Show A STORMY SCENE I 1 rhe phe recent exciting scenes in congress remind the kanawl knawl knowing ng ones of an incident of a stormy character occurring in a secret session of the senate of the confederate states when there was a violent rupture between two lamous famous Sout southern berD men whose names now belong to our common history ben hill of georgia and william L yancey of alabama both men are now in their graves and so far as I 1 know neither one ever saw in print any reference to the episode which came so near ending in the immediate death of yancey and which still has the touch of fatality about it mutual friends at the time made every effort to keep the full facts from the news mongers bongers of the day and the story has doubtless been forgotten by nearly all all who ever did hear bear anything about the difficulty and its ending in the forthcoming life of mr yancey one of the series of biographies of illustrious ameri americans cano d doubtless on atless the de will be as before his bis death the distinguished alabamian gave ef a friend of his bis all the particulars with the request that he see that justice was done to both the senators A word of reference here may not be uninteresting to your readers both of the eminent southerners were of rory fiery and impassioned natures yancey was doubtless the gentler and more brilliant of the two although his attainments were not so popular nor so varied as those of senator hill who was in fact one of the greatest men the south has produced in the more modern modem era yancey was a finer scholar was less excitable and was more winning in his manner indeed personally william L yancey was one of the purest and noblest characters the nation has ever produced and he be has been misjudged by all who did not know him intimately and especially by people of the north yancey was to the south what wendell phil lips was to the north a man of intellect of violent hates yet of a generous generou 8 kindly nature with a heart overflowing with love and goodness arid and yet phillips was not in love with a union that upheld slavery nor was yancey in love with a union which was to be controlled by fanatics who were willing to override the constitution ution in their hates bates yancey was not an original secession lot that fact must be remembered in his favor he violently opposed ti cation and only became a follower and advocate of secession when he like thousands of other patriots be lieveld that nothing but a cutting loome from the abolitionists ot the north cou could ld bri bring ng j justice asti ce to the sou south th like philips yancey was an orator of the highest type in the purity of his passion there was an abdol absolute ute intolerance of what he conceived to be wrong he despised the duplicity of the mere politician he abhorred everything that had even the semblance of trickery or knavery in politics and he died with clean hands and a pure heart if he was a secessionist at the last it was jancys lofty character and his utter detestation of what he conceived to be the impure in either public or private hf liaw which involved him in the difficulty with senator hill he imputed the motives ot the georgian at the time I 1 have referred to in secret session of the confederate sou seu ate hill whose sense of honor was wag the very big highest hest instantly resented the imputation and by way of adding emphasis to his bis in digna tic n in the enforcement of his resentment he hurled buried a heavy desk inkstand at the Alba malan the blow was aimed with such precision and force that striking yancey in the region of the temple it floored him and came as I 1 have intimated well nigh digh proving fatal on the spot friends Friend sin in and that was the end of the trouble there yancey told subsequent ly that the wound was accidentally accident alJy inflicted by a boy on the street the great alabamian never fully recovered from the effects of the blow just before he died he told a confidential friend of the particulars and it was believed at the time that his death was indeed hastened by the unfortunate oc currence atlanta |