11.――King’s left eye looked worse than e_Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (of 3) Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863

good-looking mug was knocked out of all symmetry.

Nevertheless he was again first to begin the attack,

and in leading got home the left on the right cheek,

following it in with one from the right on the side of

the pimple. Jem, who timed his man beautifully,

administered another tremendous left-hander on the

mazzard, when Tom’s nob, from its effect, went waving

back. On the instant, however, he pulled himself

together and dashed in to renew the struggle, when Jem

met him, and delivered a tremendous left-hander on the

nose, which produced a copious flow of blood. As Mace

took fresh ground Tom again dashed in, and they fought

a regular ding-dong, slogging give-and-take to a close.

Tom, with his usual style of bending his head slightly

forward, went dashing at Jem, and got more than one

straightening prop. They again fought in regular

ding-dong to a close, when Tom, while receiving Jem’s

props on the dial, made use of the right once or twice

in a very efficient manner on the body, upon which Mace

got from his man and went down. The referee here called

the attention of Tom’s seconds to the fact that their

man had struck Jem while he was down, which was true;

but Mace was just on the go, and King could not help

the hit, which was evidently unintentional, and no harm

was done.

12.――Another splendid rally in this round, Mace again

in a telling manner doing execution with both mauleys,

but evidently forced back by King’s irresistible

advance. The men, who had fought right across the ring,

closed in Mace’s corner, when Jem got down, Tom falling

on him. During this round the referee had several times

to caution the seconds, who, in a most reprehensible

manner, followed their principals as closely as

frequently to be in the way of the combatants.

13.――The men again went to work in a spirited and

determined manner. Jem, with his left, got well home on

the front of his man’s dial, and jumped back; when Tom,

with his right, administered some sounding spanks on

the ribs. As Jem broke to get away, King followed him

up, and Mace went down to end the round.

14.――Mace commenced operations by getting well in range

and delivering a pretty left-hander full on the nose,

knocking Tom’s head round as though it had been shaken

off its connections; nevertheless Tom again tried to

force the fighting, when, after some merry exchanges,

they closed, and in the fall went down together in the

centre of the ring. King’s friends cheered him

heartily, as he fully deserved.

15.――Some sharp fighting, rather in favour of Mace,

who, in the end, went down in the hitting, and King

fell over him.

16.――Tom dashed in viciously, and after a fine exchange

of compliments, in which each did execution, they

closed, and Jem, who had had the best of the exchanges,

fell under.

17.――Tom again forced the fighting, but though he

delivered with his left, he was a little too round with

his right to be effective. Mace, after countering with

his antagonist, and getting well home with the left in

the middle of the head, and following up at half

measure with the right, got cleverly away from his man.

As Jem took fresh position, Tom followed him up, and

the men in a rally fought to the ropes. In the close

both got under the top rope, and fell nearly out of the

ring.

18.――Such a certainty was the battle looked upon by

some of Jem’s admirers that Johnny Gideon here offered

£30 to £5 on him, but there were no takers. Indeed,

Tom’s umpire, a good judge, said that, bar accident,

Mace could not lose. After some more severe fighting,

in which Mace again delivered in a telling manner on

Tom’s dial with both mauleys, Tom made a slip in

getting from his man, and fell on his knees. On the

instant the game fellow recovered his perpendicular,

and as Jem noticed this he beckoned him to renew the

round. King was willing, but his well-skilled seconds,

seeing the fast work he was doing, refused to allow

him.

19.――It now seemed “all over, but shouting,” to the

partisans of Mace, who called out any odds, without

response. As the men came up it was easy to see that

Jem, thinking himself already victorious, was anxious

to finish off the business, lest the appearance of the

police, which had been rumoured, should rob him of his

conquest at the last moment. He worked in with both

hands in weaving style to get well to distance, and as

he took up his position he got into a slight hollow of

the ring. Jem, who had repeatedly tried to land a

clipping cross-counter with his right, had just opened

himself for the purpose of trying it on, when Tom, who

stood firmly to his guns, met him with one of the most

tremendous hits we ever saw. It was a cross-counter on

the left cheek with his right hand――a blow that seemed

to go all over Jem’s face with crushing effect. Jem,

bleeding from the mouth and nose, reeled and staggered

from the effect of this visitation, and then, to the

consternation of friends, fell in the middle of the

ring all of a heap. So sudden a change in the aspect of

affairs had hardly ever been witnessed in the memory of

the oldest ring-goer, and Jem’s seconds were working

with a zeal which told how serious was the position.

Down came the odds. “The Champion’s licked,” said

twenty voices in a sort of stage whisper, and all eyes

were strained in the direction of the busy group in

Mace’s corner.

20.――King walked up to the scratch, watching the

referee with ill-concealed anxiety to hear the call of

“Time.” When, however, that functionary had twice

repeated his summons, Mace, who had by no means

recovered from the settler he had received, came

unsteadily from his corner. Tom walked up to him, and

Mace tried a wild delivery with his left, Tom retorted

with a hot blow on the nose, and Mace, in getting away,

went down close to the referee’s seat like a lump of

lead. There was now the greatest commotion and

excitement all round the ring. It was now as clearly

King’s victory as it had previously been Mace’s.

Brettle and Travers worked with a will, doing for their

man everything possible, and he gallantly seconded

their efforts, resolutely refusing to allow them to

throw up the sponge.

21 and last.――Before Mace left his corner Tom was

waiting for his man, and no sooner did Mace come up

than King went to him, and, with a slight push on the

head, sent him down. Jem, who was weak and exhausted,

and who had the right side of his phiz swelled in an

extraordinary manner from the effects of King’s

right-hander, was now clearly _hors de combat_, and his

friends, seeing he had not the remotest chance of

winning, threw up the sponge in spite of his protests.

This token of defeat was hailed with loud shouts by

Tom’s friends, who were, of course, doubly delighted at

the bravery and good fortune of their man, and they

crowded enthusiastically round King to hail him as the

last addition to the roll of brave men who have borne

the proud title of Champion of England. The battle

lasted exactly thirty-eight minutes.

REMARKS.――There can be little question as to the fact

that King’s decisive victory was more immediately due

to the tremendous hit to which Mace laid himself open

by his over-eagerness to plant what he considered a

sort of _coup de grace_ on his gallant adversary. His

skill in administering, as well as avoiding punishment,

had given him an apparent best, but he had not reduced

the courage and confidence, nor exhausted the strength

of his dangerous antagonist. The “hit” that King “had

left in him,” was, as Jem found to his cost that day,

worth the Championship of England. That this is no

disparagement of King’s victory all must admit, and a

more gallant display of skill and bravery could not

have been witnessed in any day present or past. King’s

fairness of style in the finish of several rounds, when

the lead trembled in the balance, shone conspicuously,

and was warmly acknowledged by the spectators.

At the giving up of the stakes, on the Thursday night week, King once

again announced his intention of not contesting the Championship. This

was generally understood as owing to obligations of another

description in which a “ring” also had a part, and not a few of Young

Tom’s intimates drank a toast to his matrimonial felicity, in the old

formula of “The single married, and the married happy.”

A curious telegraphic contretemps, which may serve as a caution to the

over-clever, occurred on this occasion. Mr. William Wright, of

Fulwood’s Rents, who was at this period an immense authority, had

arranged with his London clerks that, to prevent surreptitious use of

the earliest intelligence, for which he had incurred a large outlay,

his telegram would give the losing man as winner, and they were to

read it and manifold it accordingly. Having therefore sent off, at the

earliest possible moment, “Mace beat King,” with the number of rounds,

&c., the telegraph clerk on the spot, thinking he knew to the

contrary, innocently set the message _right_, and, out of kindness,

sent over the wire, “King beat Mace;” whereon the clerks dutifully

followed their instructions, and the wrong result was extensively

circulated to clubs, subscribers, &c., and for some hours a

bewildering uncertainty prevailed.

The Young Sailor, however, had excited too great an interest in the

public mind to be allowed to sink quietly into oblivion. He had

distinctly stated that he did not seek the distinction, if distinction

it was, of the Championship, and he resigned the belt into the hands

of the Editor of _Bell’s Life_. Heenan, however, having made some good

friends among gentlemen of the turf by his civility, intelligence, and

good conduct, intimated to several of these, that if there was any

“big one” desirous to try conclusions with him, he was ready to make a

“quiet match” for not less than £500, and he had friends who would

make it £1000 if required. This was formally communicated to the

Editor of _Bell’s Life_, with a wish that no bouncing or offensive

challenge should be inserted. The Editor at once put these facts in

circulation in proper quarters, and the proposition, like most

American notions, “a big thing,” made some of Tom King’s friends prick

up their ears. Mace was engaged “two deep,” and moreover was not

“their man.” A conference was held at Owen Swift’s, to which Tom King

was invited, and he, with ready gallantry, declared the opportunity

was most inviting and welcome. Money was forthcoming on both sides,

and as both sides meant business, the paper subjoined was soon

formulated――

“ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT entered into this 17th day of March,

1863, between John Camel Heenan and Thomas King. The said

John Camel Heenan agrees to fight the said Thomas King a

fair stand-up fight, according to the new rules of the ring,

by which the said John Camel Heenan and the said Thomas King

hereby agree to be bound. The said fight shall be for the

sum of £1,000 a side, and shall take place on the 8th day of

December, 1863, within 100 miles of London. In pursuance of

this agreement, £100 a side are now deposited in the hands

of Mr. John Coney, who shall transmit the same to the Editor

of _Bell’s Life_, who shall be final stakeholder; the second

deposit, of £50 a side, shall be made at Mr. W.

Richardson’s, “Blue Anchor,” Shoreditch, on Thursday, March

26; the third, of £50 a side, to be made on April 9; the

fourth, of £50 a side, on April 23; the fifth, of £50 a

side, on May 7; the sixth, of £50 a side, on May 21; the

seventh, of £50 a side, on June 4; the eighth, of £50 a

side, on June 18; the ninth, of £50 a side, on July 2; the

tenth, of £50 a side, on July 16; the eleventh, of £50 a

side, on July 30; the twelfth, of £50 a side, on August 13;

the thirteenth, of £50 a side, on August 27; the fourteenth,

of £50 a side, on September 10; the fifteenth, of £50 a

side, on September 24; the sixteenth, of £50 a side, on

October 27; the seventeenth, of £50 a side, on November 5;

and the final deposit, of £100 a side, on November 26, at

Mr. W. Richardson’s, “Blue Anchor,” as above, when the men

shall mutually agree to the place of fighting. The said

deposits to be made between the hours of eight and ten p.m.

on the days and at the houses named; either party failing,

to forfeit the money down. The houses at which the deposits

shall be made shall be named by each party alternately, and

to be made in London. The place of the next deposit to be

named as the staking of the previous one, Heenan having to

name the place of the third deposit. The men to be in the

ring between the hours of ten a.m. and one p.m. on the day

named, or the man absent to forfeit the money. But, in the

event of magisterial interference, the referee shall decide

the next place and time of meeting, the same day, if

possible. The expenses of the ropes and stakes shall be

borne mutually. Mr. Dowling, the Editor of _Bell’s Life in

London_, to be referee. Two umpires to be chosen on the

ground; and, in case of dispute between them, the decision

of the referee to be final.

