,secrets of the ,sword ,secrets of the ,sword ,translated from the original ,french of ,,baron ,,de ,,bazancourt by ,c4 ,f4 ,,clay1 with illustrations by ,f4 ,h4 ,,townsend ,la pointe d'une pe est une ralit qui fait disparatre bien des fantmes4 ,,bazancourt4 ,publisher's mark ,london3 ,george ,bell ,sons1 ,york ,street1 ,covent ,garden2 and ,new ,york4 ,mdcccc4 ,cambridge3 ,printed by ,j4 and ,c4 ,f4 ,clay at the ,university ,press4 ,,preface ,if ,french is1 as we have been told1 the natural language of the art of fencing1 it seems a particularly rash venture to translate a ,french book on the subject into ,english4 ,this is especially the case when the original is such a work as ,les ,secrets de l'pe1 which so far from being a dry technical manual1 that might be sufficiently rendered by a baldly literal version1 is one of those fascinating1 chatty books1 written in a happy vein1 in which the manner of writing is the matter of principal importance4 ,but the delightful ease and artful simplicity of style that captivate the reader are the translator's despair4 ,i have made the attempt for my own amusement1 and ,i am publishing my translation because the original work1 which was first published in #ahfb and reprinted in #ahge1 has been for some years inaccessible1 and because ,i think it is a book that will interest ,english fencers4 ,an interesting and appreciative account of the book is given in the introduction to the volume devoted to fencing in the ,badminton ,library1 together with some criticism of the author4 ,the would-be fencer is cautioned that the ,baron de ,bazancourt is 'a very expert literary dodger' whose specious arguments must be studied with the greatest caution4 ,the warning note is no doubt wise in a book intended for the ,english fencer1 for ,english fencing certainly shows no tendency to be excessively correct1 but is rather inclined to err in the other direction4 ,but no fencer who reads the work attentively can fail to derive from it a real profit1 and1 ,i hope1 a real pleasure4 ,the keynote of the book is that a fencer must fence with his 'head4' ,bazancourt generally calls it 'instinct1' or 'inspiration4' ,but call it what you will1 there can be no doubt that the continual tax that fencing makes on the resourcefulness of the player gives it its subtle and enduring charm4 ,the unforeseen emergencies that have to be faced1 and the varieties of play that are encountered in meeting different opponents1 make fencing of all sports the least mechanical and the least monotonous4 ,we are often told that fencing will never be popular in ,england1 because it is no longer required for practical purposes4 ,but does anyone suppose that we are guided by practical considerations in choosing our sports8 ,fencing is a most exhilarating exercise and one that is particularly suitable for those of us who live a town life4 ,a dull day in ,london may be very sensibly enlivened by a brisk assault4 ,the luxury of getting into flannels is increased by the reflection that for an hour at any rate one will think of nothing but the foils4 ,for no exercise is so absorbing as fencing4 ,whether you are taking a lesson or are engaged in a friendly combat your whole attention cannot fail to be occupied4 ,there is room for nothing else1 and on that account alone fencing must be commended as a mental relaxation of the highest value4 ,compared with boxing1 fencing has the advantage that it can be continued even into old age4 ,now1 however willing one may be to be punched and pommelled1 there usually comes a time when it is inconvenient to appear in public with a black eye or a bruised cheek4 ,few men who take to fencing and master the preliminary stages can make up their minds to give it up1 until they are obliged to do so for want of time or opportunity4 ,the cosmopolitan character of fencing is another point in its favour4 ,not only throughout ,france and ,italy1 but wherever ,french or ,italian is spoken1 fencing rooms abound1 and the stranger who visits them is sure to be received with friendly interest and hospitality4 ,fencers are always glad to try conclusions with a new blade1 and a very moderate knowledge of the art may often serve as a pleasant and informal introduction in a strange country4 ,the art of translation is perhaps as slippery and elusive as the art of fence4 ,l'escrime vit de loyales perfidies says the ,baron de ,bazancourt4 ,he might have said the same thing of translation4 ,i have endeavoured to give a faithful rendering of this book4 ,it has equally been my object to make my version readable4 ,i am conscious of many defects1 and cannot hope to have avoided mistakes1 but if ,i have sometimes been perfidious1 ,i trust that ,i have never been disloyal4 ,i have to thank many friends for assistance and advice1 and ,i am especially indebted to ,mr ,f4 ,h4 ,townsend for the spirited series of fencing drawings that accompany the text4 ,c4 ,f4 ,,clay4 ,,london1 ,october1 #aijj4 ,introduction ,illustration ,i4 ,why have ,i written this book8 ,i will tell you4 ,for of all the subjects that might have occurred to me1 this ,i am sure is the last in the world on which ,i should have ever dreamed of trespassing4 ,accident1 however1 is apt to take a hand in the most trivial things of this world as well as in the most important4 ,it is continually responsible for the most unlikely events1 and it was in fact by accident that ,i undertook this work1 in which ,i have collected and jotted down remarks that are entirely my own1 concerning an art to which ,i have devoted myself for more years than ,i care to remember4 ,i was staying in the country at an old manor house belonging to one of my friends4 ,the litter of autumn1 fallen leaves and withering herbage1 was scattered over field and woodland4 ,this is a favourite season with poets1 when ,nature before her winter sleep affects a serene and melancholy air1 that inclines to reverie and lends wings to fancy4 ,the season also favours sportsmen4 ,coverts in which the game has hitherto found shelter are no longer impenetrable1 and every day the wind robs the poor persecuted beasts of some fraction of their shield of verdure4 ,at my friend's house there were no poets1 but there was instead a large shooting party4 ,we used to take the field after breakfast1 and come home towards dusk1 all of us as tired as a man has a right to be when he has done six or eight hours' walking4 ,after dinner we invariably adjourned to the smoking room1 and spent the evening in discussing things in general over our cigars4 ,,ii4 ,one evening--,i quite forget how it came about--we found ourselves talking about fencing4 ,some one's casual remark1 as erratic as the blue wreaths of smoke that floated vaguely towards the ceiling1 was taken up by some one else1 and led to other remarks1 which gradually became more definite and finally solidified into a conversation4 ,one can always talk1 and one enjoys talking about a subject in which one is interested4 ,that is one of the general truths4 ,and as ,i have always been devoted to the practice of arms1 ,i found myself talking at some length and expounding some views of my own1 which ,i have tested by practical experience and observation till they have established themselves in my mind as axioms4 ,i was listened to with attention1 though there were few fencers present4 ,and after all the art of fence does furnish a most interesting fund of conversation--the art of skilful fighting at close quarters1 which implies a knowledge of theory combined with a trained power of execution1 which taxes eye and hand1 vigour and judgment1 and brings into play every faculty of mind and body1 each doing its part1 and each in turn supplementing and reinforcing the other4 ,,iii4 ,are you aware1 said one of my friends1 that these are the secrets of the sword that you are revealing to us8 ,only1 ,i replied1 those secrets which ,i happen to know4 ,but really you have hit upon the right word1 for the secrets of the sword are innumerable4 ,it is a ,proteus in the hand that orders it1 and obeys the least motion of the will with the quick docility of an attendant spirit4 ,it can be the insolent and overbearing bully1 it can be the wary and diplomatic courtier4 ,at one moment it is all menace1 a keen attacking point1 the next it changes to a protecting shield4 ,but alas for our poor faithful servant2 to-day the sword and its secrets are almost forgotten1 or at least but little valued4 ,there was a time1 and a time not so very remote1 when a knowledge of sword-play was considered one of the credentials of a gentleman4 ,apply that test now2 apply it to yourselves4 ,we have here in this room a large number of gentlemen met together1 and ,i do not doubt that each one of you could make good his title to gentle birth1 and that in more ways than one2 and yet how many of you would be seriously embarrassed if you were required to manipulate a sword6 ,how many of you1 if you will allow me to say so1 would make but a very pitiful exhibition of yourselves6 ,i saw by the smile that went round the room that my remarks were only too well founded4 ,of course1 ,i continued1 ,i know the usual answer3--',true1' you will say1 'we may be duffers1 but we are not afraid of fighting4' ,yes1 you are not afraid of fighting1 that is to say you are willing to be killed by the first bully1 who chooses to force a quarrel upon you4 ,brave words truly6 ,but after all is it worth while to be the owner of so many talents1 youth and strength1 a cultured mind1 a healthy body1 and yet not even to know how to defend your life8 ,i am reminded of the story told of a certain ,general4 ,when one of his officers1 who disagreed with him on the policy of some strategic movement1 had said3--',well1 ,general1 when the time comes ,i will show you that ,i know how to die4' ',don't be a fool1 ,sir1' replied the ,general1 'your duty is not to see that you get killed1 but to take care that you don't'4 ,surely1 suggested one of my friends1 the real difficulty is that it takes years of conscientious and continual application to make even a moderate fencer4 ,quite a mistake1 ,i assure you4 ,why1 only the other day ,i happened to pick up one or two books about fencing and glanced through them4 ,i assure you1 they really are appalling4 ,there we have it1 ,i exclaimed1 and with that word you go over bag and baggage to the enemy's camp4 ,you are not the first to be appalled1 merely because the professors have omitted to caution the reader1 that they cannot in the exercise of their craft afford to be otherwise than omniscient1 and that their omniscience must be aired4 ,it is because they are afraid of being taxed with ignorance1 or of being rated as less men than their predecessors1 that they insist on science at any price2 science they must have1 interminable and unmitigated science1 and so they produce their laborious treatises1 monuments of erudition1 but as you say--appalling4 ,for my part1 after reading and rereading1 with the most scrupulous attention1 everything that has been written on the subject1 ,i remain convinced of this1 that if ,i were writing a manual of fencing my first object would be to get rid of the alarming jargon of technical terms1 which are supposed to be indispensable--a formidable array1 quite enough1 ,i freely admit1 to give pause to the most resolute1 and to blanch the cheek of the keenest aspirant4 ,ah1 you are quite right1 said my host with the air of a man who had made the experiment4 ,how much the art and the professors too would have gained1 if they had only studied simplicity1 and taken the trouble to make themselves intelligible4 ,,iv4 ,the conversation1 you see1 was getting on4 ,unfortunately1 ,i continued1 most of the professors who have committed themselves to paper have thought otherwise4 ,they plunge into interminable dissertations on the denomination of thrusts4 ,they use words which1 it is true1 may be found in the dictionary but which have an unfamiliar appearance4 ,for instance they talk about the hand in pronation or in supination1 instead of simply saying the hand with the nails turned up1 or the hand with the nails turned down4 ,others have devoted their energy to working out combinations and classifications of feints1 parries1 and ripostes1 distinguishing between them by the nicest shades of difference1 and to devising subtleties of terminology1 even going so far as to compile and exhibit with the pride of a collector a prodigious catalogue of twelve thousand five hundred strokes4#a ,what memory could possibly contain them8 ,now ,i1 on the contrary1 should have spared no pains to prove that it is perfectly possible to learn the practical management of the sword without a superhuman effort1 and that sword-play is worth cultivating as a delightful exercise and one of the finest kinds of sport4 ,for unfortunately we have to remember that ,latin1 which one uses so seldom1 perhaps once or twice after leaving college1 and ,greek1 for which one has even less occasion1 are considered useful and even necessary parts of polite education1 but that such things as swimming1 which may on an emergency be the means of saving your life1 or fencing1 which is one of the most healthy of athletic exercises1 the best thing in the world for developing and bracing a feeble youngster1 and which enables you to defend yourself if you are challenged by a bully or assaulted by a blackguard1 are reckoned merely frivolous accomplishments4 ,and it is generally recognised of course that it is not right to waste time on mere accomplishments4 ,i mentioned ,latin and ,greek1 which we all learnt more or less at school4 ,well1 do you suppose that the man who is going to make learning his profession carries his studies no further than the rest of us1 however scholarly some of us may be8 ,no1 of course he must go deeper and examine the remotest bearings of the particular branch of knowledge1 which he will presently have to teach4 ,v4 ,if you want a still more striking analogy1 take horsemanship4 ,most men learn to ride1 and can as a matter of fact manage a hack in the park without making an exhibition of themselves1 or even join the road-riders when it is a question of following the hounds4 ,but do you suppose that the mere man on horseback takes the trouble to acquire the whole art of horsemanship1 the severe mastery which the professional requires1 the 'high airs' of the school rider8 ,does every one study the fundamental principles1 and analyse the nice distinctions1 which go to make the finished equestrian1--such a man as the late ,mr ,astley8 ,how few there are who attain or pretend to attain this rare degree of excellence4 ,and yet they alone can tell you how much perseverance1 how much continual application1 and downright drudgery they have had to go through4 ,for you may be quite sure that perfect mastery of any kind whatever can only be the matured result of extraordinary diligence4 ,yet you seldom meet a man who cannot ride tolerably1 and you find that men ride with more or less grace1 or freedom1 or vigour1 according to their natural disposition1 and gradually perfect their style1 or if you prefer it1 unconsciously complete their education by the growth of habit and experience4 ,it is just the same with fencing4 ,if you would be an accomplished swordsman1 you will certainly require years of hard work1 close application1 and incessant practice4 ,but do you need this recondite skill8 ,what would you do with it8 ,you would find it embarrassing4 ,all that you need as men of leisure1 is to be able to use a sword as you do a horse1 for your amusement1 and when you have occasion for it4 ,and observe ,i say for your amusement1 for no sport is so attractive for its own sake1 or so engrossing as the practice of arms4 ,you are of opinion then1 remarked the ,comte de ,c4441 that a man can learn to use a sword