.
One batch having thus been disposed of, the officer was dispatched
to make another haul, and in the meantime the old game was continued;
and, as neither party would yield, the unprofitable contest was
prolonged, not till broad daylight merely, but down to eleven
o'clock, when, all propositions of compromise having been rejected,
the debate was regularly renewed. Finally, at a quarter before
five o'clock, the House adjourned, quite fagged out.

Among other evidences of the bitter and ferocious spirit which
characterized political contests in those days was the duel between
Representative Cilley, of Maine, and Representative Grimes, of
Kentucky, in which the former fell. Mr. Cilley, in a speech
delivered in the House of Representatives, criticised a charge of
corruption brought against some unnamed Congressman in a letter
published in the New York _Courier and Enquirer_, over the signature
of "A Spy in Washington," and indorsed in the editorial columns of
that paper. Mr. James Watson Webb, the editor of the _Courier and
Enquirer_, immediately visited Washington and sent a challenge to
Mr. Cilley by Mr. Graves, with whom he had but a slight acquaintance.
Mr. Cilley declined to receive the hostile communication from Mr.
Graves, without making any reflection on the personal character of
Mr. Webb. Mr. Graves then felt himself bound by the unwritten code
of honor to espouse the cause of Mr. Webb, and challenged Mr. Cilley
himself. This challenge was accepted, and the preliminaries were
arranged between Mr. Henry A. Wise, as the second of Mr. Graves,
and Mr. George W. Jones, as the second of Mr. Cilley. Rifles were
selected as the weapons, and Mr. Graves found difficulty in obtaining
one, but was finally supplied by his friend, Mr. Rives, of the
_Globe_. The parties met, the ground was measured, and the combatants
were placed; on the fourth fire Mr. Cilley fell, shot through the
body, and died almost instantly. Mr. Graves, on seeing his antagonist
fall, expressed a desire to render him some assistance, but was
told by Mr. Jones, "My friend is dead, sir!" Mr. Cilley, who left
a wife and three young children, was a popular favorite, and his
tragic end caused a great excitement all over the country. Mr.
Wise was generally blamed for having instigated the encounter;
certainly he did not endeavor to prevent it.

The Capitol had its comedies as well as its tragedies, and the
leading comedian was Thomas Corwin, a Repres