“In pursuance of this agreement, we hereunto attach our names――

“JOHN CAMEL HEENAN.

“CHARLES BUSH, for Thomas King.

“Witness: H. A. REED.”

The match made, each man at once proceeded to make trading capital out

of it by travelling the provinces, and this at first led to a belief

that the match would never come to anything, but was merely got up for

this purpose. On the other hand it was asserted, that the match was

sure to come off, but the result had been cut and dried; that the

backers of the men intended to make a trading speculation out of the

“Special” which was to convey the belligerents to the scene of action.

It was known that a sum of more than £1000 had been divided between

Sayers and Heenan out of the profits of the train for their match, and

the supposition was, perhaps, not unnatural that £500 would be very

good interest upon £100 for a few months, setting aside the off chance

of something else turning up into the bargain. As the day approached

for the men to go into training fears as to the affair not being

genuine quickly subsided, and in racing circles the match created much

interest, numerous bets of 6 to 4 being laid on the Benicia Boy, whose

appearance at Newmarket during the October Meetings fully justified

the confidence reposed in him. Heenan took his breathings almost

entirely at Newmarket in company with his own brother Jem, and

Macdonald, but required very little, if any, looking after. His feats

as a pedestrian during his work were something extraordinary, six

miles and a “bittock” did he generally turn in ordinary walking, and

many a spin and a tie up did he give to some of our crack jocks, among

whom are to be found no mean specimens of fair toe-and-heel walkers.

Jack’s spins at the top of his speed, too, not a little astonished the

Browns, and we have been credibly informed he could on a pinch do his

quarter in 56 seconds――not bad for a 14 stone man, standing nearly 6

feet 2 inches. When stripped his frame was a model for a sculptor.

Every muscle was developed to a gigantic size, every tendon and sinew

was distinctly visible; and, taken altogether, we doubt whether such a

specimen of a Hurculean frame has been witnessed in the British P. R.

for very many years. That Heenan possessed every confidence in himself

may be gathered from the fact that some three weeks previously he sent

a message to the stakeholder, requesting him to state that if he did

not lick King the public ought to stigmatise him as the greatest

impostor who ever entered the Ring. The Editor tells us that he

declined to insert this statement at the time, as not being fair to

either party, and considering that should the result justify the

observation it would be time enough to make it when the battle was

over. Heenan, as may be recollected, was born in 1834, at Troy, United

States, of Irish parents. His fighting weight on stripping on the

present occasion was, as near as possible, 14 stone 2lb.

As the time of battle drew near the difficulties of a mode of transit

to the ground increased. One after another refusals of accommodation

were returned, the powers and authorities having experienced the

disorders which seemed inseparable from the gathering of such a crowd

as had now made it a custom to gather on such an occasion. During

Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday, the offices of the sporting newspapers,

to say nothing of the “houses of call” for sporting men, were besieged

by questioners; but beyond the fact that tickets at three sovereigns a

head were procurable, no definite tip was to be had.

Tuesday evening was a night of festivity at all sporting pubs. The

public fully believing that on the following morning the mill would

come off, and all being agog to get the necessary tip. It was not

until well into the small hours that many would believe that Wednesday

was not the day. The same scene was repeated on Wednesday, with the

exception that delay had doubled the excitement, and the houses, which

on Tuesday were crammed, were on the following night well nigh

overwhelmed, and the ordinary business could scarcely be transacted.

At Owen Swift’s much anxiety was expressed as to whether a bet of £600

to £400 appointed to be put down the night before the fight would

really be forthcoming, certain half-sceptics pinning their faith on

this ceremony as calculated to prove the genuine nature of the match.

It was also expected it would materially affect the betting, many

considering that the staking would show such confidence on the part of

King’s backers as would justify his being backed for money.

On our arrival at London Bridge Station a few minutes before five in

the morning, we found that the “rasping” division had dwindled away to

an insignificant few. The fact is, the busy tongue of rumour had sent

them so often to the various stations on a Will o’ the Wisp errand,

that the detrimentals were completely tired out, and, after the lesson

of Tuesday and Wednesday nights, without anything turning up, they

denounced the whole affair as “a sell,” and stayed at home. Never was

a secret of such a kind better kept, and the wide-awakes who “knew the

exact spot to a yard,” found themselves neck deep in the mire, after a

fashion they little calculated on; the cut-purse family wiping the

frosty icicles from their noses in the west, when they should have

been looking out for squalls in the South Eastern horizon. The

delightful result was that the congregation of the fistic art passed

through the thin dark line of worn and weary snapper-badgers. The

arrangements of the legitimate “conveyancers” were most excellent;

everybody was comfortably “taken in and done for,” whilst the presence

of the ring-constable volunteers set the foot of authority down with a

crash upon all attemps at “rigging the market.” In fact, one might

have thought that he was going to see an early ploughing match, whilst

the “Yahoo” business didn’t rise as high as the song of an old

tea-kettle. Indeed, that ugly element was wise in the course it was

constrained to adopt; had it done otherwise there was force enough

present to have brought every atom of it to grief. Both the men

reached the ground in good time, and both had their fair quantity of

supporters, who would persist in blocking up each carriage door, so

that the entrance of a breath of air was almost next to an

impossibility.

The train consisted of thirty carriages, in each of which, to use a

theatrical phrase, there was not standing room. We were “horsed” by

two powerful engines, and, at about a quarter past six glided out of

the station without the least confusion, and with the greatest

regularity. The morning stars were just beginning to show signs of

that glimmering faintness which indicates the approach of daybreak.

Once the train got in motion, not a sound was to be heard save the

outburst of some occasional hearty laugh at the jocularity going on

inside. But even this was of the mildest possible character, and there

was an entire absence of that reprehensible boisterous outpouring

which has too often awoke the slumbering people along the route,

filling their half-dreamy imaginations with the horror that the

Philistines were upon them. We were more than half afraid that the new

plan of paying at the doors would have been productive of the direst

confusion, but our apprehensions were agreeably dispelled.

On casting a quiet running glance through the interior of each

carriage, before we started, we found the genuine patrons of our

national manly “trial by battle” in very strong force indeed. We heard

one and all join in a universal chorus of satisfaction at the way in

which we had been “got off.” On and on we rolled through the fair

county of Kent, and as the grey dawn of morning rose eastward on our

track the mild fresh breeze played upon our half-sleepy faces, waking

us up to a sense of life and activity that was as agreeable as it was

invigorating. The morning was beautiful and mild, and away now to our

left the bright blue-tinged light of early day could be seen breaking

gently and softly, widening and lengthening as it imperceptibly spread

over the landscape in a manner that would have excited the admiration

of a Gainsborough or a Creswick. Still on and onward we go through

deep cuttings and over high embankment; anon the iron horses slacken

their speed, and the next instant the reverberating sounds of our

whirling wheels tell us that we are passing through the bowels of

mother earth. On emerging from the tunnel into open country our ears

were saluted with voices that unmistakably marked the owners as

denizens of the aristocratic regions west of Regent Street.

Speculation made itself heard, and 6 and 7 to 4 on the Benicia Boy

seemed to be the chorus of the song. Just as we could distinguish

houses and buildings sufficiently, the train glided noiselessly into

Reigate Junction, where we were “regaled” by the sight of a strong

covey of early “blue birds” belonging to the Surrey County

Constabulary. It is needless to say that they were not there on our

invitation. We considered them more free than welcome, and following

the prudent and time-honoured example of those philosophic

predecessors of theirs, Masters Dogberry and Verges of blessed memory,

we stole ourselves out of their company with all possible alacrity and

despatch. A thin white frosty veil of mist floated over the landscape

as we again got in full swing, whilst the leaden coloured clouds as

they lay heavy and motionless overhead gave us cause for grave

anxiety, but, as our fears were rising to an uncomfortable grade on

our nervous thermometer, in we rushed to another tunnel. When we

issued forth we made a series of weatherwise surveys all round us, and

were joyed to find the dark curtain lifting evenly and gradually up on

our right, whilst on the opposite side bright broken patches

encouraged our most earnest hopes, Another turn of the steam valve,

and away we sped at over forty miles an hour; wood and dell, hamlet

and village, cottage and mansion flew by like the magic of the

kaleidoscope, and the question of our journey’s end took the place of

other topics for the moment. A few miles further on and we shot by

Tunbridge Wells. By this time we could see that the “bold peasantry”

were discussing their breakfast, but as we rattled on at the rate of a

mile a minute and a half, we did not take particular notice of what

they ate. At length we drew up in a secluded and well-selected spot,

where we got out, yawned, stretched ourselves, and gulped in the sharp

morning air most voraciously. On account of the extreme softness of

the ground it was some time before a decent place could be found. At

this hour, about a quarter past nine o’clock, the sun was shining out

as magnificently as on a fine May morning, and as we toiled some mile

and a half up a steep clayey hill, the “stuff” was taken out of many.

At length a chosen spot was taken possession of, and the ring pitched

in a field at Wadhurst, near Frant, below Tunbridge Wells. King first

dropped in his castor, amid loud cheers, accompanied by Jerry Noon and

Bos Tyler, and was immediately followed by Heenan, who was similarly

received, being esquired by Jack Macdonald, and, for the sake of

theatrical effect, Tom Sayers. Colours were now unfolded on both

sides, and the combatants began to dress. The choice of ground was won

by Heenan, and then came the referee. Some wrangling here took place

in respect to that functionary, during which the betting went on with

offers at 40 to 20, &c., on Heenan, but there did not seem to be any

takers. Confusion now became the ruling element, wasting away precious

time on the top of a hill that could be seen for twenty miles around.

There were the men and their seconds ready, while the referee was

expected to come from the clouds. Three quarters of an hour was spent

in this way before matters were finally closed, and the referee

originally proposed was ultimately agreed to. The men then began the

important duty of the toilet, and in the hands of their respective

valets that operation was soon completed. The ring was then cleared,

and the men showed themselves ready in battle array. Heenan was the

first to exhibit, mid the loud cheers of his admirers, and was

instantly followed by King, for whom another salvo rose up from the

throats of his party. Exactly at ten o’clock the men were delivered at

the scratch, shook hands, and prepared to commence

THE FIGHT.

