Barron

“ Rising, I saw Barron sitting with smoking pistol. Barron’s bullet had entered at the butler’s left ear and had emerged at the crown of his head.
“Didn’t want to do it,” Barron said cheerfully, “but it’s probably just as well. This is the murderer of Conover’s chauffeur, Belford, but not the killer of Conover. Draw your guns, men! All right, you behind the panel! As you doubtless know, police are in Horrocks’ room in the servants’ wing. Would you prefer to surrender to one of us or have us shoot you out?” ”

“ And in a few minutes Barron did take his departure. As he walked to the inn to find his carriage he pondered the problem of the virtuous unbeliever. A certain Bampton lecture by a well-known and learned Bishop recurred to him, which most frankly and drastically connected "Unbelief" with "Sin." Yet somehow the view was not borne out, as in the interests of a sound theology it should have been, by experience. ”

“ The protestation of Commodore Barron is contradicted in the face of the world by the conviction and confession of one of those unhappy men who had been seduced from his allegiance to his Majesty, and to whom Commodore Barron had promised his protection. ”

“ Barron worked, he opened the note.
“Dear Cousin James—” it began.
But, as far as he knew, he hadn’t a cousin in the world. With a puzzled frown, he picked up the envelope; it was plainly addressed, in a clear, small hand, to “Mr. James Ross. On board the S. S. Farragut.”
“Must be a mistake, though,” he muttered. “I’ll just see.” And he went on reading:
You have never seen me, and I know you have heard all sorts of cruel and false things about me. ”

“ The truth is, I was delighted when Kurt Barron arrived.
Annie, the maid, announced that a stranger in a wheel chair was downstairs, attended by seven young men. Could he be brought up? He acted most “pow’ful anxious.” I acceded with gladness. That would be Barron, although I never had heard of his visiting a case in person since his illness. The seven must be the crime clinic—all of us save myself, Jimmy Leffingwell who was out on the “Blinker” case, and Refton Keyes whom Barron had sent on a mission unknown to me as yet.
Barron was pale and anxious when he came in, wheeled by Bert Loder. ”

“ As the two men lay side by side, Barron turned his face to say to Decatur that he hoped, when they met in another world, they would be better friends than in this. Decatur responded that he had never been Barren’s enemy, and, though he cherished no animosity to Barron for killing him, he found it harder to forgive the men who had goaded them into this quarrel. Both combatants were carried back to Washington, where Barron slowly recovered from his wound; but Decatur, after a day of intense suffering, died in the house which still bears his name, at the corner of Jackson Place and H Street. ”

“ He tried to avert the duel, saying to Commodore Barron: “I have not challenged you, nor do I intend to challenge you; your life depends on yourself.”
He was followed to the grave by the President of the United States and the most illustrious men of his time. “The same cannon which had so often announced the splendid achievements of Decatur now marked the periods in bearing him to the tomb. Their reverberating thunder mournfully echoed through the metropolis, and also vibrated through a heart tortured to agony.” ”

“ Perhaps Lord John Russell, who was the leader of the opposition, felt this, in some degree, himself, and he determined to bring affairs to a crisis by notice of a motion respecting the appropriation of the revenues of the Irish Church. Then Barron wrote to Mr. Ferrars that affairs did not look so well, and advised him to come up to town, and take anything that offered. “It is something,” he remarked, “to have something to give up. We shall not, I suppose, always be out of office, and they get preferred more easily whose promotion contributes to patronage, even while they claim its exercise.” ”

“ Barron knew that he had on board three deserters from the "Melampus," and that these three men had been the only deserters officially and regularly demanded by the British minister. His first thought was to look for "Melampus," in the admiral's list; and on seeing that Berkeley had omitted it, Barron inferred that his own assurance would satisfy Captain Humphreys, and that the demand of search, being meant as a mere formality, would not be pressed. He explained to the British lieutenant the circumstances relating to the three men from the "Melampus," and after some consultation with Dr. ”