without devoting to it more time and trouble than he does to riding8 ,i am sure of it2 but don't misunderstand me1 ,i mean riding in the sense of sticking on4 ,in fact1 without driving the analogy too hard1 ,i should say that for both exercises a year at the outside is all that is required to obtain useful and solid results4 ,and ,i should add that after a few months' trial you will find that you cannot resist the fascination that belongs unmistakably to both these sports4 ,surely that is not too much to ask for putting you into good trim1 and teaching you how to protect yourself8 ,then1 why don't they say so8 some one remarked4 ,well1 ,i do say so1 ,i replied4 ,and what is more ,i will make my words good1 if one of these days you care to continue this discussion4 ,i was unanimously called upon to keep my word1 and that the next day4 ,well1 to-morrow then1 ,i replied1 ,i shall do my best to convince you2 but you don't give me much law4 ,what1 with twenty-four hours' notice8 ,there's something in that--,i will sleep upon it--and so--good-night4 ,that is the true history of the making of this book4 ,the following chapters are the record of our conversations1 which ,i have simply put into shape and revised4 ,illustration ,the ,first ,evening ,illustration3 ,keep the right foot straight4 ,i4 ,the next day after dinner we all reassembled in the smoking-room4 ,well1 said my host1 your audience you see is complete1 our cigars are alight1 and we are ready to give you our best attention4 ,of course1 ,i replied1 you will understand that ,i have no intention of inflicting upon you a course of instruction4 ,as far as that goes1 the books1 especially the two that have appeared most recently1 by ,professors ,gomard and ,grisier1 have said all that is worth saying1 and in my judgment perhaps a great deal more4 ,they give too much good advice1 too many excellent rules1 too many excellent maxims1 too many thrusts1 feints1 parries1 ripostes1 counter-ripostes1 and so forth4 ,i am very far from holding with the received doctrine of the necessity or the importance of a great variety of play4 ,i believe that the effectiveness of a skilful fencer depends on the correctness of his inferences1 on the alertness and nicety of his judgment1 on quickness of hand and precision of movement1 whether in attack1 parry1 or riposte1 rather than on a very varied play1 which necessitates a much more elaborate training1 and so far from being of any real use serves only to perplex the mind4 ,the alphabet of fencing1 if you will allow the expression1 is as fixed and immutable as any other alphabet4 ,its characters are ascertained and definite motions1 which are combined in accordance with the structure and balance of our organism1 the natural action of the muscles1 and the flexibility possible to the limbs and body4 ,i do not set up for a schoolmaster1 and shall not attempt to teach you this alphabet4 ,i assume that you are already acquainted with it4 ,all that ,i shall do1 or at all events try to do1 is to discuss the theoretical principles1 for apart from them the material factors are only so much dull and senseless machinery4 ,i shall try to keep within bounds1 and to advance a few simple arguments1 to convince you that swordsmanship is neither so slow nor so perplexing as you are inclined to suppose4 ,above all1 ,i hope you will not allow me to forget that this is a conversation4 ,remember that you are at liberty to make any remarks that occur to you4 ,that is part of the bargain4 ,several of my friends assured me that ,i need have no anxiety2 they did not mean to let me off too easily4 ,,ii4 ,to begin then2 my first object will be to make my meaning perfectly plain4 ,the thing to do will be to take fencing in its broad outlines4 ,it would be labour thrown away to enter the bewildering labyrinth of those interminable details1 which after all are nothing more than the mathematical extension of elementary principles1 which may be continued to infinity4 ,fencing in its infancy had to feel its way2 its methods were yet to be found1 its possibilities to be explored4 ,little by little1 as one period succeeded another and the art became in many respects perfected1 changes were introduced1 and especially changes that tended to greater simplicity4 ,old theories became old fashioned and were thrown aside to make room for new doctrines4 ,fencing1 in fact1 was developed like most other things4 ,but we must not lose sight of the fact that the early methods of the old masters1 both in ,italy and ,france1 date from the sixteenth or seventeenth century1 and that the weapons employed in those days differed materially from ours in shape1 weight1 and function4 ,the change of weapon has naturally led to a change of method4 ,it would doubtless be interesting to the antiquary to trace the successive changes that have taken place in sword-play1 and to compare it as it exists to-day with what it was in #aecf1 when ,marozzo wrote his treatise on the sword4 7,pray excuse my erudition47 ,the sword of that period was a wide straight blade with two cutting edges4 ,i need not say that ,marozzo was ,italian4 ,the first ,french work on the subject was1 ,i believe1 a treatise by ,henri de ,saint-,didier1 which was published in #aegc1 and dedicated to ,charles ,,ix4 ,at that time ,france was a long way behind ,italy1 where for twenty years already the edge had been abandoned for the point4 ,it is not my intention to retrace the abstruse history of the development of swordsmanship2 such an inquiry would1 however1 prove that in all ages the new truths were invariably denied before they established themselves as accomplished facts4 ,there is no need then1 as you will doubtless be relieved to hear1 to discuss the systems of antiquity2 we will pass over the intervening periods without further preface1 and come down at once to modern times4 ,,iii4 ,we are told to draw a hard and fast line between two schools1--probably for the convenience of putting ourselves in the right and our opponents in the wrong4 ,for my own part1 and speaking seriously1 ,i fail to recognise more than one4 ,true1 that one may be regarded from several points of view4 ,i can distinguish three very clearly1 but these different aspects are very far from being distinct in the sense of clearly defined natural orders4 ,i will describe three kinds of play1 which are adopted by fencers according to fancy4 ,the first is fencing regarded as a graceful athletic exercise1 contrived very much on the lines of a ceremonious dance1 the interlacing movements of the combatants1 as they close and fall back to their original positions1 recalling the figures of a quadrille4 ,one might almost say that the simplest example of this method is the single combat of melodrama1 the stage duel with its concerted movements1 and that it finds its most perfect expression1 or1 if you prefer the phrase1 attains its object in the execution of a series of voltes and passes or dodgy side-steps1 a complicated succession of attacks1 parries1 and ripostes1 skilfully delivered1 and brought off strictly in accordance with prescribed regulations4 ,the second is fencing conceived as an exact science4 ,here it is 'the noble art' that calls for profound study and arduous research4 ,the student must explore its truths and consider them in all their bearings1 pursue theory to its remotest ramifications1 and drag to light its most reluctant secrets4 ,solid hard work and assiduous application1 such as science always demands of her votaries1 backed by physical and intellectual resources naturally fitted to the task1 are the only means which will enable you to achieve this consummate skill1 the highest degree of attainment in the art4 ,you will not be surprised when ,i say that the annals of the sword record but few names of undisputed preeminence1 new stars that mark the epochs in its history4 ,the third is fencing considered from the point of view of practical self-defence4 ,in this case the method is fashioned1 so to speak1 by personal inspiration1 and is impressed with the stamp of individual character4 ,this is the real thing1 battle in deadly earnest1 complete with all the terrors and sudden crises of warfare4 ,instead of passes ingeniously complicated1 and foiled by parries as scientifically elaborate1 steel clashes with steel1 intent on forcing somewhere a passage for the point4 ,the game becomes a fight1 and a fight all the more grim1 because the fighting animal is reinforced by science1 and chooses from her armoury the weapons that make him strong1 rejecting whatever is cumbrous or likely to obscure his 'native hue of resolution4' ,we now see the difference between the two styles1--call them schools if you like4 ,one wishes to preserve intact and unalloyed the ancient academical traditions1--,i had almost called them the traditions of the dancing master1--while the other inclines to what nowadays we call realism4 ,is that a gain or a loss8 ,at the present time everything tends to realism1 but we are not1 so far as ,i know1 obliged to admit that the dream is the type of perfect beauty1 and the real the type of all that is ugly and bad4 ,we live in a practical age1 perhaps too practical4 ,sometimes one may regret that it is so2 but what other result could you expect to follow from the convulsions that have so frequently shattered it8 ,the ideal1 scared by the noise and confusion of our revolutions1 so often repeated1 so seldom foreseen1 has used its wings to some purpose1 and taken flight to a world far removed from ours4 ,,iv4 ,you will tell me that my comment is too grave for my text1 but you know as well as ,i do that small things and great are linked together by bonds1 which may be invisible but are none the less real4 ,every age1 remarked one of my friends1 has its own manners and customs4 ,we no longer live in the days when every gentleman carried a sword at his side and as a matter of course knew how to use it4 ,the taste for fencing is not so universal that we are all impatient to be initiated into its inmost mysteries4 ,some of us may not have sufficient leisure or sufficient inclination2 we are too busy or too lazy4 ,i believe that what most men think about it can be put in a very few words3--',we don't want to fight but--if we must1 we should like to be able to show our teeth and fight like gentlemen1' that is all that the average man wants with fencing4 ,quite right1 chimed in the ,vicomte de ,g4 with a laugh1 we only want just so much of it as will serve our private ends4 ,all that you say1 ,i continued1 is true1 but it is not the whole truth1 as you would readily admit if you paid a visit to one of the fencing rooms of ,paris4 ,if you happened1 for instance1 to drop in on my friend and esteemed master1 ,m4 ,pons1 you would find a gathering of amateurs1 who are devoted to the practice of arms1 who keep up the traditions with taste and culture1 and understand thoroughly well how a sword ought to be used4 ,but1 to be quite fair1 ,i must hasten to add that the prowess and prestige of these brilliant players would not suffer by the simplification of sword-play4 ,the point ,i wish to make is that a treatise on fencing for the use of gentlemen1 who have so little time to spare and so much to waste1 is a book to be written1 a book of real utility and importance1 and indeed almost indispensable4 ,i have put my finger on a felt want1 and if you will allow me ,i will briefly explain how ,i think such a book ought to be written1 and what it ought to teach4 ,i know1 of course1 that ,i shall be violently contradicted1 but after all--,i know that ,i am on the right track4 ,v4 ,i have told you that we are asked to make an absolute distinction between two schools of fencing4 ,obviously it is the new school that is wrong1 and1 as ,i happen to belong to that school1 you must give me leave to defend it1 or1 at all events1 to explain its tendencies logically1 theoretically1 and practically4 ,take care1 ,sir1 a voice was heard to remark1 those three words are decidedly appalling4 ,don't be afraid1 ,i answered1 they are not so formidable as they seem at first sight4 ,you will find that if we thresh out the general principles1 what ,i have to say presently will be much simplified and easier to follow4 ,you often hear men say3 ',there is no pretty fencing nowadays4 ,it has relapsed into its primitive brutality4' ,not at all1 ,i should answer1 it has come back to its proper object4 ,for consider1--an exercise1 an art which starts with the fundamental idea of a fight between two men who are thirsting for each other's blood1 cannot be regarded as a mere amusement1 or as an academical study in civility and good manners4 ,one might argue with some effect1 that to sacrifice the first essential principle of the art to superior refinements1 which were really too exclusive1 was a risky game to play1 and that1 sooner or later1 the players were sure to discover that fact to their cost4 ,now ,i should maintain that the revolution1 which has been brought about1 is a clear advance1 and only brutal1 if you will have it so1 because it is the assertion of the brutal truth4 ,with the exception of the few who have the ambition to make themselves accomplished swordsmen1 men you meet in the fencing room do not as a rule come there to sit at the feet of the professor1 and imbibe the mystic lore of scientific theory which he expounds1 but rather to be drilled and disciplined in the practical use of the sword which he holds in his hand4 ,as a young man ,i was passionately fond of fencing2 ,i worked at it with enthusiasm2 my diligence and devotion were untiring4 ,among my contemporaries were several very strong amateurs1 really skilful swordsmen1 experts worthy of the best days and most glorious traditions of the sword4 ,i am thinking of such men as ,ambert1 ,caccia1 ,choquet1 ,lord ,seymour1 the ,marquis de l',angle and others1 a group of amateurs well able to hold their own with the most skilful masters4 ,i believe that at that time1 and ,i give you this as my sincere conviction1 fencing reached as high a level as at any period in its history4 ,,vi4 ,it was the opening of a new era4 ,hitherto the art had advanced along a narrow track4 ,now the old ways suddenly broadened out4 ,old methods were superseded4 ,fencing was no longer treated as an academical accomplishment1 a graceful exercise in courtly skill and bearing1 from which originality was barred4 ,it had become something more than the glib repetition of set phrases1 that had been got by heart from a book and carefully rehearsed4 ,the new movement1 as it may well be called1 though it abandoned the perfect manner1 which had grown too perfect1 brought our elusive art back to regions less celestial1 ,i readily admit1 but at the same time brought it face to face with other than imaginary difficulties4 ,the art received a new impetus4 ',natural fighters1' men equipped with abundant energy and assurance1 who were convinced that all that was necessary for self-defence was a general athletic training such as they possessed1 called the fencer's skill in question4 ,regarded as fencing their style may have been faulty1 not to say atrocious1 but they confronted the fencer with this logical dilemma3--',you are a master of the sword or an accomplished amateur1 ,i1 on the other hand1 know nothing about it4 ,hit me and do not let me hit you4 ,that is all ,i ask4 ,i shall fight by the light of nature and do what ,i can2 you will be strictly scientific and keep to your rules4' ,to my mind the only way to silence an opponent of this sort was to take sword in hand1 and literally demonstrate to him that he was equally ignorant and incapable4 ,this course1 however1 did not commend itself to others1 who were content to fight this modern hydra1 which reappeared every day in some new shape1 with--contempt4 ,the professors gnashed their