ROUND 1.――As the men advanced towards the centre of the

ring the first glance seemed to show how great were the

physical advantages of Heenan, who looked quite the

stone heavier man he really was――King being

comparatively a fair-skinned stripling; but a closer

inspection revealed a jaded appearance. He looked

clumsier altogether than when he fought Sayers. King,

on the contrary, was as well as ever he could be, and

there was a bloom and healthfulness about him, which

spoke not only of steady training, but of an unvitiated

constitution. He had not altogether the cut of a

professional pugilist, but would rather be described as

a fine, fresh, good-looking young countryman. The men

threw themselves into attitude, and opened the round

with a little sparring, but there was a hurried, not to

say nervous, manner about each of them, which indicated

that the scientific display would not be very

prolonged. Heenan led off once or twice, but was not

close enough. King was equally out of distance in

trying to return. At last they got nearer, and

exchanged good counter-hits. A couple more heavy hits

were given, and King was drawing back to take up fresh

ground, when Heenan plunged desperately at him, and got

his left arm round his neck; the impetus of his rush

carrying them both to the ropes. Here Heenan sought to

fix his man in the dangerous manner he had practised

with Sayers, but King’s strength enabled him to wrench

himself up, and, locked together, they wrestled back to

the centre of the ring. Here Heenan hung upon his man,

squeezing him tightly, and trying to force him down.

King, whose arms were at liberty, hit him heavily about

the body left and right, until he fell, dragging Heenan

with him, but the Yankee was uppermost. (The referee

here entered the ring and cautioned Heenan as to his

“hugging” system, which was certainly an unsightly mode

of attack.)

2.――Both men were somewhat flushed about the head from

the previous round, and King appeared a little

distressed from the severe struggle. He was urged to be

first with his man, and led off directly he came to the

scratch. He got well home on Heenan’s head; the latter

countered, but without much precision, and some wild

but heavy exchanges took place with both hands, King

dealing the Yankee a severe blow on the mouth. Tom was

pressing his man, when Heenan made a dash at him, and

showing great superiority in strength, after a few

seconds of squeezing, threw him heavily, a very

dangerous fall, coming with all his weight upon him.

(_First blood_ was here given to King; Heenan’s lips

being cut and bleeding.)

3.――King seemed anxious to keep away from his man spar;

there was no doubt that he was already considerably

shaken by the severe falls he had received. Heenan

appeared more anxious to seize a favourable chance to

grasp his man than to hit him. After a moment’s pause

they got together, and lashed out heavily with the

left, each getting home. This led to some more

exchanges, desperately heavy, it is true, but made in a

wild style, and not like two finished boxers. Heenan

again plunged in, King meeting him heavily as he came,

but he grappled Tom, and again brought him down with

shattering force across the lower rope, which was

pressed to the ground. Luckily the ground was not hard.

(Unpleasant as was Heenan’s style of fighting, he was

considered to be getting the best of the battle, as

King evidently could not resist his rush and clinching

throw.)

4.――King’s left eye was marked with a mouse, but

otherwise he did not show much signs of punishment. The

rounds were all short ones, Heenan forcing his way in

upon King, a few slashing exchanges; then King was once

more caught in the hug, and thrown a desperate fall.

(Great disapprobation of Heenan’s style of fighting――if

fighting it could be called. His hugging and squeezing

was far worse than even in Sayers’s fight.)

5.――King was as ready at the call of “time” as his

antagonist, yet evidently felt the falls he was

receiving, and sparred a bit for wind. Heenan was

distressed also, and glad of a pause. They worked round

a bit until they got near, when King, with the

swiftness of lightning, dealt the Yankee a terrific hit

in the middle of the head with his right, almost

knocking him off his legs, and drawing streams of

claret from a cut on his mouth. It was nearly a

floorer, and on Heenan trying a return, King

cross-countered very heavily on the side of the head.

Heenan was for a moment at a standstill, and King led

off again, but was out of distance, and the Yankee

again “clinching”――we must borrow an Americanism which

expresses more than our word “closing”――succeeded in

once more putting on the “hug” and throwing King

heavily; though he pitched over him so far as to strike

the ground with his own head.

6.――The fighting had been wild enough before, but in

this round there was no attempt at precision or

steadiness. The men punched――or punched at――one another

wildly, King getting the best of what hitting did tell,

till Heenan closed, and, getting his regular grip,

flung King a burster.

7.――The men went to work directly they faced each

other, and in a slogging rally some really terrific

hitting was given and taken. They broke away, but only

for a few seconds, when they got together with more

tremendous exchanges, yet still to the advantage of

King, who allowed what little science was exhibited,

and hit straightest. By a desperate snorter with his

right, during this rally, he drew a fresh burst of

crimson. Heenan closed in the hitting, hugged his man

viciously, and then threw him one of the heaviest

cross-buttocks seen for many a day. It was a crusher,

and King lay for a few seconds until his seconds picked

him up and bore him to his corner.

8.――King, to the delight of his friends, came up

promptly; although he was piping a little, he seemed

marvellously little hurt by these continuous throws.

Heenan was ready to fight to improve his supposed

advantage, and the men exchanged stinging counters

directly they faced each other, and heavy exchanges

followed. Heenan dashed in as usual to seize his man,

but on this occasion he was foiled, for King caught him

in his arms; and, after a moment’s struggle, threw the

Yankee heavily and fell on him. (This was a fair,

unmistakable back fall and the cheering for King was

tremendous.)

9.――Heenan looked vexed as he came up; he had plainly

made up his mind to recover his wrestling superiority,

and tried for an opening. King was with him, and met

him left and right; then, getting away again, planted

on him with tremendous effect as he came in, catching

his man well in the middle of the head; and now and

then, in each of the rounds, giving a home hit on the

body. Heenan at last got in, squeezed his man savagely,

and again threw him a shattering fall.

10.――The wildest and fastest of fighting still

continued, in fact, the rally more resembled a

“turn-up” of two angry navvies than the tactics of

skilled boxers. The exchanges were of the severest

description, although most of the blows seemed given at

random. Heenan was wholly bent on throwing, and once

more hugged King and threw him.

11.――Heenan showed that the pace was telling on him,

and it was doubtful whether he was not taking almost as

much out of himself by his desperate struggles to throw

King, as he was out of King by the falls. He persevered

in his wrestling game, however, for hardly an attempt

was made at a blow in this round before he grappled

with King, and brought him over.

12.――Tom was a little more on his guard this time, and

led off; Heenan returned, and a few seconds of very

hard fighting took place, both men being hit severely

about the head till they closed, when King again

succeeded in turning the tables, and threw Heenan

heavily.

13.――Although this round began with some countering

which looked very heavy, yet Heenan’s blows did not, as

a rule, tell very much; and when his seconds sent him

up King looked clean, and comparatively free from

punishment. Heenan again gave his man the hug, and

threw him. After this round Heenan’s left hand became

gradually of less service to him.

14.――Heenan feinted with his left, and threw in a

smasher on the head with his right. King stuck to him,

but after some stinging exchanges, in which he had the

best, he was thrown――one of the most tremendous

cross-buttocks ever seen――and so stunned and shaken was

King, that but for the tact and presence of mind of

Jerry Noon, it is doubtful if he could have come to

time.

15.――In spite of the very heavy falls being nearly

always in his favour, Heenan was now almost as much

distressed as King, and the punishment given was

certainly much against him. After a little sparring,

heavy counters were exchanged, and then three or four

smashing hits left and right, without a semblance of

stopping or avoiding. Heenan drew back a little, and

then lunging tremendously with his right, nailed King

with such terrific force that he staggered and went

down. (This was _first knock-down blow_ in favour of

Heenan, and was one at the few clean hits he delivered

or even attempted to deliver during the fight.)

16.――Although slower than before in answering the call

of “time,” King came resolutely up, and did not seem

greatly shaken by the knock-down blow. Indeed, Heenan

appeared worse from the effects of the last round than

did his opponent, as King had planted so heavily on his

left eye that it was badly cut and nearly closed. In

some more heavy punching――pure slogging give-and-take,

without any show of science――Heenan’s eye was quite

shut up, and he showed some decided signs of weakness.

King dashed in, and, after an exhausting struggle,

forced him down.

17.――In this round Heenan again got the fall; but it

was for the last time. He was evidently falling off;

and when once his superiority in strength or wrestling

power was gone he seemed useless and almost helpless as

a boxer. King hit him tremendously about the side of

the head and on the eyes, and it appeared as if Heenan

would soon be blind. However, as just said, he clutched

King desperately, and threw him one of the hardest

falls in the fight. But it was his last effort, and

while he became visibly weaker every minute, King,

strange to say, seemed little the worse.

18.――There was at first some fear that the ring would

be broken in; for the intense excitement among the

outer crowd had induced a rush, which broke through the

lukewarm resistance of the constables, and brought the

mass up to the ropes. Luckily, however, nothing came of

it. Heenan, thinking he had shaken King more than was

really the case, and probably feeling that he was

growing exhausted himself, rushed furiously at his man

to improve his advantage. King, however, who had

quickly recovered himself, met him with a couple of

hits left and right, stopping the Yankee’s rush, and

while he was yet on the stagger King closed, and,

giving him the crook, pitched him over, and tell on him

with stunning force.

19.――Heenan came up rather hurriedly when time was

called, but it was at once seen that he was almost

beaten, and was quite groggy. He tried his rush, but it

was no longer dangerous, and King stepped back twice,

measured his distance, planted on him without a return,

and, by a second straight hit, sent him down. In the

20th round King managed to back-heel Heenan. The same

description applies to the next two rounds, excepting

that in each of them Heenan grew shakier and wilder,

and King’s superiority more marked. At the commencement

of the 23rd round it was proposed to throw up the

sponge, but Heenan would not hear of it, and staggered

at his man with the semblance of his former rush. He

staggered after receiving a blow, and was thrown by

King without a chance of resisting. His backers, seeing

that it was hopeless, and that it was only exposing the

sinking boxer to punishment, insisted on his surrender,

and the sponge was thrown up in token of defeat, after

a desperate, but slashing, hugging, and unscientific

battle of _thirty-five minutes_, and twenty-four

rounds.

REMARKS.――We may well spare any lengthened comment upon

a contest the leading characteristics of which were

“clinching,” rushing, squeezing, and attempts at

strangulating hugs on the one side, and wild, desperate

sledge-hammer defensive hitting on the other. Heenan

proved beyond doubt or cavil that he did not deserve to

rank in the first or even second rank of artistic

boxers, and that sheer brute strength, seconded by

weight, stature, and a certain amount of mere animal

courage were his only qualifications. He seemed to have

little idea of sparring for an opening, or as a means

of defence; while the use of the skilful feints,

well-timed delivery, or accurate measurement of

distance, of getting close and then getting away, as

practised by professional boxers, he ignored or

despised. It was not the fault of Tom King that the

fight was so bad. His form and style were far the

better of the two, for he did not trust to mere

wrestling and hauling his man about, and would have

made a better show of tactics with a better man. Those

flatterers who told Heenan that he could stand a

comparison with King’s former opponent, Jem Mace, must

have been grossly ignorant or wilfully deceived

themselves. Few who saw this contest but felt, that it

was solely the accident which so early in the battle

disabled the gallant Tom Sayers’s right arm, had

prevented the signal defeat of Heenan on the memorable

day at Farnborough. King showed but few marks of severe

hitting after the fight, nor was he so seriously

exhausted by the falls as might have been expected,

considering the weight and stature of both men. On the

other hand, Heenan was seriously disfigured, indeed,

utterly prostrate, and nearly blinded at the close of

the encounter. Altogether, while an honest and game

fight, it was an unsatisfactory one; the sole point

settled being the entire absence, on the part of

Heenan, of those scientific attainments and steady

attributes indispensable to the successful practitioner

in the Prize Ring. The immense stake, £2,000, so

glaringly disproportionate to the merits of the battle,

was duly paid over to King. For the circumstance of the

appearance of the once formidable Tom Sayers at the

ring-side, as second to his former antagonist, John

Heenan, the reader is referred to pages 435 and 436 of

the present volume.

