P.S.—Since writing the foregoing notes there has recurred to my mind
another amusing fish story. A friend of mine, he, forsooth, whose nasal
organ I hooked on Marlborough Town Bridge, having had a day given him on
a very fine stretch of preserved water, killed with dry fly a nice
basket of trout from about 1¼ lb. up to 2 lb., which I saw and much
admired. The best of these fish he sent to his old father by the hands
of a man who had just come home from India, and who, to distinguish him
from his brother, was spoken of as Mr. —— from India. They were duly
delivered, but with the message that a gentleman had brought some fish
from India! Whereupon my friend’s father, who would have greatly
appreciated such trout, promptly ordered them to be thrown away. And
thrown away they were, to the sore vexation of the successful and
dutiful fisherman when he heard thereof.
A Hundred Years Ago.
(FROM THE _SPORTING MAGAZINE_ OF 1806.)
BOXING.
D. MENDOZA AND H. LEE.
Friday, March 21st, 1806, being appointed for the above pugilists to
exhibit themselves in a pitched battle for 50 guineas, the same took
place at Grinstead Green, three miles and a half through the town of
Bromley in Kent. The combatants met in a 25-feet roped ring, formed on
the Green soon after one o’clock, attended by their seconds, Bill Ward
and Bill Gibbons for Mendoza, and the Game Chicken and Gulley for
Lee.... Current betting in the ring was 3 to 1 on Mendoza....
The battle was continued until the fifty-second round, very much to the
disadvantage of Lee, who, however, showed himself game by the very
severe beating he had received. In the fifty-third round, which ended
the fight, he fell without a blow, and Mendoza’s seconds did not choose
to give away a chance as they had done several times in the course of
the battle; and the matter being referred to two gentlemen who acted as
umpires, they declared Mendoza the winner, after a sharp contest of one
hour and ten minutes.
OBSERVATIONS.—In this contest, which it was supposed would be the most
hollow thing ever attempted, the spectators were very agreeably
surprised. Lee, although he did not act the part of a game man in the
strict sense of the word in falling without a blow, yet he was not
deficient in skill and resolution so as to disenable him to rouse the
admiration of the amateurs. He never had a chance of winning, although
he made a very good fight; for the odds, to nearly the end of the
contest, were treble against him to what they were at the commencement,
and at the end, when Mendoza became weak, they were never less than four
to one. He got himself miserably beaten in the former part of the fight
by making play, but his seconds did not suffer him so to act at the
latter part. He had the advantage in stature and length of arm, and he
fought with his left hand extended, constantly sawing. Mendoza had a
decided advantage over his opponent in the knowledge of bruising, which
the beating Lee received will most fully demonstrate. Dan stopped most
admirably, and he seldom hit with his right hand without the desired
effect. With his left he sometimes led himself into an error, for he
generally hit over his man and left his right side exposed. He showed
himself a pleasing fighter, as he always has done, and his fatigue at
the end of the fight was no more than momentary, for he was quite fresh
after the contest was over, and his only suffering was a blow he had on
the left eye and another on the nose, which was broken in a fight many
years since.
Another account says the contest between Mendoza and Harry Lee was much
more serious to the former than has been generally described. About the
thirtieth round the odds changed from five to even betting; and though
Lee declared himself compelled at last to give in, on which his seconds
advised him to drop without receiving a blow, which decided the battle,
Mendoza was so severely beaten that he was immediately put to bed with
both eyes closed and his face mangled in a shocking manner.
[Illustration:
BORZOI SANDRINGHAM MOSCOW.
Winner of First Prize. Property of Her Majesty Queen Alexandra.
_Photo by Dexter & Son._]
]
It is almost incredible the number of spectators that were present....
The following were the leading amateurs: Lord Albemarle, Lord Sefton,
Count Beaujolaise, Sir Watkin W. Wynn, Sir John Shelley, Sir Edm Nagle,
Captain Halliday, Mr. Thornhill, General Keppel, Mr. Buxton, Mr.
Fletcher Reid.
The Borzoi.
Of the several breeds of foreign dogs that have been introduced into
England, the Borzoi has obtained a considerable amount of popularity. It
is, however, not more than fifteen years ago that the breed was first
seen in any numbers, and was accorded a separate classification in the
Stud Book. He is the most aristocratic in appearance of all the canine
race, but, although so gracefully and slenderly built, has a most
powerful jaw, and is very muscular, as he needs to be, when he is
required on occasions to tackle a wolf single-handed.
The Borzoi is the favourite of Royalty. He is to be found in the
Imperial kennels of Russia, and also in those of the Grand Dukes and
others of high degree, and among the first seen in this country were a
brace that were presented, upwards of thirty years ago, to the Prince of
Wales (now King Edward VII.), which hounds were occasionally exhibited
on the show bench, and were bred from; but as there is no record of
their names appearing in the pedigrees of the present generation of
Borzois, they and their produce seem to have been lost sight of. Still,
now and again in the years which intervened between that period and the
time when the breed became firmly established here, a specimen or two
then known as the Siberian or Russian wolfhound appeared in the classes
confined to foreign dogs, but these were very indifferent
representatives of the breed when compared with the beautiful animals
that were afterwards imported by her Grace the Duchess of Newcastle, who
at the present time owns the largest and most successful kennel that has
probably ever been seen out of Russia, or with Alex, who was presented
in 1895 to the Princess of Wales (now Queen Alexandra). A more
magnificent animal than the Borzoi Alex has scarcely ever been seen.