teeth and swore1 though a few of them kept their temper3-- ',is our ,art then1' they declaimed1 'a mere delusion1 a fallen idol8 ,are we to prostitute and expose it to the barbarous excesses of a brutal and ignorant mob8 ,are we to join in an outlandish ,babel1 where every one claims to be heard in his own tongue1 some jargon which no one can understand8' ,there certainly was something in this line of argument1 however magisterially it might be stated4 ,but at the same time it was impossible to deny that there was1 wrapped up in these ungainly eccentricities1 a real truth1 which could not be entirely neglected4 ,for among the noisy crowd1 who would have liked to set their fads upon a pinnacle1 one found fencers of experience1 men who by long training and the use of scientific method had acquired sound judgment and thorough workmanship4 ,these men1 it is true1 had the courage to trample on the ancient superstitions1 and gladly welcomed the widening of the field1 which would give ample room1 and scope for every kind of bias4 ,it was clearly a revolution1 and declared itself by the unmistakable signs of all revolutions1 by its aggressive attitude and by its onslaught on old ideas and traditions1 which till then had been thought unassailable4 ,molire's famous maxim1--',hit and don't be hit back1'--asserted itself triumphantly4 ,truth and falsehood went hand in hand4 ,the thing to be done was to winnow the chaff from the corn1 and not reject the whole as worthless4 ,,vii4 ,well1 let us now see if we can sum up the real changes which the new school introduced4 ,as a matter of fact it proposed absolutely none that was unreasonable4 ,its tenets amounted to this3--',a fencer must be judged not so much by his graceful attitude and classical style1 not so much by his masterly command of precise execution1 as by his power of quickly conceiving and quickly delivering the right attack at the right moment4 ',when once a beginner has learnt the rudiments of sword-play2 when he has learnt that the movements of hand and body must correspond1 and maintain an even balance in every position2 that the wrist must be quick to follow the adverse blade and form a close parry1 without flying wild and wide in uncontrolled disorder2 when he can appreciate the value of a step to the rear and the value of a step to the front2 when he has grasped the danger to which he is exposed in making a complicated attack1 and realises that the effectiveness of a simple attack depends on the power of seizing the critical moment1--then he should be left to follow his natural instinct1 and allowed to exercise his own judgment in making use of the knowledge he has acquired4' ,you should not say to him3--',we must now describe an exact circle1 beyond which1 by thought1 word1 or deed1 you must not budge4 ,you find it a more natural position1 and easier for attack and riposte1 to lean your body forward and double yourself up4 ,it cannot be helped1 you are required to keep the body upright by the rules of classical fencing4 ',you prefer to keep out of distance1 because you find that at close quarters your nervous dread of a surprise attack or of a quick thrust is disconcerting and disturbs your equanimity4 ,you must not keep out of distance4 ,you are required to keep the prescribed distance and to join blades4 ',you are afraid of attacks on the sword1 such as beats1 binds1 and pressures1 or of surprise attacks1 and to avoid them you refuse to engage your adversary's blade4 ,you must not refuse4 ,you are required to engage swords by the rules of the game2 only bad fencers attempt to avoid the engagement4 ',you attack in the low lines1 perhaps you hit your opponent below the belt4 ,quite true1 the hit would be fatal in a duel1 but in sword-play it is considered a foul blow2 the code does not allow it1 therefore the hit is bad4' ,,viii4 ,this sort of thing is mistaken prejudice4 ,the assault ought to be a sham fight4 ,it follows that everyone should have liberty of action4 ,do not attempt to force ,a4 to be graceful and elegant1 if he is not built that way4 ,permit ,b4 to develope his own style in his own fashion1 and do not try to make him a servile copy of yourself1 merely for the sake of emphasising your superiority4 ,if he makes mistakes1 take advantage of them1 that is the most convincing kind of correction4 ,if his play is dangerous but incorrect1 show him that you can be at once correct and dangerous4 ,in short we ask for a fair field and no favour for every sort of style and theory that is based on a study of the weapon4 ,science you know is the result of intelligent application4 ,do you seriously believe that these fencers are devoid of science1 because they refuse to be judged by your standard1 or because they try to obtain new results1 where you persist in seeing nothing but annoying tricks8 ,you must allow one of two things4 ,either the methods which these fencers employ1 their plans of attack and defence1 are based on policy and their knowledge of the weapon1 and their source of inspiration is the same as yours2 in that case they are justified by results1 they have teeth and can bite1 and are not the easy prey1 which you expected to find them4 ,or on the contrary1 they go to work without judgment1 they let fly at random1 and advance or retire without any notion of time or distance1 their parries are wide and weak1 without any sense of touch1 their attacks uncertain1 wild and incoherent4 ,in that case they are not dangerous4 ,chance may perhaps protect them once1 but you with your experience and skill of course will easily defeat them1 and their slap-dash play will lead them promptly into every trap which you choose to set for them4 ,,ix4 ,such is the controversy1 the great quarrel between the two schools1 the feud between the white rose and the red4 ,i have attempted to explain it to you in its general outlines as clearly as ,i possibly could4 ,you will find it easier to understand the details1 which we shall consider when we continue this discussion4 ,what will your subject be to-morrow8 asked my host4 ,i really cannot say1 ,i replied4 ,it would be difficult to lay down a regular plan4 ,no doubt something will turn up to talk about4 ,and1 by the way1 this morning ,i noticed in the library one or two old books about sword-play1 and ,i shall try to find time to turn them over4 ,illustration ,the ,second ,evening ,illustration3 ,the legs are springs4 ,i4 ,it began to dawn upon me that my undertaking was more serious than ,i had anticipated1 and that ,i had let myself in for some uncommonly hard work2 for ,i should have to advance solid reasons in support of the theories that ,i had so rashly propounded4 ,i had committed myself to nothing less than the exposition of a system to men who1 for the most part1 knew nothing at all about sword-play1 and could not be expected to understand the meaning of the technical terms4 ,i should have to be clear and precise and ready to answer any questions that might be put to me4 ,i was particularly anxious to carry my little audience with me1 because ,i venture to think that no gentleman's education is complete without some knowledge of fencing1 and ,i consider that parents and guardians are much to blame if they fail to recognise the two-fold importance of this indispensable exercise1 which not only strengthens and developes the learner's body1 but also insures his life4 ,ah1 ,i exclaimed1 as ,i joined the company in the smoking-room1 where we met every evening1 my audience ,i see is before me4 ,you have kept your audience waiting1 said my host1 and we have kept an armchair waiting for you4 ,sit down1 and begin as soon as you please4 ,thank you1 ,i replied sitting down1--,i will begin at once4 ,,ii4 ,i remarked1 yesterday1 that the art of fencing would greatly benefit by simplification1 and that it does not require such formidable and protracted study as some of the text-books by their elaborate display of intricate and interminable combinations would lead you to suppose4 ,the elementary principles of sword-play are four in number4 ,they are these3-- ,,simple ,,attacks4 ,,composite ,,attacks4 ,,simple ,,parries4 ,,composite ,,parries4 ,here is a table of the attacks and parries3-- ,,simple ,,attacks4 ,the ,straight ,thrust4 ,the ,disengagement4 ,,composite ,,attacks4 ,one1 two4 ,beat straight thrust4 ,beat disengage4 ,feint disengage4 ,feint cut over4 ,cut over and disengage in tierce or quarte4 ,,simple ,,parries4 ,quarte4 ,tierce4 ,seconde4 ,low ,quarte1 or ,quinte4 ,,counter ,,parries4 ,counter-,quarte4 ,counter-,tierce4 ,circle4 ,,iii4 ,my classification1 you see1 is not very complicated4 ,but1 some one objected1 you are surely forgetting to name an immense number of strokes and parries2 for it is impossible that the long lists of names1 which are given in the books1 and the directions for the various passes1 which have the air of cabalistic formulae and are about equally intelligible1 can be reduced to such simple terms4 ,i am willing to forget them1 ,i replied1 in fact more than willing1 for ,i am convinced that they only serve to distract the learner's mind4 ,the simpler the principles1 the simpler the practice4 ,give him fewer things to do1 and he will do them more easily1 and he will certainly learn to do them in a shorter time4 ,i have always said that a text-book of fencing1 which contained nothing that was superfluous1 would not fill a volume but might be written out on a sheet of notepaper1 and besides1 ,i would have you notice that several of the attacks1 parries1 and ripostes included in my list might logically have been omitted1 because they are simply different ways of executing the same movement4 ,for instance1 what ,i have called ,one1 two is the combination of two disengagements1 one delivered in quarte1 the other in tierce4 ,the beat straight thrust is the combination of a beat on the sword with a straight thrust4 ,the beat disengage is simply a beat followed by a disengagement4 ,feint cut-over1 feint disengage are in like manner the different methods1 which are most commonly used1 of executing the straight thrust or the disengagement1 the two fundamental strokes of sword-play4 ,even the cut-over is really a sort of disengagement1 since it starts from the same position1 is aimed at the same point1 and may be met by the same parries4 ,the only difference is that the disengagement passes under the blade1 while the cut-over passes over the point4 ,the cut-over and disengage in quarte is the same movement as counter-quarte1 conceived and executed in the one case as an attack1 in the other as a parry4 ,cut-over and disengage in tierce is related in precisely the same way to counter-tierce4 ,you see1 then1 that the multiplication of strokes1 far from extending to infinity1 may be reduced to very narrow limits4 ,and ,i am firmly convinced1 that if you transgress these limits you are at once involved in endless confusion1 which you ought to be very careful to avoid4--,you will1 ,i am sure1 admit the force of my argument4 ,the attacks and parries which ,i have described traverse all the lines which are open to the passage of the sword1 that is to say the high and low lines1 the inside lines and the outside4 ,the fencer whose mind is set free from the perplexity of parries complete and parries intermediate and so forth1 understands more clearly the materials that are available for his combinations1 and the measures that he must take to meet the adverse attack4 ,the lucidity of his mind is reflected even in the movement of his hand which goes straight to its mark without hesitation or confusion4 ,speed and freedom of delivery follow as a matter of course4 ,and we must not forget that quickness of hand1 combined with what may be called fencing judgment1 is of all qualifications the most important1 the most necessary1 the most vitally indispensable4 ,,iv4 ,we may as well follow up the turn our conversation has taken1 and pass under review without further preface the three watch-words of swordsmanship3-- ,,judgment2 ,,control2 ,,speed4 ,the man who should master these three would be the pattern of the perfect fencer4 ,well1 what of fencing judgment8 ,why in the world should you be afraid of it1 as though it were the hundred-headed hydra that guards the sacred portals8 ,what is it but that part of the understanding that we all bring to bear on the conduct of everyday life8 ,nothing in human affairs however trivial or however great can be done without it4 ,fencing judgment implies more especially distrust1 cunning1 a wise caution1 the power of interpreting the dumb language of the sword1 the faculty of drawing correct inferences4 ,these faculties are in the first instance directly stimulated by the master's lessons1 and natural intelligence1 acting without any conscious effort on your part1 combined with experience1 will make the good seed grow4 ,do not concern yourself about it4 ,over-anxiety always has a most disturbing effect on the mind4 ,the other night when ,i spoke of the alphabet of fencing1 ,i had a special object in view4 ,there is a language of the sword1 by which questions are asked and answered4 ,as soon as you have learnt the words you can speak and understand it4 ,to admit that it is necessary to make a separate study of every possible phrase implies that a simple and straightforward method of instruction1 which ,i hold to be of the highest importance1 is unattainable4 ,v4 ,in like manner the faculty of control is a thing that may be gradually acquired by practice4 ,it is the result of imparting a supple 'temper' to the wrist and body1 and consists in the knitting up of the various operations into one continuous movement4 ,but1 as in the case of fencing judgment1 so here1 the desired result cannot be obtained all at once4 ,it is the first and most natural consequence of your master's instructions4 ,it comes of daily practice and you must patiently watch and wait for it1 as you might wait for a peach slowly ripening on a sunny wall4 ,let it grow upon you like a habit1 by slow degrees1 till it becomes a second nature4 ,speed1 not of course mere quickness of hand1 but the rapid execution of every movement1 is one of the fencer's great resources1 whether in attack1 parry1 or retreat4 ,it is to my mind the main point to be insisted on from the very first4 ,and1 accordingly1 ,i think that the master should be careful not to overdo the sort of teaching1 that consists in delivering a running commentary such as this3--',steady now3 not too fast3 take your time about it3 think what you are doing3 keep your hand in order3 mark each motion3 at the word one1--and so forth3 don't hurry1 you will go fast enough by and by4' ,it is certainly useful to practise the hand by exercising it on the master's jacket1 but it is useless to practise it by slow movements4 ,first explain how the stroke is to be executed1 and then without more ado make your pupil get into the way of taking it quickly4 ,slowness is convenient1 because it renders execution easy1 but the ease of execution that is derived from it is dangerous1 because it reacts on the judgment and accustoms the mind to lazy ways4 ,your object is1 no doubt1 to bring the hand under control and analyse the stroke in detail1 but if the result of your teaching is that your pupil falls into a sluggish habit you are sowing the seeds of a vice1 which you will probably never succeed in extirpating4 ,suppose you are teaching a child to walk1 you are not surprised that his first steps are wavering and unsteady1 and that he cannot plant his feeble feet firmly on the ground4 ,you hold him up1 but you let him walk4 ,in due time he learns to use his strength1 as a bird learns to fly4 ,the young fencer is the child learning to walk4 ,as his knowledge and experience gradually expand1 many faults will disappear of themselves1 or will be more easily seen and