“ Barron had me made chairman—he’s getting McIvor to come, of course.”
[Pg 66]
“The old fox,” commented Honor. “And never peeped to me.”
“’Fraid you’d be sore, and it might put you off singing for meetings,” explained Eric.
“Men are silly,” Honor reflected as to that. “McIvor was right and I’m wrong, but does Mr. Barron think I can’t take my medicine, I wonder?”
“You’re a game sport, Honor, besides being a peach of a girl, and I’m certain you’ll be the best singer on earth yet. That’s what,” Eric assured her impressively. ”

“ As Barron rose, he began to speak.
"I have no doubt you think yourself justified in taking the line you clearly do take in this matter. I can hardly imagine that you really believe the story you say you got from Judith Sabin—which you took to Flaxman—and have, I suppose, discussed with Dawes. I am convinced—forgive me if I speak plainly—that you cannot and do not believe anything so preposterous—or at any rate you would not believe it in other circumstances. As it is, you take it up as a weapon. You think, no doubt, that everything is fair in controversy as in war. ”

“ Commodore Samuel Barron, of the Confederate States Navy, commanded the forts, and surrendered, after a gallant resistance, to the overwhelming force which assaulted him, on condition that he should be treated as a prisoner of war. The battle of Manassas had occurred to humble the pride, and appeal to the fears of the enemy, and the condition named by Barron was readily assented to. The other naval expedition, under command of Commodore Dupont, captured Port Royal, in South Carolina as mentioned in a former page. ”

“ For some occult reason Nelson Conover seemed a trifle confused. “As I said, though, I want a man to come with me who can shoot quick and—ah—straight, when the mark is another man. If he comes with me and stays by my side while you close in upon the rear, we ought to get the assassin.”
Barron agreed, and he had me lead Conover to a chair in the next room. Then I returned for last instructions.
“I don’t like him, Ellsworth,” Barron told me rapidly, when the sound-proof door closed. “He is smug and fishy in spite of his white hair. Yet there is no doubt that his life is in danger. ”

“ Barron, to Eric Mannering, the chairman of the committee on arrangements.
“It’s damnable,” he whispered. “You’ll have to tell them, Mr. Mannering. I hoped it might come back [Pg 71] up to now, but it’s well gone. I can think of but one possible thing to do. If there’s a person in sight who can turn a tune and make a noise, fetch him up—and I’ll stand beside him and wish luck on him—if I can. It’s all I can do now,” and he coughed through the words.
Eric, thunderstruck, stood bewildered. What could one do? McIvor was particularly all the show. How might any other man substitute for him? ”

“ Decatur held strong opinions against Barron, and not only expressed them strongly, but also notified Barron of them in order that he might, if he pleased, exercise the privilege of challenging. Barron made no objection, and Decatur unwillingly kept his place. In other respects Barron was still more hardly treated by fortune; the first lieutenant of the “Chesapeake” had died in the interval; Dr. Bullus, whose evidence was of the utmost [Pg 22] importance, could not appear; Captain Gordon turned against him, and expressed the free opinion that Barron had never meant to resist ”

“ No man ever saw more instant wreck and ruin fall lightning-like on a fair thing. The mass was crushed flat and shapeless by its own vast weight, and the larger boughs, which did not touch the earth, were snapped short off by the concussion of their fall.
Billy Jago held his back and whined while Barron spoke, as much to himself as the woodman.
"Dear God!" he said, "to think that this glory of the hedge-row—this kingdom of song birds—should come to the making of pauper coffins and lodging-house furniture!"
"Squire must have money; an' folks must have coffins," said Billy. ”

“ The men gathered at the useless guns. The belated drummer began to sound the roll. Hither and thither rushed officers and midshipmen. The green hands stood gawking about; some overcome by fear and the suddenness of danger, plunged down the companionway. Where were the matches? Where were the priming horns? Barron turned to go to his cabin for the keys to the magazine. They were locked in the drawer of his heavy desk, and now there came another shot. It struck fair in the bulwarks, and the hammocks and their contents were thrown out of the nettings. ”