Again, and for the last time, Tom King announced his retirement from

professional pugilism; we shall not, therefore, follow him into

private life farther than to say, that he has carried with him the

respect he earned by his public career, and that the last we heard of

him was that he had earned the peaceful distinction of a prizeman, as

a successful cultivator of flowers at horticultural shows, held in the

neighbourhood of his suburban dwelling. And here we legitimately close

the task we voluntarily imposed on ourself, of committing to the press

the history of ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY-FOUR YEARS OF BRITISH BOXING.

[41] As an example of the way Ring affairs were managed, we

may note that, after 21 rounds in one hour and a quarter,

the police really did come; that the men met the next day,

January 1, 1862, and the police, after three rounds in 17

minutes, again appeared, there being strong ground for

suspicion that they were sent for by telegram. Brettle

having sprained his ankle, a postponement was granted until

March, and then they met (the bet of £300 being off), and

after four rounds, occupying one hour and 40 minutes, the

referee gave them 15 minutes to strike a blow; but as one

wouldn’t and t’other didn’t, a “draw” was declared, March

11, 1862.

L’Envoy to the Reader.

“CONSTANT READER!”――for surely he deserves that title who hath borne

me mental company through fifteen hundred pages――this is an

old-fashioned book, written by an old-fashioned “pen,” recording

old-fashioned manners, customs, and pursuits of men in times fast

becoming old fashioned; it therefore seems fit that, in the old

fashion of the L’Envoy, the Author and the Reader should have a few

“more last words” ere they part company.

When Cid Hamet Benengeli, in the ultimate Chapter of “Don Quixote,”

apostrophises his pen, he speaks of scribblers “who compile false and

idle histories.”[42] Even so does the smaller author of PUGILISTICA

feel as he ceases from his “Story of the Ring.” It would seem from the

denunciation of the worthy Cid Hamet that in all times there have been

literary fabricators and forgers, and the writer can certify that the

History of the Ring in the present day has more than one flagrant

instance. Foremost of these is a weekly newspaper professing to be the

Argus of the Turf, and the Titan of Tipsters. The “Famous Old Fights”

appearing in its columns are pure fiction, grafted on well-known

names, dates, and anecdotes procurable from standard works of

reference; the details of incidents, of rounds, &c., &c., being the

emanation of the lively imagination of the newswriter, who, to our

knowledge, and from innumerable instances in his blundering romance,

is utterly ignorant and innocent of any acquaintance with the Ring,

its professors, or the scenes he so inventively describes. The sole

reason for this _exposé_ is, that as, in many instances, these forged

accounts of battles purport to be between men whose combats are

authentically given in these pages, the reader should be made aware,

that no such reports exist in any contemporary publications, of which

innumerable proofs might be given, but that we cannot spare the space,

time, and trouble to “break a butterfly on the wheel.” Yet do we bear

no grudge to the ingenious fiction-writer; and having set the point of

truth and accuracy in its true light, we say, as did Uncle Toby, when

he released the fly, “Go thy ways, there is room enough in the world

for both of us.”

And now for one other topic of our desultory gossip. In the later

portions of the Lives of the Boxers, we have had occasion to notice

the crusade which cant, cowardice, and hypocrisy successfully carried

out to the bitter end against pugilism and pugilists; we shall not

here iterate their defence or apology. To render, however, the work

more complete as a reference, in times when even the first principles

of fair-play to an antagonist, and forbearance towards the vanquished

seem to be little more than a memory, and to be fast vanishing out of

the minds of a pusillanimous populace, we shall here preserve the text

of the latest form of the “Regulations” which governed the practice of

honourable combat between professional opponents in the P.R. The old

Code, known as “Broughton’s Rules,” are given in volume i., page 25.

RULES OF THE RING, AS REVISED BY THE PUGILISTIC ASSOCIATION.

It having been found that many of the Rules of the Ring

are insufficient to provide for the various

contingencies which continually arise in prize battles,

an entire revision has been determined on, and a

committee of gentlemen, members of the Pugilistic

Association, undertook the task. When the revision was

complete, the laws were submitted to a general meeting

of the members of the Prize Ring (being members of the

Association) and unanimously agreed to.

RULE 1.――That the ring shall be made on turf, and shall

be four-and-twenty feet square formed of eight stakes

and ropes, the latter extending in double lines, the

uppermost line being four feet from the ground, and the

lower two feet from the ground. That in the centre of

the ring a mark be formed, to be termed “the scratch;”

and that at two opposite corners, as may be selected,

spaces be enclosed by other marks sufficiently large

for the reception of the seconds and bottle-holders, to

be entitled “the corners.”

2.――That each man shall be attended to the ring by a

second and a bottle-holder, the former provided with a

sponge, and the latter with a bottle of water. That the

combatants, on shaking hands, shall retire until the

seconds of each have tossed for choice of position,

which adjusted, the winner shall choose his corner

according to the state of the wind or sun, and conduct

his man thereto; the loser taking the opposite corner.

3.――That each man shall be provided with a handkerchief

of a colour suitable to his own fancy, and that the

seconds proceed to entwine these handkerchiefs at the

upper end of one of the centre stakes. That these

handkerchiefs shall be called the “colours;” and that

the winner of the battle at its conclusion shall be

entitled to their possession as the trophy of victory.

4.――That two umpires shall be chosen by the seconds or

backers to watch the progress of the battle, and take

exception to any breach of the rules hereafter stated.

That a referee shall be chosen by the umpires, unless

otherwise agreed on, to whom all disputes shall be

referred; and that the decision of this referee,

whatever it may be, shall be final and strictly binding

on all parties, whether as to the matter in dispute or

the issue of the battle. That the umpires shall be

provided with a watch for the purpose of calling time;

and that they mutually agree upon which this duty shall

devolve, the call of that umpire only to be attended

to, and no other person whatever to interfere in

calling time. That the referee shall withhold all

opinion till appealed to by the umpires, and that the

umpires strictly abide by his decision without dispute.

5.――That on the men being stripped it shall be the duty

of the seconds to examine their drawers, and if any

objection arise as to insertion of improper substances

therein, they shall appeal to their umpires, who, with

the concurrence of the referee, shall direct what

alterations shall be made.

6.――That in future no spikes be used in fighting boots

except those authorised by the Pugilistic Association,

which shall not exceed three-eighths of an inch from

the sole of the boot, and shall not be less than

one-eighth of an inch broad at the point; and it shall

be in the power of the referee to alter, or file in any

way he pleases, spikes which shall not accord with the

above dimensions, even to filing them away altogether.

7.――That both men being ready, each man shall be

conducted to that side of the scratch next his corner

previously chosen; and the seconds on the one side, and

the men on the other, having shaken hands, the former

shall immediately return to their corners, and there

remain within the prescribed marks till the round be

finished, on no pretence whatever approaching their

principals during the round, under a penalty of 5s. for

each offence, at the option of the referee. The

penalty, which will be strictly enforced, to go to the

funds of the Association. The principal to be

responsible for every fine inflicted on his second.

8.――That at the conclusion of the round, when one or

both of the men shall be down, the seconds and

bottle-holders shall step forward and carry or conduct

their principal to his corner, there affording him the

necessary assistance, and that no person whatever be

permitted to interfere in this duty.

9.――That on the expiration of thirty seconds the umpire

appointed shall cry “Time,” upon which each man shall

rise from the knee of his bottleholder and walk to his

own side of the scratch unaided; the seconds and

bottle-holders remaining at their corner; and that

either man failing so to be at the scratch within eight

seconds, shall be deemed to have lost the battle. This

rule to be strictly adhered to.

10.――That on no consideration whatever shall any person

be permitted to enter the ring during the battle, nor

till it shall have been concluded; and that in the

event of such unfair practice, or the ropes or stakes

being disturbed or removed, it shall be in the power of

the referee to award the victory to that man who in his

honest opinion shall have the best of the contest.

11.――That the seconds and bottle-holders shall not

interfere, advise, or direct the adversary of their

principal, and shall refrain from all offensive and

irritating expressions, in all respects conducting

themselves with order and decorum, and confine

themselves to the diligent and careful discharge of

their duties to their principals.

12.――That in picking up their men, should the seconds

or bottle-holders wilfully injure the antagonist of

their principal, the latter shall be deemed to have

forfeited the battle on the decision of the referee.

13.――That it shall be a fair “stand-up fight,” and if

either man shall wilfully throw himself down without

receiving a blow, _whether blows shall have previously

been exchanged or not_, he shall be deemed to have lost

the battle; but that this rule shall not apply to a man

who in a close slips down from the grasp of his

opponent to avoid punishment, or from obvious accident

or weakness.

14.――That butting with the head shall be deemed foul,

and the party resorting to this practice shall be

deemed to have lost the battle.

15.――That a blow struck when a man is thrown or down,

shall be deemed foul. That a man with one knee and one

hand on the ground, or with both knees on the ground,

shall be deemed down; and a blow given in either of

those positions shall be considered foul, providing

always that, when in such position the man so down

shall not himself strike or attempt to strike.

16.――That a blow struck below the waistband shall be

deemed foul, and that in a close seizing an antagonist

below the waist, by the thigh, or otherwise, shall be

deemed foul.

17.――That all attempts to inflict injury by gouging, or

tearing the flesh with the fingers or nails, and

biting, shall be deemed foul.

18.――That kicking or deliberately falling on an

antagonist with the knees or otherwise when down, shall

be deemed foul.

19.――That all bets shall be paid as the battle-money,

after a fight, is awarded.

20.――That no person, under any pretence whatever, shall

be permitted to approach nearer the ring than ten feet,

with the exception of the umpires and referee, and the

persons appointed to take charge of the water or other

refreshment for the combatants, who shall take their

seats close to the corners selected by the seconds.

21.――That due notice shall be given by the stakeholder

of the day and place where the battle-money is to be

given up, and that he be exonerated from all

responsibility upon obeying the direction of the

referee; that all parties be strictly bound by these

rules; and that in future all articles of agreement for

a contest be entered into with a strict and willing

adherence to the letter and spirit of these rules.

22.――That in the event of magisterial or other

interference, or in case of darkness coming on, the

referee shall have the power to name the time and place

for the next meeting, if possible on the same day, or

as soon after as may be.

