George Washingtons Last Duel

Washington's" Last Duel, by
Thomas Nelson Page

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Title: "George Washington's" Last Duel 1891
Author: Thomas Nelson Page
Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #23013]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ASCII
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WASHINGTON'S" LAST DUEL ***

Produced by David Widger

"GEORGE WASHINGTON'S" LAST DUEL.
By Thomas Nelson Page
1891

I.
Of all the places in the county "The Towers" was the favorite with the
young people. There even before Margaret was installed the Major kept
open house with his major domo and factotum "George Washington";
and when Margaret came from school, of course it was popular. Only
one class of persons was excluded.
There were few people in the county who did not know of the Major's
antipathy to "old women," as he called them. Years no more entered
into his definition of this class than celibacy did into his idea of an "old
bachelor." The state of single blessedness continued in the female sex
beyond the bloom of youth was in his eyes the sole basis of this
unpardonable condition. He made certain concessions to the few
individuals among his neighbors who had remained in the state of
spinsterhood, because, as he declared, neighborliness was a greater
virtue than consistency; but he drew the line at these few, and it was his
boast that no old woman had ever been able to get into his Eden. "One
of them," he used to say, "would close paradise just as readily now as
Eve did six thousand years ago." Thus, although as Margaret grew up
she had any other friends she desired to visit her as often as she chose,
her wish being the supreme law at Rock Towers, she had never even
thought of inviting one of the class against whom her uncle's ruddy face
was so steadfastly set. The first time it ever occurred to her to invite
any one among the proscribed was when she asked Rose Endicott to
pay her a visit. Rose, she knew, was living with her old aunt, Miss
Jemima Bridges, whom she had once met in R-----, and she had some
apprehension that in Miss Jemima's opinion, the condition of the South
was so much like that of the Sandwich Islands that the old lady would
not permit Rose to come without her personal escort. Accordingly, one
evening after tea, when the Major was in a particularly gracious humor,
and had told her several of his oldest and best stories, Margaret fell
upon him unawares, and before he had recovered from the shock of the
encounter, had captured his consent. Then, in order to secure the
leverage of a dispatched invitation, she had immediately written Rose,
asking her and her aunt to come and spend a month or two with her,

and had without delay handed it to George Washington to deliver to
Lazarus to give Luke to carry to the post-office. The next evening,
therefore, when the Major, after twenty-four hours of serious
apprehension, reopened the matter with a fixed determination to coax
or buy her out of the notion, because, as he used to say, "women can't
be reasoned out of a thing, sir, not having been reasoned in," Margaret
was able to meet him with the announcement that it was "too late," as
the letter had already been mailed.
Seated in one of the high-backed arm-chairs, with one white hand
shading her laughing eyes from the light, and with her evening dress
daintily spread out about her, Margaret was amused at the look of
desperation on the old gentleman's ruddy face. He squared his round
body before the fire, braced himself with his plump legs well apart, as
if he were preparing to sustain the shock of a blow, and taking a deep
inspiration, gave a loud and prolonged "Whew!"
This was too much for her.
Margaret rose, and, going up to him, took his arm and looked into his
face cajolingly.
"Uncle, I was bound to have Rose, and Miss Jemima would not have let
her come alone."
The tone was the low, almost plaintive key, the effectiveness of which
Margaret knew so well.
"'Not let her!'" The Major faced her quickly. "Margaret, she is one of
those strong-minded women!"
Margaret nodded brightly.
"I bet my horse she wears iron-gray curls, caught on the side of her
head with tucking combs!"
"She does," declared Margaret, her eyes dancing.

"And has a long nose--red at the end."
"Uncle, you have