“ Barron considered himself insulted, and a long correspondence followed, which finally resulted in Barron challenging Decatur to fight a duel. Under the code of honor then in vogue, Decatur could do nothing but accept, and the meeting took place at Bladensburg, Maryland, March 22, 1820. At the word "fire," Barron fell wounded in the hip, where Decatur had said he would shoot him, while Decatur himself received a wound in the abdomen from which he died that night. He was, all in all, one of the most brilliant and efficient men the navy ever boasted ”

“ Gamaliel Barron was too lacking in any form of self-consciousness, was too indifferently confident of himself as a Westerner, the equal of any and all human creatures, to experience that sensation of mauvaise honte that men of smaller fiber are apt to feel in the presence of beings of superior polish. ”

“ They could not go through explanations to every one. They became morbidly sensitive upon the subject. No less then seven duels grew out of the affair, and Allen, who had fired the gun, wrote to his father thus: "If I am acquitted honorably, if Captain Barron is condemned, you may see me again. If not, never."—Poor Allen! No disgrace shall ever be attached to his name. He died of wounds received while bravely fighting on the deck of his own little vessel, the Argus, some years later, and he was buried in foreign soil by a guard of honor of his enemies, who appreciated his bravery and worth. ”

“ He returned, at last, and sought employment; Decatur officially opposed his claims; and thereupon he challenged, and killed Decatur, the pride of the American navy; and, after this, he received employment from the government. The services of James Barron are not likely to be undervalued. Decatur’s offence consisted, in his declaration of opinion, that Barron did not return to the service of his country, as in duty bound. The duel took place March 22, 1820. After this, Barron demanded a Court of Inquiry, to settle this point. ”

“ Yet he urged Gordon to complete his outfit at Washington, because the Norfolk yard was worse. [3] "I would by no means advise your leaving the navy-yard with any unfinished work and depend on Norfolk. You will experience more difficulty and trouble than you can imagine." As Burr's trial showed that the army was honeycombed by incompetence and conspiracy, so Barron's court-martial proved that nothing in naval administration could be depended upon. ”

“ Barron had confided in Murdoch, but begged he would let it be known that he courted no society for the present. As the work grew he spent more and more time upon it. He explained to his friend quite seriously that he was painting the gorse, but that Joan Tregenza had consented to fill a part of the picture—a statement which amused the younger artist not a little.
"But the gorse is extraordinary, I'll admit. You must have worked without ceasing. She will be exquisite. Where shall you get the blue for her eyes?" ”

“ BARON or BARRON, BARTHOLOMEW, or BONAVENTURA (d. 1696) , Irish Franciscan and miscellaneous writer, born towards the commencement of the seventeenth century, was second son of Lawrence Baron, merchant, of Clonmel, in Tipperary, by his first wife, Maria, sister of Luke Wadding, founder of St. ”

“ At length contenc’on fell amongst the said Barrons for the said Wildmore, for that none of them did know what or how much did appertaine of the said Wildmore to every of their Barronaries, wheruppon division was made between the Barron of Bullingbrooke and the Barron of Horncastle and Scrivelsbie, in the said Marris; that the men of the Barronry of Bullingbrooke might quietly com’on in their owne feudal com’ons, and the men of Horncastle and Scrivelsby in theire p’ts, which said division was made in the time of the said Will’m Romar the elder, in this manner. ”

“ His pallbearers were Commodores Tingey, Macdonough, Rodgers, and Porter, Captains Cassin, Ballard, and Chauncey, Generals Brown and Jesup, and Lieutenant McPherson. His body323 was removed to Philadelphia in 1844, where it was deposited in St. Peter’s churchyard. “An Ionic marble pillar on which an American eagle stands triumphant,” marks the grave.
Barron’s wound confined him to his boarding-house in Washington (Norfolk was his home) for three weeks. He was restored to active service in 1825; and in 1839 had become the senior officer of the navy. ”

“ How pompous is article 7: “Any Landgrave or Cassique, when it is his right to choose, shall take any of the Barronies appropriated to the Nobility, which is not already planted on by some other Nobleman.” ”