:
SIR:-If you do not apologize to me for an anwarrant-able liberty taken with my official duties, I shall demand that reparation which is due to the feelings of an in-sulted gentleman and an officer of the service.
Yours respectfully, LIEUT, B******.
On the reception of this note, Hook consulted his brother officer and friend, Lieut. Sands, on the course to be pursued. Sands replied, "You must fight or apologise!" " I'll fight!" said Hook; "Sands, you must be my friend." ["Certainly."?] Capt. Hook immediately answered the note, which settled the matter at once. Hook was instantly challenged, which defiance he promptly accepted, and the seconds soon drew up the articles and rules in regular duello form. The parties met forth with in a secluded wooded vale, about a mile from the post. We will here premise that Lieut. B. was one of the best shots in the regiment, so said, and, as such; plumed himself as ready to pop at friend or foe for honor's rights and its ghostly laurels. He was always provided with splendid pistols. Captain Hook did not pretend to be an adept in this illustricus chivalric murdering accomplishment. However, Hook had taken "time by the fore-lock," and was not without some practice, or wholly verdant in the pistol's use. It would seem that the service allowed to the officers a brace of Harper Ferry manufeclured pistols, for use in their line of duties. These pistols, in quality, were excellent, and true in shooting. Capt. Hook and Lieut. Sands (the latter, by-the-by, had lost his left arm, but was a capital shot) had been in a great deal of practice with Harper Ferry arms, and had made themselves good shots. Thus "circumstanced," as Sir Patrick O'Plenipo would say, they met down in the " pine vale." They tossed up for the choice of ground, and Hook won the choice; and being rather a short man, and his adversary tall, he placed himself on rising ground, keeping, of course, out of the range of any tree that might serve to line their respective figures. . Ten paces was the measured distance. They both fired at the word. Hook shot Lieut. B. through the fleshy part of the right thigh, while the ball of Lieut. B. grazed Hook's breast. Lieut. B., on receiving his wound, whirled round and fell. He was raised by his second and the sur-geon, the wound examined, and not found se-rious. It, however, bled freely, and weakened the Lieutenant considerably. After being placed upright' against a tree, he demanded another fire. But the question arose how the antagonists could be placed, on being almost hors de combat. It was suggested that the par-ties might take a sitting posture. Lieut. B. was seated against an old stump of a tree, but Hook very imprudently seated himself at the side of a tree, which, of course, gave to his adversary a line to drop his aim upon. The counts, we believe, were "One, two, three hold!" making it obligatory to fire within the word "hold." Lieut. B., although wounded and bleeding freely, dropped his weapon from a perpendicular, lining the tree as it fell, which brought Hook's body point blank in the fatal range. He shot Capt. Hook just above the hip. The ball glanced around to the small of the back, cutting and injuring the sinews about the lower part of the spine. Hook's shot was good, hut he missed, and " a miss is as good us a mile," saye the old proverb. We heard Hook say that he felt too certain of his mark, and hence failed through carelessness, Captain Hook was disabled for life. His street [locomotion?] was confined to the back of a pony, and he could just walk about the house in short re-lays between chairs and sofas.
He was appointed to a military supervisor-ship in the War Department at Washington, and rose through regular gradation to a major-ship in the army. He died a few years since at the Federal City, regretted by many friends. He was a native of Baltimore.
His father was for many years chief of the night-watch police in that city. In our relation of these incidents, after the lapse of thirty-nine years, we may prove erroneous in some of our statements, but it will be the unfaithfulness of memory, not of design. Captain Hook was, of course, invalided, as it was obvious he could no longer render active service in the field. He left his regiment for the comforts of home, and hired a crazy, old-fashioned [phaeton?], of the ancient style of George the Second, from an Indian Creek planter, and was thus driven by a negro boy to Augusta, Georgia-three hundred and odd miles--which point was the first public stage-coach starting place for Sa-vannah or Charleston, where he could take shipping for the North. We were residing at Augusta at this time, and on his arrival helped him from his vehicle into the house. His an-tagonist was shortly after drowned in the pas-sage of a river.
On December 7th, Saturday, "The Honey Moon" was performed--Duke Aranza, Mr. Cooper. It was well received.
December 9th, Monday, "Soldier's Daugh-ter." Widow Cheerly, by Mrs. Entwisle, her first appearance in two years. We have spoken of this charming, nay, great comedy actress, in a desultory way in our first papers. She was not handsome in face, especially off the stage; at the first casual glance, her features seemed plain, with an unmeaning expression. But once strike the chords of Nature's harp--her heart, as attuned by her mind--lightning-quick her countenance would responsively echo to every emotion. Her peculiar vivacity and arch playfulness in very simplicity caught the taste and enchanted all at once. She electrified and soothed by the same stroke of nature and arl,