23.――That, should the fight not be decided on the day,

all bets shall be drawn, unless the fight shall be

resumed the same week, between Sunday and Sunday, in

which case the bets shall stand and be decided by the

event. The battle-money shall remain in the hands of

the stakeholder until fairly won or lost by a fight,

unless a draw be mutually agreed upon.

24.――That any pugilist voluntarily quitting the ring

previous to the deliberate judgment of the referee

being obtained, shall be deemed to have lost the fight.

25.――That on an objection being made by the seconds or

umpire the men shall retire to their corners, and there

remain until the decision of the appointed authorities

shall be obtained; that if pronounced “foul,” the

battle shall be at an end, but if “fair,” “time” shall

be called by the party appointed, and the man absent

from the scratch in eight seconds after shall be deemed

to have lost the fight. The decision in all cases to be

given promptly and irrevocably, for which purpose the

umpires and the referee should be invariably close

together.

26.――That if in a rally at the ropes a man steps

outside the ring to avoid his antagonist, or to escape

punishment, he shall forfeit the battle.

27.――That the use of hard substances, such as stone, or

stick, or of resin, in the hand during the battle shall

be deemed foul, and that on the requisition of the

seconds of either man, the accused shall open his hands

for the examination of the referee.

28.――That hugging on the ropes shall be deemed foul.

That a man held by the neck against the stakes, or upon

or against the ropes, shall be considered down, and all

interference with him in that position shall be foul.

That if a man in any way makes use of the ropes or

stakes to aid him in squeezing his adversary he shall

be deemed the loser of the battle; and that if a man in

a close reaches the ground with his knees his adversary

shall immediately loose him or lose the battle.

29.――That all stage fights be as nearly as possible in

conformity with the foregoing rules.

We ask, in the name of humanity, too often taken in vain, a calm and

dispassionate perusal of these rules, confident that the appeal will

at least induce a more charitable opinion of the men who could frame

and act upon them than ignorance or prejudice would form. “It has been

constantly urged,” says an experienced writer, “as a ground of

objection to the study of the skilful use of the fist that it makes

men pugnacious, and more ready to seek than to evade a quarrel, in

order that they may display their fancied superiority. Observation and

experience do not confirm this view. We have almost invariably found

(except with persons who cannot command their temper, and if this be

the case, whatever be their acquirements, they will be equally without

control) that the consciousness of power inclines men to be less prone

to quarrel, and more forbearing against an opponent. Of this abundant

proofs are to be found, not only among the ordinary classes of

society, but more particularly among professed pugilists, who, with a

few exceptions, are the last to invite a quarrel, and the first to

seek a reconciliation. Many instances are on record, and have passed

under our notice, in which the most respectable members of the Prize

Ring have actually submitted to positive insult rather than exercise

their athletic powers and take advantage of the weakness of an

assailant. This calmness of disposition, joined with perfect

self-possession, is in fact one of the most valuable attributes of a

British boxer, and one of the best tests of true courage. That there

may be and are exceptions to this rule cannot be denied; but all must

concur in the proposition, that for the strong to oppress the weak, or

the scientific boxer to take advantage of an ignorant and helpless

opponent, is an act of cowardice deserving the utmost contempt. The

ruffian who would strike a woman is not less deserving of execration

than he who, for the mere purpose of displaying his scientific

acquirements, would assail another not equally gifted. The great end

of pugilistic instruction is, to instil into the mind of the pupil a

manly and honourable bearing, combined with personal confidence in the

hour of danger; we have no apprehensions, therefore, that its pursuit

will lead to the abandonment of those principles of self-respect and

fair play which are alike estimable in the minds of all classes.”

And here we will once again ask the question, without fear of a valid

retort, “Has the experience of the last twenty years, read by the

light of our police reports, and the records of our criminal courts,

shown any improvement in the character of what are called ‘offences

against the person’?” On the contrary, familiarity with the use of

deadly weapons, of the knife in murderous varieties of “the bowie” the

“Spanish,” “the Arkansas tooth-pick,” the “knuckle-duster,” the

many-chambered revolver, with the stringent repression of all

pugilistic conflict by an ever and over-vigilant police, has

undoubtedly led to swifter, more sanguinary, more treacherous, and

more deadly modes of settling those differences which must arise,

especially among the lower classes of society. To this humiliating

catalogue of brutality we may add the savage use of the iron-bound

clog, and the “running kick,” so fatally studied and practised by a

section of the community which in ruder and in better times would have

scorned such an unmanly mode of attack, and would not even have

permitted it where several spectators were gathered together. But

alas! the outcome of the decay and suppression of fair fighting is

manifest; the doctrine of assassination is publicly preached in the

press and in public meetings, and “the gospel of dynamite” is the

latest development of the “superior civilisation” of a people who

“Scorning all treacherous feud and deadly strife,

The dark stiletto or the murderous knife,

Boasted a science sprung from manly pride.

Linked with true courage, and to health allied――

A noble pastime, void of vain pretence――

The fine old English Art of Self-defence.”

Whether fair and regulated prize-battles are destructive of life, and

absolutely and directly shorten the period of man’s longevity, may be

fairly a subject of inquiry. A few statistics may well give us pause

before we decide this point, which an insufficient investigation and

popular prejudice would pronounce in the affirmative, while a candid

consideration of the following table may prove the negative――that is,

as compared with many other gymnastic and sporting exercises. Deaths

in the prize-ring, or even as the consequences of pugilistic

encounters, do not show a marked diminution of the term of human life,

in the recorded instances of the ages of the most celebrated

professors and practitioners of the art of boxing:――

AGES OF THE CHAMPIONS FROM BROUGHTON TO TOM KING.

BORN. DIED. AGE.

John Broughton 1703 1789 85

Tom Johnson (Jackling) 1750 1797 47*[43]

Daniel Mendoza 1763 1836 73

John Jackson 1769 1845 76

Jem Belcher 1781 1811 30*[43]

Tom Belcher 1783 1854 71

John Gully, M.P. 1783 1863 80

Tom Cribb 1781 1848 67

Tom Spring 1795 1851 56*[43]

Jem Ward (still living) 1800 ―― 81

Bendigo (William Thompson) 1811 1880 69

Benjamin Caunt 1815 1861 46*[43]

William Perry (Tipton Slasher) 1819 1881 61

Tom Sayers 1828 1866 38*[43]

Jem Mace (living in 1881) ―― ―― ――

Tom King (living in 1881) ―― ―― ――

――――――――

880 yrs.

An average of fourteen lives nearly 63 years.

Our last plea shall be drawn from the records of the “collective

wisdom” of the nation, wherein we flatter ourselves manly common sense

will find little difficulty in discriminating the characters of the

meddling, malignant and persecuting preachers of the doctrine of

“sweetness and light,” from the generous and tolerant spirits who

declined to use the powers of government against the much-maligned

Ring, its professors and patrons.

We have noted the wave of puritan cant which for some ten years

previous to 1860 had rolled over the land, and the force of which was

long after felt. In the last-named year it gave trouble and unrest in

the Senate.

On the 13th of April, Mr. HADFIELD gave notice, on presentation of a

petition, that he would call the attention of the Government to a

meditated breach of the peace, by a pugilistic contest to take place

between an American citizen and a British subject for a so-called

Championship. He added the extraordinary information that “the

newspapers had given notice of the time and place (?); “therefore he

asked the Secretary for the Home Department whether he intended to

take measures to put down such intended disturbance of the public

peace and prevent an exhibition so contrary to the religious sense of

the country at large――(laughter)――and he would further ask whether the

public might rely on his doing his best to prevent so brutal and

demoralising an exhibition to the rising generation as the announced

contest between this American gladiator and――――(Laughter prevented the

rest of the hon. member’s question reaching the reporters’ gallery.)

Sir GEO. C. LEWIS, rising, said: The contest between these redoubtable

champions (a laugh) has been brought under my notice, and I have

transmitted the letter to Sir Richard Mayne, who, I have no doubt,

will take the necessary steps to prevent a breach of the peace within

the metropolitan district. Beyond this I cannot assure my honourable

friend; I cannot venture to give any positive promise――for if he is

informed of the time and place I am not, and I don’t think they are

fixed――it is, therefore, impossible for me to say whether the police

will succeed in preventing the “incursion” in question. (Laughter.)

Mr. HADFIELD was by no means satisfied with the Right Honourable

gentleman’s answer, and should again raise the question.

The fight came off unsatisfactorily, as all the world knows. _Punch_,

in the following week, tells us (in his “Essence of Parliament”):――

“_Commons._ More fun about the fight. Mr. Ewart admitted but deplored

the interest taken, and the questions raised upon this matter; but

wanted to know what power there was to suppress such doings, except

the police power to suppress riot? Sir G. G. Lewis was also at a loss

to know how to deal with our modern Dares and Entellus.”

A young Yorkshire noblemen, however, a newly-fledged M.P., Lord

Lovaine (now Earl of Beverley) sought to make political and religious

capital out of the affair. His lordship opened fire by an attack on

the directors of a certain railway company――the South Eastern――for

“their conduct in offering facilities for the conveyance of persons to

these illegal contests,” and to raise the question, my Lord Lovaine,

“moved for copies of any correspondence on this subject, which had

passed between the Government and the South Eastern Railway Company.”

He also inquired whether the Government had attempted to enforce the

law, or whether anything had been done to stop the practice of letting

trains for the purpose he mentioned.

To these impertinences, spiced with some personal inuendoes, Lord

Palmerston replied in the following terms:――“He would not argue the

technical legal question that a fight between two men――not a fight of

enmity, but a trial of strength――is, legally, a breach of the peace,

and an act that renders the parties liable to prosecution; nor whether

the persons who go to witness it are not, technically, involved in the

charge. But, as far as they are concerned, they may conceive it to be

a very harmless pursuit; some persons like what takes place; there may

be a difference of opinion, as a matter of taste, whether it is a

spectacle one would wish to see, or whether it is calculated to excite

disgust. Some people look upon it as an exhibition of manly courage,

characteristic of the people of this country. I saw the other day,”

said his lordship, “a long extract from a French newspaper, describing

this fight as a type of the national character for endurance, patience

under suffering, of indomitable perseverance in determined effort, and

holding it up as a specimen of the manly and admirable qualities of

the British race (hear). All this is, of course, entirely a matter of

opinion; but really, setting aside the legal technicalities of the

case, I do not perceive why any number of persons, say 1,000 if you

please, who assemble to witness a prize fight, are in their own

persons more guilty of a breach of the peace than an equal number of

persons who assemble to witness a balloon ascent (laughter). There

they stand; there is no breach of the peace; they go to see a sight,

and when that sight is over they return, and no injury is done to any

one. They only sit or stand on the grass to witness the performance,

and as to the danger to those who perform themselves, I imagine the

danger to life in the case of those who go up in balloons is certainly

greater (hear and laughter) than that of two combatants who merely hit

each other as hard as they can, but inflict no permanent injury upon

each other (hear, hear). I think there is moderation in all

things――moderation in all opinions; and although it may or may not be

desirable that the law should be enforced――whatever the law may

be――still I do not think any advantage is gained or good done, either

to public morals or public feeling, by the sort of exaggerations in

which the noble lord has indulged. At the same time the motion is one

to which I see no objection, and therefore I do not oppose it.”