corrected by his maturer judgment4 ,speed is a mechanical force1 unreasoning1 unconscious1 but a force capable of development4 ,you must add fuel to the fire and not allow it to go out4 ,do you suppose that all you have to do is to change the word of command3--',now do quickly what you have done slowly hitherto'8 ,your new command introduces a new idea and creates new difficulties4 ,such1 speaking generally1 are the essential principles of fencing4 ,i cannot say whether ,i have succeeded in showing you clearly how simple the lesson on these lines may be made1 or how far ,i have been able to reassure those1 who have inadvertently opened a treatise on sword-play and have fought shy of the subject ever since1 but ,i am convinced that a course of instruction such as ,i suggest would produce very good results4 ,to explain myself more fully1 as ,i am talking among friends and there are no professors present1 ,i will go on to tell you briefly how ,i should set about teaching the use of the sword4 ,,vi4 ,i should expect my scholar during the first month to give up half an hour a day to foil practice1 and after that to keep it up three times a week4 ,my first lesson would be devoted to showing him theoretically and practically the vital importance of establishing a perfect concert or balance between the various movements4 ,this is the fundamental principle of all athletic exercises1 and applies equally to riding1 swimming1 gymnastics1 and to fencing4 ,i should make him advance and retire1 lunge and recover1 taking care not to lose his balance4 ,this first lesson is sufficient to enable the least intelligent to understand the mechanism of the different movements1 which are based on the natural and instinctive faculties of the human body4 ,come1 ,c----1 ,i said1 rising from my chair1 unless ,i am mistaken1 you have never attempted to fence4 ,will you allow me to make use of you by way of illustration8 ,i shall be delighted1 replied ,c----1 but ,i shall be very awkward4 ,perhaps you will be for the first five minutes4 ,it is the common lot from which no one can escape4 ,now place yourself ',on guard'2 the words explain themselves3--to be on guard1 to protect yourself1 that is to say to hold yourself equally ready for attack or defence4 ,bend your legs4 ,let me use an expression which is perhaps incorrect but which explains my meaning clearly3--,sit well down4 ,your right arm must be half extended4 ,as a general rule the wrist should be at the height of the breast4 ,you will be able later to modify these elementary studies1 by adapting them to suit the position which comes to you most naturally4 ,the important thing is to acquire an uncramped easy style1 and to keep the body evenly balanced4 ,in this position the sword can most easily traverse the various openings that are offered to it4 ,i advance on you4 ,in order to get back and always keep your distance you have only to carry the left foot to the rear1 and let the right foot follow it immediately4 ,to advance on me1 simply reverse these movements4 ,bring the right foot forward and follow it up with the left4 ,bravo6 you advance like a professor4 ,see that you keep your legs bent and the body upright1 so as to be always ready for advance or retreat4 ,if you cannot avoid stooping1 lean forward rather than backward4 ,by carrying the body forward you are no more exposed than you were before2 for the body by its inclined position protects itself1 presents a smaller surface1 and makes it more difficult for your opponent to fix his point1 when he might otherwise hit you2 but if you throw the body back1 you lose the power of making a quick attack and a quick riposte4 ,are you tired8 ,no4 ,good6 ,that shows that your position is correct1 and that it does not cramp your muscles or paralyse any of your movements4 ,you understand1 of course1 that by standing sideways you present a smaller target to your adversary4 ,so much for defence4 ,now1 for the attack4 ,,vii4 ,in order to attack1 you lunge1 by carrying the right leg smartly forward and straightening the left1 so as to give the body its full extension4 ,whatever the attack may be1 whether simple or composite1 the movements of the hand must be completed and the arm absolutely straight1 before the lunge is made1 though the different movements must follow each other without the least interval4 ,it is equally important to remember that the recovery must be as smart as the attack4 ,the great danger of the attack is that it should be too intemperate1 for a too intemperate attack leaves you exposed to danger1 without strength or speed to escape4 ,but1 some one asked1 is it really necessary when you are on guard1 to arrange the left arm above the head in a graceful curve1 and then swing it down to the leg as you lunge8 ,the graceful curve is not an absolute necessity4 ,place the arm behind your back if you prefer to do so1 for if you bring it to the front you drag forward the left shoulder1 and thereby expose a larger target to your opponent's point4 ,the arm1 you see1 acts the part of a rope-walker's balancing pole4 ,it steadies the movements and balances the weight of the body4 ,since you have a spare arm you must place it somewhere1 and if you consider you will see that it is least in the way where ,i have placed it4 ,it serves a useful purpose in the general arrangement1--that is the only object of the position4 ,i need not refine the point further4 ,in fencing1 the movements of the body and limbs are of great importance4 ,all the mechanical part of sword-play depends on the principles which ,i have just explained4 ,i have now taken the mechanism to pieces and shown you how it is put together4 ,,viii4 ,one word more4 ,what was the reason for choosing this attitude and these movements8 ,they were chosen because they are natural and instinctive4 ,instinct dictated the rule1 which is based on experience1 on practical necessity1 on correct principle4 ,what is the object to be attained8 ,first1 for defence1 to allow the limbs their complete liberty of action1 their natural elasticity and easy play2 secondly for attack1 to give the extension of the body its full force4 ,now try to change the position2 straighten your legs2 you will at once notice the increased difficulty of executing the different movements1 whether of attack1 defence1 or retreat4 ,you lose your balance1 and the lunge either precedes the action of the hand and the extension of the arm1 or follows those movements too late4 ,the legs are springs which support the body and determine its most rapid movements4 ,if you are out shooting and want to jump a ditch1 you bend your legs in order to obtain the necessary spring4 ,or again1 if you jump down from a height1 you bend your legs at the moment your feet touch the ground2 if you do not1 your whole body is jarred4 ,i dwell on this point in order to convince you of its absolute necessity1 and to make you understand clearly the why and wherefore of the position4 ,but1 ,i repeat1 instinct was the first teacher1 experience came later and has only confirmed the principle4 ,one last caution4 ,when once you have learnt by practice how to harmonise your movements1 and have realised how great a power at a given moment the faculty of making these movements with ease and rapidity may be1 then1 and not till then1 venture to take your personal inclination into account4 ,and if after carefully weighing the pros and cons you come to the conclusion that you can1 owing to some personal peculiarity1 improve upon the elementary rules of the lesson1 do not hesitate to depart from them without scruple1 but never without good reason4 ,the best position is that which allows you complete freedom and perfect balance4 ,but never forget that all exaggeration is bad1 and that nothing can be worse than the exaggeration of an ungraceful and ungainly style4 ,that is all ,i have to say this evening4 ,illustration3 ,keep the left shoulder back4 ,the ,third ,evening ,illustration ,i4 ,we will continue the course of instruction of which you have studied at present only the first page2 ,i am going into very minute detail1 as you see4 ,our scholar now knows the different positions1 and can appreciate why they are to be commended1 and what is to be gained by adopting them4 ,at the next lesson1--and each lesson would consist of not more than three bouts of eight or ten minutes each1--,i should show him and make him execute the simple attacks and the simple parries3--,disengagements in tierce and quarte1 straight thrusts1 the cut over1 and parries of quarte and tierce4 ,the attacks will exercise him in the lunge1 the parries will improve the flexibility of his wrist4 ,i should make him continually retire and advance4 ,i should1 even at this early stage1 take pains to secure a certain degree of life and speed in his execution1 and ,i should be careful to vary the exercises1 and never appeal to his intelligence at the risk of checking the activity of his movements4 ,sluggishness1 ,i repeat1 is a deadly foe1 against which every avenue must be closed from the very first4 ,next ,i should go on to composite parries and composite attacks4 ,i have already named them1 and you remember that they are not very numerous4 ,counters1 double counters1 and combinations of the cut over and disengagement are the most useful things to practise1 because they work the wrist in every direction1 and make it both quick and supple4 ,although a great many instructors would say that ,i am wrong1 ,i should make it my principal aim to form and cultivate a habit of executing all movements at speed4 ,i should insist less on precision of control than on smartness of execution1 and at the same time ,i should call my pupil's attention to the mistakes which he must be most careful to avoid1 and to the points of danger where he must exercise the greatest caution4 ,i should practise him in retiring quickly1 and should make him deliver simple attacks on the march1 keeping his blade in position4 ,after a few lessons ,i should repeatedly place my button on his jacket1 if he did not parry quickly enough1 or if he was slow on the recovery4 ,in a word ,i should put plenty of life and go into my lessons from the first1 and not allow them to become tedious4 ,after every lesson ,i should direct his serious attention to the principal faults ,i had noticed1 and ,i should make him understand the dangers to which these faults must inevitably expose him4 ,for instance1 if he caught the fatal trick of dropping or drawing back his hand1 ,i should take care to make him attack and riposte in the high lines1 in order to get him to carry his wrist high1 and vice versa4 ,in this way ,i should exercise his judgment by making him think1 and his hand and body by keeping him closely to his work4 ,,ii4 ,above all1 the master's lesson must not lose itself in a maze of attacks and parries and ripostes1 which in some treatises are as numerous and interminable as the stars of heaven4 ,the strict limitation of the number of strokes to be taught renders their execution proportionately easier1 and makes a clear impression on the mind4 ,experience and fencing instinct teach1 far better than any lesson1 certain niceties1 which give life and finish and character to the play4 ,there you have the lesson complete4 ,as the scholar gradually grows stronger1 he learns to hold himself correctly1 and acquires ease4 ,he understands what to do without being told1 and his hand is in a fair way to become the faithful echo of his thought4 ,,iii4 ,we here touch on another point1 where ,i find myself at variance with nearly all the professional instructors4 ,i have read in the books which deal with this subject of 'the danger of premature loose play4' ',you run the risk1' say some1 'of spoiling a promising pupil1 and of arresting his future progress1 just when he is beginning to form good habits4' ,others go further and declare that3 ',the instructor who allows his pupil to commence loose play too soon sacrifices by an act of fatal indulgence the whole future of fencing4' ,i do not agree with this view4 ,i cannot even see that it logically applies to those who mean to devote all their time to the study of sword-play1 and who are prepared to make a determined effort to reach the topmost summit of this difficult art4 ,much less1 then1 to my mind1 is it applicable to the generality of men1 who have no ambition to become such learned fencers1 as we were saying the other evening4 ,the professors wilfully refuse to see this4 ,and yet of all arts1 the art of fencing may be considered from the most widely different standpoints1 and particularly may be approached with very varied degrees of knowledge and application4 ,is it so very certain that 'premature loose play1' as the professors love to call it1 is so pernicious as they think1--the bad seed that cannot fail to produce an evil crop of vices8 ,right or wrong1 ,i can only say once more that ,i am of quite the contrary opinion4 ,i fail to see that it is dangerous for a pupil to attempt the assault1 when he has learnt by taking lessons for a month1--more or less1 according to the progress made and his natural capacity1--to understand the various strokes ,i have described1 and can already execute them with some degree of liveliness and control4 ,,iv4 ,of course ,i am quite ready to admit that his first assaults1 like all first attempts that require a trained habit of mind1 cannot be free from mistakes1 exaggerations1 faults of all sorts4 ,but is not the master there to correct these errors with his lesson1 and to bring his pupil1 who is inclined to go astray1 back to the right path8 ,cannot the leading strings be readjusted8 ,the very fact that the master has had an opportunity of observing the mistakes1 to which his pupil is most liable1 when left to himself1 enables him to devote all his care to overcome and correct them by both practice and precept4 ,more important still1 he has also had an opportunity of observing his pupil's bias2 he notices the strokes which come naturally to his hand1 the parries he most affects1 the natural promptings of his impulse1 impetuous or cautious as the case may be4 ,he makes a study of his artless scholar1 who is clumsily feeling his feet1 reads him like a book1 catches him in the act so to speak1 and detects the working of his character1 and thenceforward he knows the way in which his studies may be most profitably directed to give full play to his individual temperament4 ,the assault teaches the novice what no amount of lunging at the master's pad can drill into him4 ,it enters him to the sudden emergencies1 which in one shape or another arise at every moment1 to the movement and exertion and keen emulation of real fighting4 ,the assault is in fact a lesson subsidiary to the formal lesson1 and you may rest assured that the instruction it conveys is equally salutary4 ,v4 ,then1 smilingly remarked the ,comte de ,r41 you are for open war with the existing routine8 ,and with the old traditions4 ,yes1 ,i am afraid ,i am4 ,but what can ,i do8 ,you admit the force of my arguments8 ,certainly4 ,and that fencing taught on my plan loses its terrors8 ,yes1 ,i quite admit that4 ,and in fact it is not really formidable4 ,my system is able to satisfy the requirements of all1 and ,i do not overshoot the mark1 by over-anxiety to reach it4 ,it is most important to bear in mind that it is not necessary or even desirable to attend all the professor's lectures1 to pass all the examinations and finally to qualify as ,bachelor of ,arms in order to become a fair ordinary fencer4 ,after all in every art one usually admits the professor's right to dictate the elementary principles of his subject1 but after the elementary stage is passed we are not1 ,i believe1 always ready to accept the professor's estimate of the importance of the art which he happens to teach4 ,the remark