With the advent of Alex the breed, which has already been recognised by
the Kennel Club, and for which a specialist club had been formed to look
after its interests some three years before, quickly took a prominent
position amongst our show dogs, and now large classes of Borzois are to
be seen at all the principal shows; and Her Majesty was successful in
winning a first prize in a group of thirty-two at the Crystal Palace,
and also at Birmingham, with a young dog bred at the Royal kennels at
Sandringham. That the Borzoi has now become thoroughly nationalised in
England is proved by the fact that the whole of the animals shown on
these occasions were home-bred. In addition to Her Majesty and her Grace
the Duchess of Newcastle, Mrs. Borman, of Billericay, has a large kennel
of these dogs, and other prominent breeders of them are Princess Sophia
Duleep Singh, Mrs. Kilvert, Mrs. E. A. Huth, of Wadhurst, and Miss
Robinson, of Tewkesbury. Mr. H. Murphy, of Padiham, also has a few
valuable specimens, and so has Mrs. Aitchison, whose kennels are at
Wallsend-on-Tyne.
[Illustration:
BORZOI PUILAI.
Winner of First and Champion Prizes. The Property of Mrs. Ebsworth.
_Photo by Bowden Brothers._]
]
Although largely used for coursing the wolf in his native land, the
Borzoi is only kept as a companion in England. He is useless for
coursing the hare, as he is not so fast, nor can he turn so quickly as
the greyhound. At work with the wolf, however, the Borzoi has no equal,
as he holds on much more tenaciously when he has seized his prey than
either greyhound or Scottish deerhound, both of which have been tried in
Russia. When wolves are to be coursed, the dogs (generally two or three)
are held in slips by a keeper on horseback at the corner of a covert
whilst the latter is being drawn by foxhounds. On the wolf breaking
covert he is given a start of two hundred yards, when the hounds are
slipped, who before they have gone a mile, and sometimes considerably
less, are up with their quarry, which they seize on either side by the
neck. The wolf is then powerless, and the rider, after dismounting,
either muzzles the animal, if it is a large one, or dispatches it with a
knife, if it is small and not of any use to be kept for the purpose of
practising the young dogs. During the muzzling operation the seasoned
dogs keep fast hold of the wolf, but young hounds, when first entered,
will sometimes seize the wolf by the back or leg, when they run the
chance of being terribly mauled. They, however, soon learn the fact that
the only safe place to get hold of is the neck, and that they must not
let go their grip till the wolf is muzzled.
An occasional hound can take a wolf single-handed, but it is only the
most practised hunters that are allowed to do so. When one dog only is
sent in pursuit of the foe, on the latter being caught the two roll over
together, but the dog always comes up at the top, and it is quite the
exception for the latter to receive any injury. Sometimes, in places
where difficulty is expected in finding, bagged wolves are brought into
requisition, but the quarry that is disturbed from his native haunts
generally shows the best sport. Under any circumstances the pastime is
most exhilarating, travelling to the scene of action on the snow at
break-neck speed, over hill and dale, and sliding down the sides of
miniature mountains on the sledges, the atmosphere so cold that unless
the sportsmen are well wrapped up in furs there is a considerable chance
of their getting frostbitten.
There are two varieties of the Borzoi, one with flat, the other with
rougher coat; but the latter is the favourite, and is certainly the more
handsome. Those in the Imperial kennels being chiefly of the
rough-coated variety, they are exactly the same in general contour, the
only difference being in the texture of coat. A representative of the
greyhound tribe, the formation of the Borzoi is characteristic of great
speed, endurance, and strength. As already stated, associated with the
snake-like head is a most powerful jaw; a perfect specimen has immense
depth of chest, but perhaps the most noticeable feature is the power
that is to be observed in his loins and quarters. He is a much bigger
dog than the greyhound or deerhound. In height he will sometimes measure
as much as 31 inches, and Korotai, a well-known winner in the last
decade, drew the scale at 110 lbs. The largest dogs are not, however,
always the best workers, as those that are an inch or two less in
stature are generally more sturdily built.
Colour in the Borzoi is an important item, as it naturally would be in
an animal that is made on such graceful lines. On the body white
predominates, with patches of orange, fawn, or blue, sparsely
distributed, and the hair is soft and silky to the touch. Black-and-tan
is an objectionable colour. Others that are self-coloured are also
equally objectionable, as also are black markings of any sort. Patches
of brindle with white ground, on the other hand, are admissable. The
winner at the show of the Imperial Gun Club at Moscow was so marked.
As regards the foot of the Borzoi, opinions appear to differ. We in
England prefer the cat foot, the same as that of the greyhound and other
sporting dogs, but in Russia many of the chief winners have the hare
foot, which is considered in that country to be better adapted for
galloping on the snow. The following are some of the other points that
are characteristic of the breed: In general appearance he should show a
combination of nobility and elegance, and his every movement should be
graceful. The head should be very long and snake-like, the skull narrow
and flat, but not receding; the muzzle tapering from the eye to the
nose, and slightly arched when viewed in profile; the eyes dark hazel in
colour, and almond shaped; the ears thin and small, and carried like
those of the greyhound; the teeth level (an overshot mouth is a great
defect). The neck is somewhat short for a dog of his size, and the chest
narrow; but there should be plenty of heart room, as seen by his great
depth of brisket; the forelegs straight and rather fine in bone; the
back arched, with flanks cut up; the loins muscular, with broad quarters
and strong hind-legs; the hocks not quite so much bent nor close to the
ground as those of the greyhound; and he has the peculiarity of
appearing to be rather higher behind than in front, but this is probably
caused by his arched loins.