Some sparring took place, in the course of which Lord Lovaine taunted

the Premier with a love of pugilism, and with sanctioning rather than

discouraging these meetings. Mr. Scully also had a fling at the

Premier.

Lord PALMERSTON replied as follows:――“I distinctly stated that it was

ruled by legal authorities that such prize fights were breaches of the

peace; but I protest, at the same time, against the exaggerated terms

in which the noble lord (Lord Lovaine) characterised the conduct of

the spectators on those occasions.”

“Colonel DICKSON was surprised to hear his hon. friend (Mr. Scully)

take the noble lord at the head of the Government to task for the

remarks he had made on this occasion, for he (Colonel Dickson) could

not understand an Irishman objecting to fighting (a laugh). The noble

viscount (Palmerston) had not laid himself open to such taunts. He sat

on a different side of the House from the noble lord, and did not

often find himself in the same lobby with him on a division, but he

would say for the noble viscount that if he had one attribute more

than another which endeared him to his countrymen, it was his

thoroughly English character and his love for every manly sport

(cheers). He (Colonel Dickson) never saw a prize fight in his life;

but he would say that the two men who fought on the recent occasion

showed qualities of which the whole English race had reason to be

proud, our own man in particular (laughter), who evinced powers of

endurance and an indomitable pluck which entitled him to the

admiration of his countrymen (cheers.) Many men in this country

received honours who did not so well deserve them. He did not think

Parliament ought to legislate with the view to put down manly sports;

and, with regard to the duties of magistrates the law was clearly laid

down. Magistrates themselves ought to know when to act and when to

shut their eyes (a laugh).”

The returns were then ordered; but whether any such papers existed, or

of what use they were to the meddlesome movers, the world is to this

day in ignorance. We should say that the whole debate was a peg on

which to hang a sanctimonious attack to the glory of the “unco’ guid”

assailants. While on this topic we will add a well-authenticated

anecdote which was current at the time in the clubs.

While the Home Secretary (Sir G. Cornewall Lewis) was solemnly

explaining and admitting the illegality of Ring-fights, a well-known

sporting M.P. was collecting a “purse” for Sayers. Lord Palmerston

came upon the group, and was instantly arrested by the amateur

collector. “My lord, I want a sov. for Tom Sayers.” “A sov. for

Sayers? Splendid fellow that; I’ll give you five.” “Thank you, my

lord; but the subscription is limited to a single sov.” His lordship,

with subdued alacrity, “Well, here it is; but I wish it was five.”

There were noblemen then, in soul as in title; in humble life as in

exalted. Do they survive, and have they the courage even of their own

opinions?

Ah, me that I have lived to hear

Such men as ruffians scorned.

Such deeds of valour “brutal” called,

Canted, preached-down, and mourned!

Ah! that these old eyes ne’er again,

A gallant mill shall see!

No more behold the ropes and stakes,

With colours flying free!

Yet, in despite of all the jaw

And gammon of this time,

That brands the art of self-defence――

Old England’s art――as crime,

From off mine ancient memories

The rust of time I’ll shake.

Your youthful bloods to quicken

And your British pluck to wake;

I know it only slumbers,

Let cant do what it will,

The British bull-dog _will_ be

The British bull-dog still.

_Valete ac plaudite_: The curtain has fallen!

WOOD GREEN. H. D. M.

[42] “And now, my slender pen, whether cunningly cut, or

unskilfully shaped, it boots not much; here, from this rack,

wire-suspended, shalt thou enjoy repose to future ages, if

no presumptuous and wicked hand shall take thee down, and

profane thee by compiling false and idle histories.”――“THE

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SAGE AND VALIANT DON QUIXOTE DE LA

MANCHA,” book iii., ch. XXII. Smollet’s translation.

[43] A reference to the memoirs in these volumes will fully

show, that in each of the instances of early death, marked

with an asterisk (*), extraneous causes account for the

comparative shortening of life.――ED.

INDEX TO VOLUME III.

PAGE

BENDIGO. _See_ THOMPSON, WILLIAM.

BENJAMIN, BILL, or BAINGE 399, 406

BRASSEY, of Bradford (JOHN LEECHMAN).

Fight with Young Langan 340

Fight with Tass Parker 344

His death 351

BRETTLE, BOB.

His pugilistic career 414

His battle with Tom Sayers 416

Defeats Jem Mace 451

Is beaten by Tom Sayers 452

Is challenged by Jem Mace 457

Adjourned fight 458

Is beaten by Mace 459

BROOME, HARRY (Champion). 1851.

Younger brother to the renowned “Johnny” 308

Born at Birmingham 308

Early glove displays 308

Rivalry of East and West. The Broomes 309

Fred Mason (the “Bulldog”) 309

Harry matched against Mason for £50 309

A prepossessing “first appearance” 310

Harry beats the “Bulldog” 311

A twelvemonths’ rest. Joe Rowe 314

A trip down the river 315

Harry defeats Joe Rowe 316

Tom Spring resigns his post as referee 319

Second battle of Broome and Joe Rowe 321

Matched with Ben Terry 323

A suspicious affair and a “draw” 324

“The Great Unknown,” Harry and the Tipton Slasher 325

Broome’s remarkable increase in weight and stature 325

His fight with the Tipton, and Peter Crawley’s decision, 327

Negotiations with Harry Orme 330

Matched for £250 a side 330

Defeats Harry Orme 333

The old “Tipton” again 336

Broome forfeits to the “Tipton” 338

And to Tom Paddock 338

Is beaten by Paddock 338

Retires from the Ring 339

Becomes a publican at Portsmouth 339

His death in 1865, aged 39 339

Joe Rowe’s “Sultan Stores” (note) 339

BURKE, JAMES (“the Deaf’un”).

His birth and parentage 94

Strand Lane Stairs. “Jack-in-the-water” 95

The Thames in the first quarter of the century 95

The old “fighting days” 96

Joe Parish. “the Waterman.” “The Spotted Dog” 96

Eminent watermen pugilists 96

The Deaf’un’s first fight 97

The butchers of Clare Market 98

An Impromptu mill. Defeats Tom Hands 98

Defeats a “New Black” for “a purse” 99

Enrolled in the _corps pugilistique_ 99

Beats Berridge at Leicester 99

Matched with Fitzmaurice 99

Beats Fitzmaurice at Harpenden 100

Spars with Young Dutch Sam 100

Is ruptured by an accident 101

Defeated by Cousens of Chichester 101

Defeats Girdler at North Chapel, Sussex 102

“Whiteheaded Bob” and the Duke of Cumberland 102

High prizes prohibitory of prize-fights 104

A stratagem. Grabbing the wrong man 104

Beats Gow at Temple Mills 104

Bob Hampson’s challenge and defeat 105

Three battles within six weeks 105

Beats Tim Crawley 108

Tommy Roundhead and Frosty-faced Fogo 109

A Homeric battle; the muses appeased 110

“The Deaf’un’s” merits as a sparrer 110

Matched with Birmingham Davis 111

A disappointment 111

Defeats Birmingham Davis 112

Matched with Blissett 113

Beats Blissett 114

A dinner at Tom Cribb’s; and a match 115

Beats old Jack Carter 115

A “little go.” Lazarus and Jem Brown 116

An interval and a sparring tour 116

Beats Yorkshire Macone 117

Challenges from Cousens and Josh Hudson 117, 118

Bill Charles, “the Welsh Champion” 118

Claims the Championship 118

“Too heavy” for Young Dutch Sam 118

Sign articles with Simon Byrne 119

“The Deaf’un’s” courage and humanity 119

The “Irish Champion” and “the talent” 119

The day before the battle 120

The fight and fatal result 121-125

Verdict of “manslaughter” against Burke and others 126

Subscription for the Widow Byrne 126

Trial and acquittal of Burke 127

Presentation of a service of plate to the Editor of

_Bell’s Life in London_ 128

Challenged by O’Rourke 128

And by Young Dutch Sam for £500 (!) 128

And by Jem Ward for £500, but not less than £100 a side, 128

O’Rourke’s challenge and departure for America 129

The Deaf’un’s “ancient statues” 129

Harry Preston and “the Deaf’un” 130

Plays at Sheffield in “Valentine and Orson” 131

Burke’s “farewell,” and high stakes for prize battles 131

A maximum stake of £200 voted 131

Sails for America 132

His welcome in the New World 132

Sails South to meet O’Rourke 133

Riots in New Orleans, and escape of “the Deaf’un” 133

Returns to New York 134

Battle with and defeat of O’Connell 135

The _New York Herald_ and the P.R. 135

Burke’s arrival in Liverpool 138

The “big ones” of 1838 138

A general challenge from “the Deaf’un” 138

The school of “Tom and Jerry;” a trip to France 139

Returns, and is beaten by Bendigo 139

“The Lament of Deaf Burke” 140

The Deaf’un again in the field, and matched with

Nick Ward 141

Beaten by Nick Ward 141

The Deaf’un’s oratory 142

Indicted with Owen Swift, Ned Adams, Dick Cain, Lord

Chetwynd, and others 143

The “Battle of Bedford” and Parson Cautley 143

Address of Deaf Burke to the Grand Jury of Bedford 144

The trial and its result 148

Receives forfeit of £15 from the Tipton Slasher 148

Night-houses in the Haymarket 149

Bob Castles and “the Deaf’un” 149

A match between Old Ones 149

The voyage to Rainham Ferry 150

The fight. Burke the conqueror 151

“Triumphant epistle of Deaf Burke to Bob Castles” 155

Dissipation, disease, and death 156

CASTLES, BOB 149

CAUNT, BENJAMIN (Champion) 1841.