applies equally to music1 to painting1 to literature1 and why not to fencing8 ,poets we know are nothing if not first-rate1 but why should fencers be singled out for this invidious distinction8 ,you may judge how firmly my own belief is rooted1 when ,i say that ,i am as strongly convinced of the good results that follow from 'premature assaults1' as ,i am of the necessity of making the lesson as simple and as clear as possible4 ,,vi4 ,i remember a story told by my friend1 ,m4 ,desbarolles1 an artist who is endowed more liberally than most of my acquaintance with the warm artistic temperament4 ,it is to be found in one of his neatly written essays4 ,he had1 it seems1 studied fencing for two years under a ,french master1 in ,germany ,i think1 when he paid a visit to ,m4 ,charlemagne1 one of the most famous instructors of the day1 to whom he had an introduction4 ,he fenced before the professor1 and when the bout was over expected to be complimented1 under the impression that he had done rather well4 ',will you allow me1 ,sir1 to give you a word of advice8' asked the great man4 ',by all means1' replied my friend4 ',then1 let me recommend you to give up loose play altogether for at least a year1 and confine your attention entirely to the lesson4' ,good heavens1 what amazing perversity1 what pompous humbug6 ,m4 ,desbarolles remarks that he was utterly taken aback1 and ,i can well believe him1 but he goes on to say that he accepted the master's verdict1 and never had reason to repent it4 ,if he had not given his word for the fact1 ,i should certainly have ventured to hope1 most sincerely1 that his sense of humour was sufficient to save him from following such a piece of advice to the letter1 and in any case ,i am sure that it was quite unnecessary for him to do so1 in order to become the charming fencer that he is and one for whom ,i have the warmest admiration4 ,do not tell me that the quickness of hand and rapidity of movement1 the alertness of body and mind required in loose play1 can be imparted by the lessons of a skilful instructor1 if only he is careful to graduate his instruction in proportion to his pupil's progress4 ,the result is mere clock-work with the professor for mainspring1 counterfeit vitality set in motion by the word of command2 a most mechanical use of the intelligence4 ,the pupil cannot go wrong because he is tied to his master's apron-strings4 ,the master's sword shows him exactly where to go with the precision of a finger-post4 ,he is like a man swimming in a cork jacket1 practising the motions of swimming at his leisure1 and not caring in the least whether these motions would really support him on the surface or let him sink to the bottom4 ,that the formal lesson is useful ,i do not doubt1 that it has a monopoly of usefulness ,i emphatically deny4 ,why allow it to meddle with and domineer over things which do not concern it8 ,let it keep its place and refrain from trespassing outside its own dominions4 ,the lesson can explain the logic and theory of fencing1 it can assign reasons and exhibit the mechanical process1 but it cannot deal with the great ,unknown1 the tricksy spirit1 which suddenly starts out on the fencer under every shape and form1 always assuming some new disguise and upsetting in a moment the most perfect theories and the most scientific combinations4 ,the young fencer who undertakes his first assault is like the heroic youth of the fairy tales1 who leaves his humble cottage and goes out into the wide world to seek his fortune4 ,like him he will meet with many strange adventures1 which will try his mettle1 put his character to the touch1 and call into play all the resources of his intelligence4 ,,vii4 ,perhaps you think that by continually presenting this question to you in a new light ,i am detaining you too long on one part of my subject4 ,my intention is to bring home to your minds the conviction ,i so strongly feel myself4 ,if you only knew how many striking examples ,i have witnessed of the truth of my assertion6 ,you may see one of these pupils taking his lesson4 ,he is a magnificent spectacle2 his hand perfectly correct1 a grand lunge1 his action smooth and free2 he follows his master's blade through a cunning series of feints and false attacks1 ripostes and counter-ripostes1 his parry is never beaten2 not a fault1 not a single mistake2 he is an animated illustration of his master's treatise1 which the author with pardonable pride displays before you4 ,now in the assault pupils of this type are far from maintaining their superiority4 ,their mechanical agility is paralysed1 when it is no longer set in motion by the accustomed spring4 ,they know too little and at the same time they know too much4 ,they find out that the assault is not the same thing as the lesson4 ,their opponent's blade does not accommodate itself to theirs with the precision to which they are accustomed2 the touch of the steel no longer conveys those delicate hints1 to which they formerly responded with such alacrity1 and of course they lose their bearings4 ,they have not acquired the sort of defence which is ready for anything1 alike for well directed thrusts and for more eccentric methods of attack1 and they look in vain for a succession of passes strictly correlated in a systematic order4 ,instead of marching with a swing along the broad highway to which they are accustomed1 they find themselves lost in a wild and difficult country without a guide and without confidence4 ,habit will perhaps enable them to maintain some smartness of appearance1 but they make few hits1 and in spite of their science and the skill1 which they undoubtedly possess up to a certain point1 they are continually beaten by fencers1 who are less scholarly perhaps1 but who have been better entered than they to the actual combat1 the manifold emergencies of practical fighting1 and who have learnt that strange language1 by which the sword contrives to reveal the most delicate shades of meaning4 ,i have seen this happen so often1 that ,i have taken some trouble to study the question1 and ,i am convinced that if these same pupils had been at less pains to make themselves pedantically perfect in the peaceful and philosophic practice of the lesson1 and had been made familiar at an early stage with the changing incidents of the assault1 they would have been equally well disciplined1 and at the same time really dangerous fencers4 ,of course ,i freely admit that exceptions may sometimes be found1 but they are the exceptions which prove the rule4 ,,viii4 ,we have now reached a point from which we may survey the thrilling spectacle of the assault1 as fencers call the mimic combat1 in which desperate and brutal fighting is controlled by skill1 the hazardous duel1 full of fire and fury1 between two combatants1 who summon to their aid all that they know or all that they think they know4 ,i can say with literal truth1 that ,i have never taken a foil in my hand for a serious assault without feeling a real tremor1 and most fencers have experienced and indeed are generally conscious of the same sensation4 ,you have listened so kindly to my rough attempt to put together an extemporary course of instruction1 that ,i can confidently claim your attention now2 for we are about to find in this great arena the rival systems face to face4 ,i shall put before you and examine at no great length the various situations which are likely to occur4 ,our imaginary pupil has now become a fencer4 ,he will no longer lunge merely at the master's pad1 henceforward he will cover his manly face with a mask4 ,shall we follow him in his career8 ,we will2 replied my host in tragic tones4 ,the standard of revolt is raised4 ,lead on1 and we will follow you4 ',tis well1 ,i answered in the same spirit4 ,the tryst is here1 at the same hour1--to-morrow4 ,illustration3 ,a ,parry of ,prime4 ,the ,fourth ,evening ,illustration3 ,coup ,double4 ,i4 ,the next day ,i continued my discourse thus3-- ,in the assault with its incessant alarms and perilous crises1 in encountering the wiles and avoiding the snares of the enemy1 those who use the sword find their 'crowded hour of glorious life1' the hour crowded with illusions and disenchantments1 the rubs of fortune1 the ups and downs of victory or defeat4 ,what legions of cunning counsels and crafty wiles1 from the deep-laid stratagem down to the sudden surprise1 one finds marshalled in the text-books1 and how unmanageable and superfluous they generally are4 ,all that the ,spartan mother said to her son when he was setting out for the wars was3--',be bold1 be resolute1 be cautious4' ,do not her words contain the whole8 ,for all fighting1 whether at long range or at close quarters1 is very much alike1 from schoolboys' games to the most elaborate military operations2 and all the advice of the world may be summed up in the eternal law of attack and defence1 which is stated in these four words3--cunning1 caution1 energy1 audacity4 ,deceive your enemy3 seize the critical moment to attack him1 that is the secret of fighting4 ,cultivate the mistrust which suspects the hidden snare1 the caution which frustrates his plots1 combined with the energy and audacity which surmount difficulties2 try to encourage in your enemy a spirit of wanton confidence2 turn a strong position which you cannot carry by a direct attack2 threaten one point when you mean to concentrate your whole strength on another2 draw your adversary by a show of weakness to attack you in your strongest position2 keep your plans secret2 mask your approaches2 and then by the sudden impetuosity of your attack take him unawares1 and if you cannot secure a victory1 contrive a safe retreat4 ,such from the earliest times have been the methods of the greatest commanders4 ,the tactics of the field of battle and the tactics of hand-to-hand fighting are identical1 for the simple reason that skill1 or strategy1 or science1 call it what you will1 are but different names to express the same idea4 ,these are the sage counsels2 the rest belongs to inspiration1 the inward monitor which in moments of danger warns us with tenfold insistence1 and guides us right4 ,too much stress is laid on education1 too little on individual intelligence4 ,the lessons are supposed to have trained and directed this intelligence4 ,but if your pupil is so wanting in intelligence that he cannot enter into the spirit of the game1 if he can never rise to the occasion1 and never strike out a line of his own1 what can you expect8 ,you may advise for ever1 but his mind will not respond1 he will only listen and forget4 ,it is here that the two schools begin to part company4 ,i have already given you a general view of the points in which they differ1 and we need not now recur to the consideration of general principles1 with which you are already acquainted4 ,,ii4 ,if we could return to the past1 and witness an exhibition of sword-play as it was understood by the professors of only fifty years ago1 what a contrast we should find with the style of our own day1 even with our most severely classical style4 ,our methods would certainly be called revolutionary4 ,it was usual not so very long since to display upon the bosom a fair red heart1 stitched to the fencing jacket1 to show plainly for all eyes to see the spot where hits should be placed4 ,attacks1 parries and ripostes were restricted by convention to a very narrow circle4 ,any hit that went wide of the mark was accounted execrable and received with the most profound contempt4 ,modern fencing is inclined to be somewhat less fastidious4 ,hits in the low line are generally acknowledged4 ,but a hit below the belt6 ',you really do not expect me to follow your point down there6' is still the attitude of most fencers4 ',call it a hit if you like1 but really it is not fencing4 ,a school of arms1 you know1 is not a school of surgery1 you might leave those base regions to the medical students4' ,you smile1 but ,i assure you that they mean it seriously1 without the least sarcasm4 ,it is quite true that any wound in that despised region would be mortal almost to a certainty4 ,that is a detail2 and they forget that a sword1 though it may be a civil and gentlemanly implement1 is still a lethal weapon4 ,it really is very strange to admit that it is wrong to disregard the deadly character of the point when aimed in one direction1 but to claim that it is right to disregard it when aimed in another4 ,yet most men cling to this error with the utmost pertinacity4 ,that you should despise a hit in the leg or fore-arm ,i can well understand4 ,by all means concentrate your whole attention on the protection of the parts of the body which contain the vital organs4 ,but not to use your utmost care1 your surest parries1 your most anxious precautions to defend the trunk1--high lines and low1--always has been and is still a delusion1 a delusion which those who attempt to draw an impossible distinction between the assaults of foil-play and real fighting with sharp swords1 vainly ask us to accept as an unassailable article of faith4 ,there is a real distinction1 for after all foil-play can only be an imperfect representation of real fighting4 ,our object should be to make the resemblance as perfect as possible1 and so minimise the chances on which the ignorant and brutal too confidently rely4 ,let them see that you both know the correct answer to a correct combination1 and that you are equally prepared to deal with the wild and disorderly antics of an untutored point4 ,,iii4 ,you may often hear men say3--',i do that in the fencing room1 ,i should be very sorry to attempt it in a serious fight4' ,then why attempt it at all8 ,if your judgment tells you that the stroke is good1 it is good for all occasions4 ,if it is bad it cannot be justified in any case4 ,always bear in mind that you must pay attention to all thrusts which might prove fatal in a serious encounter1 and then if some day you have the misfortune to find a real sword in your hand1 you will have the satisfaction of knowing that you are fore-armed by habit against known and familiar dangers4 ,i cannot emphasise this point too strongly4 ,in short1 the refusal to acknowledge hits however low is a dangerous and a gratuitous mistake4 ,why should a thrust aimed in that direction not be of its kind as brilliant and meritorious as another8 ,why should it be boycotted8 ,is there any reason for this mysterious taboo8 ,the old master who used to teach us fencing at school1 remarked my host1 would fall foul of you with a vengeance1 if he heard you talk like that4 ,i do not mean for a moment1 ,i replied1 that ,i have any preference for hits in the low line1 but rather that ,i am more afraid of them1 because ,i have fenced too often with fencers good and bad not to know how necessary it is to be on one's guard against the dangers of wild play4 ,for instance1 those who make a practice of straightening their arm as they retire nearly always drop their hand1 and the point of their weapon1 whether they wish it or no1 is necessarily directed towards the low line4 ,it is equally inevitable that the same part should be threatened by those who rightly or wrongly reverse the lunge by throwing the left foot back on your attack1 at the same time stooping forwards1 so as to let your point pass over their head2 and ignorant fencers nearly always hit you there1 quite innocently and unintentionally4 ,you should therefore guard that part of the body as strictly as you guard the chest1 and1 by a parity of reasoning1 when you meet an adversary who neglects to protect the low line annoy him in that region frequently4 ,,iv4 ,it often happens that things that are most neglected in one age become the ruling fashions of the next1 just as things once highly honoured may often fall into complete discredit4 ,take this instance4 ,in an old and dusty folio1 entitled ',acadmie de l',espe#b1' which ,i discovered yesterday banished to the darkest corner of the library1 ,i found several pages entirely devoted to the art 'of delivering a stroke with the point at the right eye4' ,the point is specified because in those days cuts and thrusts were held in equal favour4 ,what do you say to a thrust in the eye8 ,and yet if you will consult my folio you will find a collection of plates illustrating all the passes by which this brilliant stroke may be brought off4 ,you know what is thought now-a-days of a hit in the face1 that is to say on the mask2 we are taught1--again quite wrongly1--not to take the smallest notice of it4 ,and this leads me to hope that some day we may yet see a revolution1 by which the vulgar belly will claim its rights and in its turn drive out the lordly bosom4 ,it will be rated too highly then1 as it is too much degraded now4 ,but when did revolutions ever know where to stop8 ,for the assault the one thing needful is self-reliance4 ,trust to your own resources1 and do not imagine that you have to repeat word for word the lesson that you have got by heart from your book1 but rather look for inspiration to the resources of your native wit4 ,v4 ,if any one came to me for advice1 the course ,i should recommend1 not as a hard and fast rule1 but in a general way1 would be something of this sort3--,act as much as possible on the defensive1 keep out of distance1 in order to prevent your opponent from attacking you without shifting his position1 and in order to compel him to advance on your point1 the most dangerous thing he can do1 and without a doubt the most difficult art to acquire4 ,if you make up your mind to stand your ground whatever happens1 and to attack always in exact measure1 instead of retiring and advancing with quick and irregular movements1 and instead of trying to surprise and overwhelm your adversary with combinations for which he is unprepared1 you are to my mind simply acting without the least judgment1 or rather you are making a perverse blunder4 ,then ,i should go on to say1 always supposing that ,i was asked for my opinion3--,make a practice of stepping back as you form the parry1 if only half a pace4 ,there is everything to be gained by it1 and there is no objection to it that ,i can see1 unless it be the strong objection that your opponent will feel to being considerably embarrassed on every possible occasion4 ,the advantages1 on the other hand1 are manifold4 ,by stepping back you increase the effectiveness of the parry1 because by withdrawing the body you1 in a sense1 double the rapidity of the hand4 ,if the attack has been delivered with sufficient rapidity to beat the parry1 by retiring you parry twice1 the first time with your blade1 with which you try to find your adversary's weapon1 the second time by removing the body to a greater distance1 with the result that the point1 which would have hit you if you had stood your ground1 does not reach your chest4 ,by employing this manoeuvre against simple attacks you counteract rapidity of execution1 and by employing it against composite attacks or against feints you encounter the last movement forcibly4 ,it is also of service in screening one from attacks made by drawing back the arm1 for it often happens if you stand your ground1 that your hand starts too soon1 and your sword encounters nothing but empty air4 ,it has the further advantage of increasing the fencer's confidence in himself4 ,do not imagine that it hinders the riposte4 ,it renders it easier and more certain4 ,nearly always1 when a fencer has lunged right out1 and--as often happens--does not recover immediately1 the two opponents are so close together that it is very difficult to get in the riposte without shortening the arm1 and so giving an opportunity for a remise4 ,the parry and riposte without breaking ground are certainly of value1 ,i do not dispute that1 but against the fencers of all sorts1 whom you have to meet1 and who offer all sorts and kinds of difficulty1 they should not be employed except occasionally1 and only when they are almost certain to succeed4 ,to my mind it would be dangerous and unreasonable to adopt them as the systematic basis of your play4 ,,vi4 ,my reason for insisting so strongly on this point is that ,i have nearly always found that it is thought to be very magnificent to stand up to the parry1 whereas breaking ground is regarded as the shift of a man hard pressed1 a last resort when the hand has proved too slow1 or when it is necessary to retrieve an error of judgment4 ,now my plan provides you with a second line of defence1 without infringing any of the recognised canons2 it is consistent with the most classical style1 and with perfect control of your weapon4 ,and one may well ask why1 when two chances of safety are at your disposal1 you should deliberately resolve to avail yourself of only one of them8 ,i should accordingly reverse the usual advice1 thus3-- ',as a general rule and on principle break ground as you parry1 either by a few inches or by a clear pace1 according to the momentum of your opponent's attack1 for by breaking ground ,i do not mean to say that you are to avoid a hit by continual and precipitate bolting4 ',sometimes stand firm1 but only when you are sure that you have at last induced your opponent to develope an attack1 which you have long been waiting for him to make4' ,,vii4 ,unless ,i know my man1 or have come to an understanding with him beforehand1 ,i have very little faith in a prolonged concatenation of parries1 ripostes and counter-ripostes1 and here again ,i should try to relieve the mind1 as much as may be1 from an unnecessary burden1 by getting rid of complications instead of multiplying them4 ,i look at it in this way4 ,if a fencer has to concern himself with the different lines in which he may be attacked1 he must be in a state of continual suspense4 ,he will be continually asking himself whether the attack is coming in the inside line or the outside1 in the high line or the low4 ,thus1 in order to parry to advantage and correctly he must wait until his enemy's object is clearly disclosed4 ,take the case of a simple attack promptly executed2 it is obvious that the attacker must gain a considerable start4 ,true1 there are a few fencers1 but very few1 gifted with so fine a sense of touch1 that they can divine their adversary's intention1 and read his inmost thought4 ,less gifted mortals should be content with a parry which mechanically traverses all the lines4 ,such a parry must of necessity encounter the adverse blade forcibly in whichever line the enemy has selected for his attack4 ,when once you have acquired this universal parry the strain is lessened1 your mind is more at ease1 you are more sure of yourself and feel that you can act with certainty and decision4 ,,viii4 ,there are two kinds of parry1 among those which ,i enumerated the other day1 which answer this purpose equally well4 ,the first consists in combining the parry of tierce or counter tierce with a cut over and beat in quarte2 the second in parrying counter tierce and counter quarte in succession1 and vice versa1 or counter quarte and circle4 ,these covering parries though they are technically composite1 in practice are fairly simple1 and rapidly pass through all the lines that are open to attack4 ,choose the one which you prefer instinctively1 which is another way of saying the one that comes most naturally to your hand4 ,or1 if you like1 use sometimes one1 sometimes the other4 ,but what if this parry is deceived8 asked the ,comte de ,r4 ,well1 ,i answered1 ',deception no cheating' is the fencer's motto4 ,there is no such thing as an attack that cannot be parried1 or a parry that cannot be deceived4 ,sooner or later the fatal moment comes1 and superior activity or superior cunning prevails4 ,if any professor can invent an attack which it is impossible to resist1 or a parry which it is impossible to deceive1 ,i should advise him to take very good care to secure the patent rights of his invention without a moment's delay4 ,he would certainly have no difficulty in floating a company to put it on the market in all the capitals of ,europe4 ,i have already expressed my opinion that a fencer's strength lies much more in presence of mind and in quickness of hand than in a very varied play4 ,this is so true that the majority of fencers1 amateur and professional alike1 affect certain favourite strokes2 they have favourite attacks1 favourite parries and ripostes1 and always come back to them as to old friends on whose services they can confidently rely4 ,in the course of an assault the same stroke is often repeated in many different ways2 the shape it takes changes with the changing incidents of the fight1 and accordingly as it is adapted to suit the peculiarities of the individual against whom it is employed4 ,that is the great beauty of a stroke in fencing4 ,some of you1 ,i know1 are not fencers1 but there are one or two connoisseurs present1 who have studied the art1 and are experts4 ,it is to them that ,i now appeal4 ,as an illustration of my argument ,i will take the most simple parry1 the parry of quarte1 and ,i will ask them if it is not the fact that it constantly changes and undergoes surprising transformations8 ,sometimes it is a light touch1 sometimes a vigorous1 almost a violent blow2 it may form a high parry1 it may form a low parry1 it serves for every purpose and answers every call that can be made upon it4 ,watch the blade as the parry is formed2--perhaps it just meets the adverse blade and suddenly quits it or it may hold and dominate it4 ,it is this power of varying the stroke and transforming it at will that marks the true fencer4 ,the man1 ,i repeat1 who is content to recite his lesson by rote1 however well he has learnt it1 can never be anything more than a school-boy2 call him that or an accomplished parrot1 whichever he prefers4 ,,ix4 ,i was reading one of the ancient treatises1 which are reposing peacefully on your dusty shelves1 my dear ,c41 when ,i came across the following passage1 which rather struck my fancy3-- ,the law of defence declares that your motions should be the natural motions of a man's body4 ,but1 however sacred the dignity of law may be1 nevertheless you ought to consider that necessity knows no law1 and that it overrides even the weightiest laws of human contrivance4 ,that was written in #afjj4 ,the maxim is a trifle too sweeping for general application1 but it seems to me to be a good and serviceable maxim when applied to sword-play4 ,my remarks are perhaps somewhat disconnected4 ,i am simply giving you my ideas at random1 as they occur to me4 ,but my main object is to direct your attention to the points which appear to me of some importance4 ,after the parries come the ripostes4 ,on this subject a few words will suffice4 ,never forget that the parry and riposte are twin sisters1 whose lives are so closely bound up in each other1 that they cannot exist apart4 ,riposte and parry ought to be so closely allied that the riposte may seem to be the second part of the parry4 ,therefore1 as a general principle1 riposte direct1 in the line in which you have found the blade4 ,changing the line wastes time1 and gives your adversary an opportunity to pull himself together and make a remise or renew the attack4 ,never1 on any consideration1 allow yourself to draw back your arm1 for then your riposte is lost1--as well throw your purse in the gutter4 ,if your judgment tells you that your adversary is waiting for your direct riposte1 and has attacked you with the object of drawing it1 or if you have noticed that he covers himself effectively on that side1 while he leaves you a clear opening elsewhere1 then avoid the trap by a disengagement or a cut-over2 but only make one feint1 never more than one4 ,for1 if you do1 though you may succeed once1 you will probably find out later that your success was dearly bought4 ,it is always wise1 you know1 to count the cost1 and economise your resources1 unless you wish to take the straight road to ruin4 ,x4 ,our chat to-night1 ,i remarked after a moment's silence1 if it has not been very long1 has at least been very serious4 ,i only complain that you have not sufficiently interrupted me4 ,we have been listening to you1 said the ,comte de ,r41 very attentively1 because you warned us of the importance of your subject4 ,very well1 my dear ,r41 ,i replied4 ,now just imagine you are in court1 and let us hear how you would sum up the case for the benefit of the jury4 ,i fancy ,i can do that rather well1 answered ,r4 ,let me try3--,the lesson1 you say1 is the school-room1 the assault is the fencer's career1 a free field for enterprise1 where he must stand or fall by dint of his own unaided genius4 ,the only counsels1 which are worth anything1 are those which have governed attack and defence from time immemorial4 ,for attack1 the union of desperate energy with cool and calculating caution2 for defence1 firmness1 wariness1 self-reliance4 ,then1 passing from the general question to points of detail1 or execution1 ,i should add3--,it is a great mistake1 a piece of inconceivable folly1 to have boycotted1 to use your own expression1 hits in the very low lines1 because the fencer is prevented thereby from acquiring the habit of strictly guarding those parts of the body1 where in a serious encounter any wound would probably prove fatal4 ,as a general rule step back as you form the parry1 to make assurance doubly sure1 and to give greater freedom to your riposte4 ,stand your ground only when you think you have judged the stroke to a nicety1 and when you hold your adversary in a tight place1 from which he cannot escape4 ,i am infinitely obliged to you1 my dear ,r41 ,i remarked4 ,you have summarised most excellently the points that ,i have worked out in detail1 and you have exactly caught my meaning4 ,very good of you to say so1 answered ,r41 but let me finish3--,in order to keep your wits about you1 and to avoid trying to think of too many things at once1 adopt as a rule a universal parry1 which will cut all the lines1 and must meet and drive away your opponent's blade4 ,always riposte direct1 and be careful on your riposte to avoid making feints which expose you to a remise or to a renewal of the attack4 ,does that satisfy you8 ,you have taken us over the ground most admirably1 my dear ,professor4 ,to-morrow1 ,i propose to discuss the attack1 and in this connection we shall have to consider what is usually called 'le sentiment du fer1' the fencer's sense of touch4 ,to this sovereign principle we are asked to swear allegiance1 as though it occupied the throne by divine right4 ,i shall ask you to consider the pretensions of another claimant of very noble lineage to a share of the royal honours4 ,illustration3 ,a riposte in tierce4 ,the ,fifth ,evening ,illustration ,i4 ,although our conversation was quite informal and simply an after-dinner amusement1 ,i found that it involved diligent preparation1 especially when ,i was approaching one of the questions where ,i was in open conflict with current theories1 which are often taken for granted on no better ground than their respectable antiquity4 ,one of these theories1 which is described in fencing language as the importance of judging the blade by touch1 ,i was now prepared to challenge1 and ,i was ready to maintain the superiority of another principle1 against which the professors raise their voices1 almost with one accord1 in a chorus of unmerited abuse4 ,accordingly when we assembled in the smoking-room1 ,i took my usual seat and began without preface4 ,,ii4 ,perhaps ,i had better explain what is meant by refusing to join blades4 ,it means that1 as soon as you have come on guard1 you break away from the engagement1 and avoid crossing swords with your adversary1 instead of allowing the blades