A native of Nottinghamshire 47

Hucknall Torkard and Lord Byron 47

His first defeat by Bendigo 47

Beats William Butler 47

Beats Boneford 48

Second match with Bendigo 48

A mail-coach Journey to Doncaster in 1838 48

The road to the fight 52

The combatants “interviewed” 53

Incidents and mishaps 54

The fight; a magisterial interference 56

The fight won by a “foul” 58

Remarks on the battle 59

Caunt receives the stakes 60

A new match for £100 a side and a forfeit 60

Challenges by Brassey and Caunt 60

“An heroic epistle from Brassey to Caunt” 61

Estimates of the men 62

Newmarket and its neighbourhood 64

A battle of “big ’uns” 66

Caunt the victor 69

Claims the Championship 69

Challenged by Nick Ward 69

Loses with Ward by a “foul blow” 70

A second match made 70

Stratford-on-Avon the rendezvous 71

The field of battle, Long Marsden 72

The Champion’s new belt 73

Caunt defeats Nick Ward 74

Caunt “Champion,” sails for America with the “Belt” 77

A “buncombe” challenge 77

Charles Freeman, “the Giant” 78

“The Michigan Giant” and “New York Baby” 78

Returns to England, March, 1842 79

Caunt’s “Champion Cup” 79

Challenges Bendigo, Tass Parker, and the Tipton

Slasher, in six months, each for £200 79

Bendigo again in the field 80

Caunt loses his third battle with Bendigo 80

A dreadful domestic calamity 80

Caunt and Nat Langham; a silly feud 81

Matched for £200 a side 81

Ben’s challenge to Tom Sayers 83

Misgivings as to Caunt and Langham’s encounter 84

The battle 86

A “draw” and a “dispute” 88

The “dropping” system 92

Caunt in retirement 93

His death, Sept. 10, 1861 93

HURST, SAM (“the Staleybridge Infant”).

His battle with Tom Paddock 307

Matched with Jem Mace 459

His battle with Jem Mace 460

Defeat and retirement 463

JONES, AARON.

His fights with Harry Orme 253, 262

Ditto with Tom Paddock 283

Beaten by Tom Sayers 237, 287

Fight with Bob Wade 245

Challenges Tom Sayers 419

A renewed match with Sayers 431

Surviving in 1881 358

KING, TOM, (Champion) 1862.

His birthplace, Stepney 490

Adopts a sailor’s life 490

Voyages to Africa 490

A foreman in the docks 490

His inoffensive character and courage 491

Disposes of a “’long-shore” bully 491

Introduced to Jem Ward 491

A challenge for a small stake 491

A forfeit from Clamp 491

Matched with Tommy Truckle, of Portsmouth 491

Beats Tommy Truckle 492

Arrival of Heenan 494

Matched with Harry Poulson, of Nottingham 494

Challenges Sam Hurst for Championship 494

Matched with Evans (Young Broome) 495

The Championship and Circus quackery 495

Ring performances of Young Broome 495

King defeats Young Broome in two Rings 496

Large stakes for little fights 500

Matched with Mace 500

A tedious interval 501

The approaching day――anxiety 501

A clerical “tip” 501

The journey to the fight 505

King defeats Mace for the Championship 505

King resigns the belt 509

A telegraphic message corrected 510

Heenan again in the field 510

Agrees to meet Heenan 511

Articles for £1,000 a side 511

Heenan in training 512

His pedestrian feats 512

Difficulties as to the place for combat 513

Three nights of watchfulness 513

Scene at London Bridge 513

The “roughs” at fault 513

A morning ride 514

Speculation; arrival at the ground 514

The ring at Wadhurst 515

The fight 516

King defeats Heenan 516

Remarks 517

Conclusion 518

LANGHAM, NAT.

His qualities and “unlucky” weight 234

Born at Hinckley, Leicestershire 234

His first fight 234

Comes up to London 235

An impromptu battle. Defeats Tom Lowe 235

Challenges Joe Bostock 235

Beats “Doctor” Campbell 236

Challenges; matched with Gutteridge 236

Defeats Gutteridge 237

Nat receives forfeit from Angelo and Gutteridge 238

Matched with Sparks the Australian 238

A trip per steamer and a strategic movement 239

Nat defeats Sparkes 240

In want of a customer 242

Matched with Harry Orme 242

Beaten by Harry Orme 243

Goes into business at Cambridge 243

Alec Keene, Tom Sayers, Harry Brunton 243

Nat matched with Tom Sayers 244

A trip per Eastern Counties Railway 245

A model mill; Nat defeats Tom Sayers 246

Tom and Nat, rival pubs 251

A ridiculous match. Langham and Ben Caunt 251

“A draw.” Nat dies at the “Cambrian,” Sept. 1st., 1871 252

L’ENVOY TO THE READER.

The extinction of the Ring 518

Fabricated accounts of Prize Fights 519

The Crusade against the Ring 519

The noble supporters of Boxing 519

Ages of the Champions from Broughton to Tom King 524

Parliamentary discussions 524

Railway directors and special trains 525

Anecdote of Lord Palmerston 526

Cant and cowardice _versus_ manly courage 527

Farewell to the reader. Finis 528

MACE, JEM (Champion).

His merits as a boxer 444

Degeneracy of pugilists and Ring-patrons 444

Birth of Mace 444

His parentage 445

His travelling propensities 445

His first Ring fight 445

Matched with Bill Thorpe 445

Rapid increase in weight of some pugilists 445

Mace beats Bill Thorpe 445

Comes to London. Proposals for matches 448

Returns to Norwich, and matched with Mike Madden 449

A dispute and a disappointment 449

Six months’ quibbling 450

A new match and a “bolt” 450

Reappears as “George Brown’s Novice” 450

Matched with Bob Brettle 451

Beaten (?) by Bob Brettle 451

Appears as “Bob Brettle’s Novice” 452

Matched with Posh Price of Birmingham 452

Defeats Posh Price 453

Becomes a publican 454

Challenges; matched with Bob Travers (Black) 454

Career of Bob Travers 454

Beats Bob Travers (an adjourned fight) 456

Quarrel with Bob Brettle 457

Match for £200 with Brettle 458

Beats Brettle in an adjourned fight 459

Matched with Sam Hurst 459

The “Staleybridge Infant” 459

Defeats Sam Hurst 460

Mace hailed as Champion 462

Tom King challenges the title 462

Mace defeats Tom King 465

Heenan returns to England, 1861 468

Mace in business as a publican 468

Brettle backs “an Unknown” against Mace 469

Brettle receives £25 from King’s backers to retire 469

Mace defeated by Tom King 469

Matched with Joe Goss, of Wolverhampton 469

Mace stakes £600 to £400 on the part of Goss 469

Match-making “considerably mixed” 469

Fighting career of Joe Goss (note) 470

Precautions against police interruption 471

Riotous conduct of roughs at railway terminal 471

An early journey into Wiltshire 472

The “referee” difficulty again 472

A police intervention 473

A disappointment, and return to town 473

An adjournment “down the river” 473

The fight on Plumstead Marshes 474

Mace defeats Joe Goss 474

A “side-light” on “bogus” stakes 475

The anti-pugilistic press 476

The _Morning Star_ and _Dial_ 476

The _Saturday Review_: reflections on the fight 476

A “champion” from the New World 477

Mace and Coburn matched for £1,000 477

Cavilling negotiations 477

A sketch of Joe Coburn 477

Edwin James & Co. 478

Contrast of olden Ring “patrons” and modern Ring

“agents” 478

Lord Shaftesbury an admirer of boxing (note) 478

Provincial tours 479

A journey to Dublin 479

A public “secret” _more Hibernico_ 479

Press men in Dublin 480

Irish arrangements 480

A London celebrity 481

A scene at the rendezvous 481

Goold’s Cross, Limerick, named 481

A shindy, and the match “off” 482

A farce, and the a stakes claimed 482

The stakes drawn 482

Irish humour 483

An archiepiscopal hoax 483

Comments thereon 484

Colours and “good faith” 485

Mace offers to fight Coburn for £100 486

Degeneracy of the Ring 486

New “big ones” and the Championship 486

“Train-swindles” 486

Mace and Joe Goss’s second match 486

A “no-fight” 487

A new giant, O’Baldwin 487

O’Baldwin claims the belt 487

Mace’s “Unknown” 487

O’Baldwin and Joe Wormald for £200 487

O’Baldwin loses his way 487

Forfeits £200 to Wormald 487

Mace offers to fight O’Baldwin 487

Mace arrested and held to bail 488

Sam Hurst brought on the stage 488

Flight of the Champions to America 488

Their “doings” there 488

Mace beats Tom Allen at New Orleans 488

Returns to England 488

A publican at Melbourne, 1881 488

MASON, FRED (“the Bull-dog”) 309, 311

ORME, HARRY.

His birth. Harry an “East-ender” 253

His brief but brilliant career 253

Aaron Jones of Shrewsbury 253

Orme defeats Aaron Jones 254

Is matched with Nat Langham 256

Beats Nat Langham 257

A second match with Aaron Jones 259

The “ring,” at Newmarket 259

Hazardous ground. A shift 260

Fight No. 1 262

Fight No. 2. A second interruption 263

A misunderstanding. Jones refuses a third meeting.

The victory awarded to Orme 266

The stakes given to Orme. Legal proceedings 268

Orme viewed as the “coming Champion” 269

Matched with Harry Broome 269

Defeated by Harry Broome 269

Becomes landlord of the “Jane Shore,” Shoreditch 269

His death, June 9, 1864 269

PADDOCK, TOM.

The Championship at the appearance of Tom Paddock 271

Tom fought the best men of the day 271

Born at Redditch 272

Beats Pearce, of Cheltenham 272

Defeats Elijah Parsons 272

Nobby Clarke 274

Paddock backed against and beats Clarke 274

Second match with Nobby Clarke 276

Clarke loses by a “foul” blow 276

Paddock as Johnny Broome’s Unknown 276

Loses the fight with Bendigo by a “foul” 276

Forfeit with the Tipton Slasher 276

“Draw” with the Tipton Slasher 276

Receives forfeit from Jack Grant 277

And from Con. Parker 277

Is beaten by Harry Poulson 277

Beats Harry Poulson 277

Convicted of “a riot,” and imprisoned ten months 278

Letter from “Lydon” on the affair 279

A third match with Poulson 279

Beats Harry Poulson a second time 280

Is a matched with Aaron Jones 283

Beats Aaron Jones 283

Aaron Jones’s qualifications 285

Paddock challenges the Championship 287

Receives £180 forfeit from Harry Broome, who is

arrested 287

The late Mr. Vincent Dowling 288

Renewed match with Aaron Jones 288

Beats Aaron Jones 290

Harry Broome’s challenge 294

Preliminary proceedings 294

An excursion by the “Eastern Counties” rail 295

The fight; defeat of Harry Broome 299

Sympathy for the loser 302

The Tipton Slasher again 304

Tom forfeits to the “Tipton” 304

Challenges Tom Sayers. Alec Keene’s letter 305

Caunt challenges Sayers 305

Paddock’s serious illness; kindness of Tom Sayers 306

Paddock’s recovery. Match with Tom Sayers 306

Beaten by Tom Sayers 306

Beaten by Sam Hurst 307

His death, June 30th, 1863 307

PARKER, TASS.

His battles with the Tipton Slasher 191

His fight with Brassey of Bradford 347

Ditto with Harry Preston 351

PERRY, WILLIAM (“the Tipton Slasher”).