to remain in contact4 ,this1 ,i consider1 was one of the most successful innovations of what it is the fashion to call ',the ,new ,school'2 and ,i am therefore very far from sharing the opinions of the professors1 who discover in the practice the corruption of the best traditions of sword-play1 and declare that the refusal to join blades is equivalent to fencing blindfold1 and without judgment2 it leads1 they say1 to mutual hits1 and deprives the fencer of one of the finest accomplishments he can acquire1 the power of judging the sword by touch4 ,,iii4 ,undoubtedly the fencer's touch is a great resource2 ,i am even willing to allow that it is invaluable1 and it is a thing that can only be obtained by practice and perseverance2 it gives lightness and dexterity to the hand1 and enables the foil to be manipulated with accuracy and speed4 ,it is the refined result that is derived from extreme ease in regulating the extension of the arm1 from exquisite subtlety in the use of the fingers1 and from precision of play1 which involves its victim almost unawares1 dismays1 and utterly confounds him4 ,i profess the greatest admiration for this consummate power of fence1 so seldom seen to perfection4 ,no one can think more highly of it than ,i do1 and on that account ,i am strongly convinced of the necessity of devising a means to resist it1 when it is used against me4 ,i shall perhaps be told to combat it by an equally fine sense of touch2--but it is still more rare to see a bout of fencing in which the two men are evenly matched in this respect1 and general principles should be based on general grounds1 not on exceptional cases4 ,the man who possesses this consummate sleight of touch may almost be said to control his opponent's blade by the exercise of his will4 ,by a sort of hypnotic influence or fascination he does with it what he pleases4 ,if you refuse the engagement1 you create a difficulty for him2 if you do not allow him to bring his blade into contact with yours1 you put an impediment in his way1 which his skill will doubtless overcome1 but with less certainty2 his course is not so clear1 and he is no longer completely master of the situation4 ,for if you join blades you are always within striking distance of his point1 that is to say he can attack you at any moment without shifting his ground4 ,now such attacks are exceedingly difficult to stop1 even for the most practised hand1 especially simple attacks such as straight thrusts or simple disengagements4 ,the mind perpetually held in suspense is harassed and distressed1 you have no leisure to think for yourself and are demoralised by the slow torture of a constant strain4 ,for1 ,i repeat1 it is very rare to find two fencers so evenly matched in this respect that the risk is equally divided4 ,in that case ,i should say3--',do what you please4' ,in the other case3--',by refusing the engagement you can at first keep your opponent out of distance1 which will compel him to advance in order to attack you1 and so give you fair warning of his intention4 ,you are no longer exposed to the paralysing influence of a constantly threatened attack1 which destroys your liberty of action and judgment2 you disconcert your adversary by leaving him in the dark as to the line in which he will encounter your blade2 and you can choose your own time1 when you are ready to attack or parry1 to engage his blade with decision4' ,for my own part1 ,i am quite satisfied that the system is a safe and sound defensive measure1 which offers advantages that cannot be denied4 ,pressures1 binds1 beats and croiss1 all those dangerous movements by which your opponent can bring the fort of his blade to bear on the faible of yours1 are rendered very difficult to perform1 and are much less likely to succeed4 ,surprise attacks are entirely or at least so nearly eliminated1 that their occurrence is a rare event4 ,,iv4 ,i have endeavoured to state as clearly as possible the advantages that a weak fencer may derive from this system1 when he is opposed to a combatant more experienced and more skilful than himself2 but further than that1 ,i believe that the skilful and experienced fencer has also something to gain by adopting this much despised method4 ,i have myself never been able to discover that it is incompatible with perfect 'form1' or that it tends to wild play4 ,it opens a wider field1 it shows the fallacy of certain ideas1 which have been wrongly supposed to be unassailable1 and it furnishes a whole range of new situations1 another world to conquer4 ,what ground is there1 ,i would ask my critic1 for your assertion that ,i must be fencing blindly1 because my sword does not happen to be in constant touch with yours8 ,why do you say that mutual hits must occur more frequently8 ,if you are talking of a pair of duffers1 who charge each other blindly1 you may trust them to commit every possible blunder1 whether they join blades or not4 ,but why should you exalt so highly what you call the faculty of touch1 the power of judging the blade by touch1 and be so ready to degrade that other sovereign principle1 which may be called the faculty of sight1 the power of judging the sword by eye8 ,can you deny the controlling influence of the eye1 the authority that belongs to it8 ,do you believe that the eye cannot be trained to the same degree of nicety as the hand8 ,why1 when you have these two forces at your disposal1 are you content to let one of them do duty for both8 ,you may keep your opponent at his distance by the menace of your nimble point1 which flashes in his sight incessantly2 while your watchful eye follows the movements of his sword and reads his thought1 as well as if the blades were crossed and questioned each other by the language of the steel4 ,then1 when it suits your convenience1 when you see a favourable opportunity1 when you have by a rapid calculation reckoned up the situation1 weighed the chances1 taken everything into account1 then is the time to offer your sword1 then is the time to engage your adversary1 or by bold decided movements to get control of his blade4 ,v4 ,but1 objected one of my hearers1 what if your adversary adopts the same tactics1 and refuses the engagement8 ,that is where science and strength1 skill and personal superiority tell4 ,what is fencing if it is not the art of leading your opponent into a trap1 the art of making him think that he will be attacked in one place1 when you mean to hit him in another8 the skill to outwit his calculations1 to master his game1 paralyse his action1 outmanoeuvre him1 reduce him to impotence8--,that is the sort of thing the accomplished fencer sets himself to do4 ,your adversary1 you say1 will not come to an engagement4 ,very good2 then you must force him to it by feints1 or by threatening to attack4 ,either he attempts to parry or he attempts to thrust4 ,in either case you get command of his blade by a simple or by a double beat1 as the case may be1 and then you drive your attack home4 ,it holds good with fencing1 as it does with all warlike measures1 whether on a large scale or small1 that you must not wait for what you want to be brought to you2 you must learn to help yourself2 take no denial1 but by force or fraud get possession4 ,now1 ,i appeal to you all as critics1 not on a technical question of fencing1 on which no one can be expected to give an opinion without a thorough knowledge of the art1 but on a simpler matter4 ,i will contrast two assaults4 ,imagine that you are the spectators4 ,the first is between two fencers of the classical school1 to use the conventional phrase4 ,the swords are crossed1 and the two adversaries1 both gifted with consummate skill1 stand facing each other1 foot to foot4 ,feint follows feint1 and parry parry2 a simple attack is delivered1 it is succeeded by a combination4 ,the attitudes of both are irreproachable2 the body always upright2 the quick hand with exquisite finesse manipulates the dancing point by subtle and accurate finger-play4 ,you admire the exhibition2 for a moment you follow the quick passage of the blades1 but your sympathies are not aroused1 you are not carried away1 or enthralled in spite of yourself in a fever of anxious expectation4 ,now turn to the other assault4 ,this also is fought by two skilful fencers1 but they go to work on quite a different system4 ,look at the combatants4 ,instead of standing foot to foot1 and blade to blade1 they are out of distance1 on the alert1 ready to strike but cautious4 ,their eyes follow each other1 and watch for the tell-tale movement4 ,suddenly they close1 the blades cross1 interlock1 and break away4 ,that was a searching thrust6 ,but by a sudden retreat1 a rapid movement1 perhaps a leap backwards1 the fencer evades the hit1 and is ready on the instant to give back the point4 ,this assault is a battle between two men1 who mean hard fighting1 keen swordsmen1 dodgy1 artful1 and slippery1 who bring to bear all their science1 employ every trick they can think of1 and throw themselves body and soul into the fight4 ,now let me ask you1 which of these two assaults is the more interesting to follow8 ,,vi4 ,i remember an assault1 in ,m4 ,pons's rooms1 between one of my friends and a man who was generally considered and really was a strong fencer1 although he insisted on clinging to that mischievous routine1 which with some men is a superstition4 ,they came on guard1 and my friend1 after crossing swords to show that he was ready to defend himself1 quitted the engagement1 attacked1 and hit his opponent several times4 ',but1 ,sir1' his opponent objected1 'you do not join blades4' ',why should ,i8' ',unless you join blades1 how am ,i to fence8' ',that is your look-out4' ',but you must join blades4' ',why must ,i8 ,my only object1 ,i assure you1 is to endeavour1 as well as ,i am able1 to disconcert my opponent1 and as ,i find that this plan disconcerts you considerably1 ,i see all the more reason why ,i should continue to employ it4' ',that may be1' rejoined the other sticking to his point1 'but if you do not join blades1 it is not fencing4' ',well1' said my friend1 'let us try for a moment to discuss the matter4 ,tell me1 are my hits improperly delivered8' ',oh1 no4' ',did ,i stab1 or come in with a round-arm8' ',certainly not' ',is there anything wrong with my parries8 ,are they too wide1 or what8 ,is my hand too heavy1 or do you complain of mutual hits8' ',no1 that is not the point4' ',then1 what more do you want8' ',i want you to join blades4' ',to oblige you8' ',no1 ,i do not say that4 ,but unless you join blades it is not fencing4' ,and say what one might1 nothing would make him budge from his everlasting axiom4 ,it is always so1 whenever an attempt is made to interfere with the traditions of any art whatever4 ,the man who tries to strike out a new line cannot fail to disturb the tranquil repose of ancient custom4 ,the conservatives resist1 they object to interference1 they feel that their placid triumphs1 their cherished habits are threatened4 ,the regular routine1 which has been drilled into them1 till they know it like an old tune of which every turn and every note is familiar1 will be unsettled4 ,they have good reason to be annoyed1 but that does not prove them to be right4 ,,vii4 ,at the present day people have gradually come to admit that there is some good in these innovations1 which have suddenly enlarged the scope of fencing4 ',fencing1' they say1 'is more difficult than it used to be1 but less graceful4' ,are these qualities then necessarily incompatible with each other8 ,in order to make a clear distinction between those who run after strange gods1 and the 'auld lichts' who have preserved intact the primitive tradition of the true faith1 a phrase has been invented to describe the backsliders4 ,they are said to be 'difficult fencers4' ,now what are these words supposed to mean8 ,do they imply that a graceful fencer is not difficult8 ,no doubt1 classical grace and a masterly style are very fine things1 which ,i1 for one1 can appreciate and admire4 ,but if ,i am asked to choose between the graceful and the difficult fencer1--if it is not possible to be both at once1--,i much prefer the latter1 for ,i suppose that 'difficult' can only mean difficult to hit1 difficult to defeat4 ,but there is no need to suppose that difficulty is incompatible with grace1 at least with grace of a certain kind1 the grace of manly and robust energy1 which sits well upon the fighting man1 such grace as in old times so well became the gallant chevaliers1 who illumined by their prowess the spacious days of ruff and rapier4 ,we have here another of the important points of difference between the two schools4 ,some people treat the newcomer like an inconvenient guest1 whom they cannot very well turn out of doors4 ,but they may as well make up their minds that the intruder can take care of himself1 and will find room for his ample proportions in the domestic circle4 ,he has come to stay1 and whether they like him or not he means to make one of the party4 ,the axiom--',hit and do not be hit back' ought1 in spite of everything that can be said against it1 to be the motto of all who fight with the sword4 ,science may teach how to hit well1 but its first lesson should be1 how not to be hit at all by the arrant duffer1 who uses his sword by the light of nature4 ,when swordsmanship fails to keep this end in view1 we may be very sure that it is off the track4 ',business first' must be the invariable rule4 ,,viii4 ,there was a time when the mask was not worn for the assault4 ,and ,i remember reading some time ago in the ,encyclopaedia1 published about the middle of last century 7#agee71 under the word mask the following remarks3-- ',in foil-play ,fencers have sometimes carried precaution so far as to wear a mask1 to protect themselves from possible hits in the face4 ,it is true that those who have acquired little skill in the ,art may chance to wound their ,adversary by a clumsy thrust1 or cause themselves to be wounded by throwing up the point with a bad parry4 ,it is however never worn at the present day4' ,this encyclopaedia evidently reflects the ideas which were generally accepted at the time4 ,to wear a mask in a bout with the foils was as much as to say that you considered your opponent a duffer1 and was not far short of an insult4 ,fencing in those days was nothing but a formal series of attacks1 feints1 parries and ripostes1 well understood and defined by the code2 every movement led up to some other movement1 which was rigidly prescribed4 ,if a fencer had ventured on a straight thrust while the feints were in progress1 instead of elaborately following the blade through every turn of the labyrinth1 he would have been considered an unmannerly cub1 and sent back to study his rudiments4 ,it was only in the last years of the period signalised by the famous ,saint-,georges that the mask came into general use4 ,even then the only masks used were made of tin1 and the professors' view was that such safeguards were permissible for rough players4 ,but it so happened that three professors each lost an eye4 ,and their respect for ancient tradition did not go far enough to induce them to risk losing the one that remained4 ,after that the wire mask was generally adopted1 but not without regret4 ,,ix4 ,every generation takes the march of progress one stage further1 or at least modifies existing institutions in its own way4 ,it is not so long since the fanciful multiplication of feints1 of which ,i was speaking just now1 was considered the correct game2 the right thing to do was to follow the blade until you found it4 ,at the present day it is no longer part of the necessary ritual to follow always every vagary4 ,suppose you feint inordinately1 ,i suddenly let drive with opposition of the hand1 or simply straighten my arm and hit you with a stop thrust1 which interferes