His birth at Tipton 157

The Slasher’s _coup d’essai_ 157

Beats Tim Dogherty, near Chelsea 158

Returns to the “Black Country” 158

Fights and beats Ben Spilsbury 158

Matched with “the Gornel Champion” 159

Beats Jem Scunner, and becomes “a lion” 159

Tass Parker, Harry Preston, &c. 159

Forfeits £15 to Deaf Burke 160

Johnny Broome “manipulates” the “Tipton” 160

Charles Freeman, “the American Giant” 161

Theatres, the Circus, and the P.R. 161

A challenge to Freeman by “an Unknown” 161

William Perry is declared as “Broome’s Novice” 162

Matched for £150 against Freeman 162

The Giant “in training” 163

Description of Charles Freeman 164

Comparisons of bulk and strength of men 166

The journey to the field 167

A contrast 168

The fight interrupted by darkness 170

The return and its incidents 173

The adjourned battle; magisterial interference 176

Stanzas: “The unfinished fight of the American Giant

and the Tipton Slasher” 177

A trip down the river agreed upon 179

Freeman’s benefit at the Westminster Baths 179

The voyage to the fighting ground 180

Aristocratic Ring-goers: “the Bishop of Bond Street” 180

“A shave:” Joe Banks, “the Stunner,” Jem Burn, &c. 181

The fight and defeat of the “Tipton” 182

The return: Dick Curtis’s benefit 185

A challenge to Caunt 185

The stakes given over to Freeman 186

Death of the American Giant, of consumption;

infrequency of deaths from Ring encounters (note) 186

Johnny Broome and the “Slasher” 187

Tass Parker and the “Tipton” matched 187

Unsatisfactory result; police interruption 189

The adjourned battle 190

A railway “excursion” 190

A squabble about the referee 192

The fight: the “tumble-down system” 194

Johnny Hannan’s good conduct 195

The stakes given to the “Tipton” 196

Third battle with and defeat of Tass Parker 196

Challenge to Caunt, who declines to fight under £500

a side 199

Candidates for the Championship (note) 199

Tom Paddock 200

A forfeit, and a match with Paddock 200

A trip per South Western Rail 200

A day misspent: Wiltshire and Hampshire tabooed 201

A mill by moonlight 201

A “pig-shearing” excursion, and a “foul” blow 203

The Tipton claims the belt 204

Johnny Broome’s “Unknown” and the “Slasher” 204

Harry Broome “the Veiled Prophet” 204

Defeat of the “Slasher” by “Young Harry” 204

Receives forfeit from Harry Broome 205

Perry becomes a publican 205

Rise of Tom Sayers and his challenge of the

Championship 205

Defeat of the “Slasher” by Tom Sayers 205

Death of Perry, in January, 1881 205

ROWE, JOE.

His fight with Harry Broome 314-321

In business, 1881 (note) 339

SAYERS, TOM (Champion).

His birthplace disputed 359

An Irish pedigree 359

Born at Pimlico, near Brighton 359

A bricklayer on the Preston Viaduct, at Brighton 360

Comes to London. First fight with Aby Couch 360

Matched with Dan Collins 360

First fight interrupted by darkness 361

Tom beats Dan Collins 361

Various challenges. Matched with Jack Grant 361

Beats Jack Grant 362

Matched with Jack Martin 365

Beats Jack Martin 366

Matched with Nat Langham 368

Tom’s first and last defeat 369

Langham declines a second encounter 369

Match with George Sims; £50 to £25 369

Beats George Sims 370

Proposes to go to Australia 370

Harry Poulson of Nottingham 371

Jem Burn, his backer, and Bendigo his trainer 371

Sayers defeats Poulson 373

The Championship in sight 379

A new belt and its claimants 380

The Championship in suspense 380

Sayers and Aaron Jones for £200 380

A change of route 381

A voyage down the river 381

Sayers fights Aaron Jones 383

A “draw” and darkness 386

Renewed battle with Jones 387

Sayers beats Aaron Jones 387

Challenges the Tipton Slasher 392

Excitement in the sporting world 393

Preliminaries of the battle 393

Sayers defeats the Tipton Slasher 395

Challenged by Tom Paddock 399

Paddock’s illness 399

Matched with an “Unknown” for £200 399

Bill Bainge, or Benjamin 399

First battle with Benjamin 400

Recovery of Paddock and his challenge accepted 401

The “Three Toms” 401

Anecdote of Alec Keene 402

Sayers defeats Tom Paddock 403

Tom Sayers against “the field” 404

Second match with “The Unknown” for £100 and the belt 406

Bill Benjamin once again 407

Sayers announces his intended retirement after his

battle with Benjamin 408

Extraordinary rumours 409

The second defeat of Benjamin 410

Bob Brettle, of Birmingham 412

Sayers fights Brettle £400 to £200 412

£200 to £20 that Brettle was beat in _ten minutes_ 412

Mr. John Gideon’s “arrangements” 413

A “monster” train 414

Bob Brettle’s career 414

Sayers defeats Brettle 416

Silly imputations on defeated pugilists 419

Aaron Jones returns to England 419

Defeat of Heenan by Morrissey 419

A challenge from America 420

Negotiations for an international contest for the belt 420

Aaron Jones in the field. He retires 420

A match proposed for Heenan and Sayers 420

Correspondence between New York and London 421

Arrival of Mr. Falkland. Preliminary arrangements 423

Heenan and Morrissey. Heenan lands at Liverpool 423

The day fixed, April 17th, 1860 423

A rush for “tickets” 423

Two monster trains 424

The journey down 424

A distinguished company 425

Appearance of the men 426

Pictorial representations of the battle (note) 426

The fight 427-432

Conflicting reports of the result 432

Departure of the referee 433

Return to town 433

Condition of the men 433

Humane decision 434

Two belts ordered 434

Circus buncombe 434

Subscription for Sayers at Stock Exchange, Lloyd’s,

Mark Lane, &c. 435

Sayers a partner in a circus 435

Free living and its results 435

Sayers’s last appearance in the Ring 435

The needs of consumption 436

Last illness 436

His death 437

£1,000 invested for his children 437

Tom Sayers’s personal appearance 437

His grave and monument in Highgate Cemetery 438

The Combat of Sayerius and Heenanus――“A Lay of Ancient

London” 439

THOMPSON, WILLIAM, of Nottingham (“Bendigo”).

His birth: one of three sons 5

Nottingham Lambs. Puritanism and Pugilism 5

Early battles, and first fight with Caunt 6

Challenged by Brassey (John Leechman), of Bradford,

and others 7

Beats Brassey 8

Receives forfeit from Jem Bailey 8

Comes to London 8

Proposed match with Molyneaux, and forfeit from Flint

of Coventry 9

Defeats Langan of Liverpool 9

Challenges any 12 stone man in England 9

Looney’s challenge replied to by Jem Ward 10

Looney declines Ward and is beaten by Bendigo 10

Challenges from Tom Britton, Fisher, Molyneaux, &c. 12

Matched a second time with Caunt 13

Beaten by Caunt 13

Caunt forfeits in a new match 14

Deaf Burke returns from America, his challenge accepted 14

Burke goes to France and the match falls through 14

Stanzas from Bendigo to Deaf Burke 15

Burke returns and articles are signed 16

Narrow escape of Bendigo 17

Shrove Tuesday at Ashby-de-la-Zouch 17

The road to Appleby 18

Bendigo beats Deaf Burke 18

Challenges from and to Caunt. Benefit humbugs 22, 24

Bendigo in London. A serious accident 24

“The fine old English Pugilist;” a fancy chaunt 25

Bendigo redivivus appears at Jem Burn’s 26

Matched with Tass Parker 26

Arrested at the instance of his brother and held to bail, 27

Caunt returns from his American tour 27

Renewed negotiations and “A Valentine from Bendigo

to Brassey” 27

Third match with Caunt 28

Preliminaries of the fight 29

Bendigo defeats Caunt 30

Disputed result and decision of “the Old Squire”

(Osbaldiston), the referee 36

Caunt and Bendigo shake hands 37

Pretenders to the Championship 37

Bendigo accepts Tom Paddock’s challenge 38

Defeats Paddock 39

Receives the battle-money and retires from the Ring 45

Bendigo’s eccentricities. Takes “the pledge” and

becomes a preacher 45

Beelzebub and Ben Caunt; an anecdote 45

True etymon of the nickname “Bendigo” 46

Dies from the effects of an accident, aged sixty-nine 46

TRAVERS, BOB (Langham’s Black).

His Ring career 454

Beaten by Brettle 454

Beaten by Jem Mace 455

WARD, NICHOLAS.

His claims to a place in this “History” 206

His birth in East London 206

His maiden battle with Jack Lockyer 206

Matched with Jem Wharton (Young Molyneaux) 206

Arrested and held to bail 207

A journey to Moulsey and a disappointment 208

A black job: Sambo Sutton 209

“Nick” is defeated ignominiously 210

“Brother Jem” backs Nick for a second trial 210

Misgivings: a “Beak” at Bicester 210

The Philistines out 211

Drawing a badger 212

A fight and a fiasco 212

Matched with Jem Bailey 212

A trip to Woking: an interrupted fight 213

A second match; Nick forfeits to Bailey 214

A match with Brassey “no go” 214

Articled to fight the “Deaf’un” 214

A trip to Stony Stratford 219

Adventures 220

Nick defeats “the Deaf’un;” a wrangle 221

Challenges Ben Caunt 223

The stakes awarded to Nick Ward 224

Matched with Ben Caunt 225

A long journey and its vicissitudes 226

Hostility of the “beaks” 227

The fight: a bloodless victory for Ward 229

A chaunt of the Ring: “Nick Ward and Caunt” 231

The stakes given to “Nick” 232

Second fight with Caunt, and defeat 232

Death of Nick Ward, Feb. 17, 1850 233

Transcriber's Note:

Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like

this_. Footnotes were renumbered sequentially and were moved to the

end of the section in which related anchors occur. Inconsistent

hyphenation, dialect, obsolete words and misspellings were left

unchanged. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards, upside down, or

partially printed letters, were corrected. Spacing was adjusted between

paragraphs for consistency. Transliteration of one phrase in Greek

follows within brackets.

Comments:

There are five anchors to Footnote [43].

Occasional sentences lack a verb.

“Edinburg” on the title page and “L’Envoy” at the end of the book are

in blackface in the original.

Fight rounds occasionally omit some numbers.

The meaning of one line ending with a hyphen is uncertain:

… and that gentle-

and Orme;…

The letters, ‘man,’ may have been omitted, or the first word on

the following line, ‘and,’ may be a misspelling for ‘man.’

The following items were changed:

Added final stops missing at the end of sentences.

Removed duplicate words at line endings or page breaks.

Capitalized lower case letters at beginning of sentences.

Removed spurious stops mid-sentence.

Adjusted mis-matched quotation marks around citations.

Added spacing between words, crowded by printer.

Removed misplaced comma preceding a list.

Changed commas to stops after numbers of subparagraphs.

Changed stops to commas mid-sentences.

Added commas unprinted in lists.

Added missing dashes after fight round numbers.

Added missing page number in index for first entry of Tass Parker.

Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 3 (of 3) Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-40, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863 · 第 17 / 17 章

11.――King’s left eye looked worse than ever, while his