rather effectively with your trickiness1 and spoils the magnificent flourishes of your arabesques4 ,these hits are now recognised and regularly taught4 ,if need be1 instead of lunging you slip the left foot to the rear1 throw the left shoulder well back1 so as to be out of the way1 and drop the body1 in order to avoid being hit yourself4 ,the system of our fathers1 which in many respects was excellent but at the same time was remarkable for several very odd and very peremptory theories1 has in many instances been successfully assailed4 ,perhaps in some cases its assailants have themselves been too peremptory1 and this has led to that loss of temper and angry recrimination1 by which the debate has been embittered4 ,but ,i must not tax your patience further to-night4 ,we had better adjourn the discussion until to-morrow2 otherwise you will be tired of hearing me talk1 and ,i am sincerely anxious to command your whole attention4 ,illustration ,the ,sixth ,evening ,illustration3 ,a very old trick4 ,i4 ,fencing1 ,i began1 when we had all reassembled as usual1 is such an inexhaustible topic1 that ,i could not1 if ,i would1 pretend to go minutely into all its practical details4 ,no one gifted with a modicum of sense1 a little determination1 and a dash of enterprise1 can fail to strike out a line for himself4 ,i am obliged1 as you see1 to content myself with a general view4 ,for we cannot consider the assault1 and especially an assault in which the combatants use their heads as well as their hands1 without assuming that our young friend has gained some science1 and has become an educated fencer4 ,i have already spoken of parries and ripostes1 and you have seen that the lesson teaches how these should be employed4 ,you know what use may be made of the sense of touch1 the power of feeling the blade1 and of the electric influence of the eye4 ,it remains to say a few words on the subject of attacks4 ,it is more dangerous to attack than to parry4 ,instead of waiting you let yourself go4 ,and the great difficulty is to know how to let yourself go far enough without going too far4 ,remember that discretion is the better part of valour2 but do not confound discretion with timidity4 ,i have already said that you ought to be able and willing1 and more than that1 that you ought to make it your object to encounter every sort of style1 even those styles which are hardly worthy or--to be quite candid--are quite unworthy of the name4 ,as a matter of fact there are such styles1 and therefore it is just as well not to allow their exponents to become conceited1 or to imagine that by any chance they can possibly be effective4 ,it is important for the prestige of fencing1 that those who have no knowledge of their weapon1 or at most a mere smattering1 should not be allowed to suppose that they can depend upon mere energy and a blind rush to defend themselves against a man who has been trained to the skilful handling of the sword4 ,confidence1 that mainest mainstay of defence1 ought not to be possible for the ignorant fencer2 it ought to be the peculiar privilege of the trained and scientific expert4 ,,ii4 ,to come back to the various situations which may occur in the assault4 ,if ,i see a fencer1 as soon as he falls on guard1 engage swords1 and at once hurriedly let fly thrust after thrust1 attack following attack in quick succession1 if he neglects to test the length of his opponent's sword by gradually feeling his way1 by employing all the necessary tactics of the preliminary skirmish1 by prospecting for information and discreetly sounding the enemy1 then to my mind he may be classed at once4 ,he may have some dexterity1 a certain power of execution1 but by the mere act of joining blades he may be set down as a blind fencer1 far more truly than the man who keeps out of distance1 and chooses the proper moment at one time to refuse1 at another1 when least expected1 to take the engagement1 or to seize his opponent's blade with courage and resolution4 ,i suppose1 remarked the ,comte de ,r41 that1 a few years hence1 it is highly probable that a new set of theories will be invented to supersede these modern ideas1 which are so hotly disputed now1 and they in their turn will be considered out of date4 ,no doubt that is to be expected in the nature of things4 ,the form may or rather certainly will change1 but the substance will be unaltered4 ,let me submit evidence to prove it4 ,i mentioned the other day some old books on sword-play which ,i hoped to look through4 ,i will only refer to them for one moment4 ,i managed to read them all1 and dreary reading it was1 but ,i got through them1 being supported by a conscientious sense of duty1 and ,i unearthed among others the two following passages4 ,the first on the subject of ,approaches was written in the seventeenth century1 that is to say1 it is about two hundred years old3-- ',the reason why you must make your steps of unequal ,measure is that thereby you always hold your ,adversary in ,suspense and uncertain what you would be at4 ,for if you always go about your business of a set way and with a set regularity of step1 it may happen that the ,enemy will make his reckoning so exactly1 that he can direct his sword not only at the place where he sees you to be1 but even at that place to which he knows you will presently come1 whereof by this means he is hindered4' ,one might suppose that this was written yesterday4 ,could any professor1 however skilful1 put the point better or more logically8 ,the weapons however were very different from ours1 heavy cut and thrust rapiers1 wielded sometimes in one hand1 sometimes in both2 but the laws of judgment1 caution1 and strategy were the same1 and will be the same a hundred years hence4 ,to prove once more that this new school1 which a few years since was received with a howl of abuse1 really did not advance such very extravagant doctrines1 and that the power of eye1 which we were discussing yesterday1 is intimately connected with the power of touch1 ,i have made a note of these other few lines1 still on the subject of attacks3-- ',it follows that the great gain that ,science gives is ,security in making your ,approaches1 which cannot be obtained except you thoroughly comprehend the ,importance both of ,touch and ,eye2 and you may rest assured that bodily activity and readiness of hand are alike as nothing when weighed against a good ,approach4' ,and we are reluctantly obliged to admit that after all our original ideas have been anticipated1 and we stand convicted of plagiarism4 ,i might revenge myself for the trouble ,i have taken to ransack these ancient folios1 by inflicting upon you any number of quotations1 but ,i will be merciful1 and am content to have demonstrated that the ideas that are supposed to be most radical are often1 when they come to be examined1 most truly conservative4 ,,iii4 ,i have another question for you1 continued the ,comte de ,r4 ,you were speaking the other day of feints and stop thrusts4 ,of course it was ridiculous to expect an opponent to follow every gyration1 which you chose to describe with the point of your sword1 but don't you think that nowadays the practice of straightening the arm on every possible occasion is utterly overdone8 ,no doubt it is by some men--overdone1 or rather very badly done1 which amounts to the same thing4 ',ne quid nimis' you know is a good motto1 and ,i quite agree with you1 however little you may like it1 that this movement1 which comes more by instinct than by intention1 is now the refuge of those who cannot parry2 but1 mind this1 it is a refuge1 from which it is often very difficult to dislodge them4 ,i quite admit that those who straighten the arm without any justification are hopelessly unscientific1 but they present a difficulty to surmount1 which requires serious attention4 ,let me explain before going on4 ,there is a distinction to be made between stop thrusts1 and time thrusts4 ,the stop thrust is taken1 when your opponent advances incautiously1 or when he draws back his arm while executing a complicated attack1 whenever in fact he makes a movement which leaves him exposed4 ,the time thrust on the other hand1 correctly speaking1 is a parry of opposition1--the most dangerous of all parries1 for if it fails it leaves you absolutely exposed and at the mercy of your opponent4 ,i have seen it taught in the lesson by every master 7as an exercise no doubt71 but ,i have hardly ever seen a master put it into practice in the assault4 ,the thrust has nothing to recommend it1 but on the contrary it is to be condemned on many grounds4 ,i should like to see it ignominiously expelled from the fencing room1 as the buyers and sellers were expelled from the temple4 ,,iv4 ,do you follow the distinction8 ,a time thrust is taken on the final movement of an attack1 when you think you know exactly what is coming1 and can judge with certainty in what line the point will be delivered4 ,very well1 then parry instead of timing2 for if you are wrong--and who is not sometimes8--you can at any rate have recourse to another parry4 ,whereas the time thrust1 when misjudged1 results in a mutual hit1 and for one that is good tender how much base metal you will put into circulation4 ,the stop thrust1 which is taken1 as ,i have said1 on the opponent's advance1 is less dangerous4 ,therefore never attack a man1 who straightens his arm on every occasion1 without making sure of his blade1 and you need have no fear of the result4 ,it is quite true that the practice of straightening the arm is much more prevalent than it used to be2 simply because this style of play1 which is of great antiquity1 had gone out of fashion1 and given place to another method1 which in its turn was overdone1--the method of feints and flourishes4 ,so too1 the trick of reversing the lunge by throwing back the left foot and dropping the body1 to allow the attack to pass over your head1 is not an invention of the ',romantic' school1 as it has been ridiculously christened4 ,it is an old trick1 a ruse of great antiquity1 which may or at all events ought to be found in ,homer4 ,still1 unless your opponent drives you to it by wild and frantic rushes1 it is a stroke to be used sparingly1 and with the object of letting him know that you are ready to receive him4 ,by this means you will stop him from rushing at you on every possible occasion4 ,i like to see a stop thrust correctly taken1 always provided that ,i do not see others in the course of the same assault taken incorrectly1--for then it is obvious that the correct thrust was a simple fluke4 ,v4 ,i am speaking now from the scientific standpoint4 ,perhaps ,i can put my point more clearly4 ,if my opponent says3--',i don't profess to be scientific2 ,i simply defend myself by the light of nature1' he may do what he likes1 ,i shall not complain of his mistakes2 he is perfectly within his rights and knows no better4 ,but the expert fencer has no business to make mistakes1 or at least he should try to avoid them as far as he can4 ,even at the risk of being lynched for my unorthodox opinions1 ,i should venture to say to the would-be fencer3--',above all things make yourself dangerous4 ,be 'a difficult fencer1' since that is the stereotyped phrase4 ,without it there is no salvation2 your guns are not shotted1 your performance is mere fire-works4' ,but be careful not to give these words a wider application than they are meant to carry4 ,all that ,i would say is this3--that you are to follow your natural instinct1 to trust your impulse1 to be yourself and not your master's puppet4 ,i do not mean to propound an acrobatic theory of fencing1 or to recommend a meaningless1 objectless1 indiscriminate charging about1 like the convulsive struggles of a wild beast1 that has received its death wound4 ,it would be as wrong to take such extravagant exceptions for your model1 as it would be unfair to argue from them in order to demonstrate the futility of the new school4 ,no doubt fencers of this kind1--they call themselves fencers1--may score an occasional hit1 for1 as ,i have had occasion to remark already1 there is always a certain amount of luck in fencing2 but this sort of thing is not fencing2 it is much more like mere brutal fisticuffs4 ,such eccentric methods are of no importance1 they are not based on any sort of principle1 but are the mere outcome of ignorance2 they belong to no school and have no permanent value4 ,but it does not do to despise an unbeaten enemy4 ,therefore confront these methods and defeat them first2 you can afford to despise them afterwards4 ,quite so1 exclaimed ,monsieur de ,c41 that is exactly my opinion4 ,one moment1 ,i said1 ,i have not quite done4 ,i was going to say1 that ,i have very little faith in the stories one hears of the regimental fencing master being run through by the recruit4 ,such an event may happen1 just as a chimney-pot may fall on your head when you are walking in the street1 but ,i fancy that if you were to apply the rule of three to all the cases the result would not exactly support the paradox4 ,there is a class of fencers who are thoroughly--in fact too thoroughly--convinced that they are very dangerous fellows1 and that they are never hit4 ,you repeatedly come across this sort of thing in the fencing room3--,your opponent delivers an attack which you parry2 he stays on the lunge doubled up1 with his body dropped forward2 your riposte lands perhaps in his mask1 perhaps in his back1 or arm4 ,thereupon he recovers and remarks with a negligent air3 'hit in the mask1' 'hit in the back1' 'arm only1' as the case may be4 ,oh1 only in the mask6 ,but1 ,sir1 the point would have run you through the head and traversed your brain4 ,in fact it would have been quite as effective as a hit in the chest1 which penetrated your lungs4 ,the other would have gone six inches into your back2 while the third would have pierced your arm and run you through the chest afterwards4 ,you offer your head1 back1 or arm instead of your chest1 ,i hit the part exposed and am quite satisfied4 ,you cannot evade or parry a thrust by substituting for the part that would otherwise be hit some other part1 which you do not attempt to cover2 all that you do is to offer an exchange4 ,,vi4 ,do you suppose that these fencers would pursue the same tactics1 if they had to face a naked point instead of the button of a foil1 and that they would fancy themselves out of danger1 if they laid themselves open to be run through the head or back or neck8 ,such wounds are not trivial and cannot be ignored4 ,a sharp point is a peremptory fact1 which makes short work of illusions4 ,or again1 do you imagine that anyone would be very anxious in a real fight to run the risk of double hits1 by which he might succeed in inflicting a serious wound1 but only at the expense of being run through the body himself8 ,no one would resort to such desperate measures as these1 unless there was absolutely nothing else left to be done4 ,this is so thoroughly true1 that if you set two men to fight in a fencing-room with blunt swords1 you notice at once that the assault is something very different from what it would have been with mere foils4 ,you might almost fancy that the swords1 though they can no longer wound1 are still possessed by the spirit of mortal combat1 and retain some reminiscence of the real thing1 of naked chest opposed to naked steel4 ,there is none of that brilliant dash1 none of those brilliant strokes that are usually more conspicuous for temerity than judgment4 ,the fight is a sham fight still1 but the players cannot help taking it seriously4 ,each is saying to himself3--',now let me see what would happen1 if we were in earnest4' ,the different shape of the hilt1 the harsh grating of the steel affect the imagination4 ',watch that fellow1 see what he is up to1 make him keep his distance1 give him something to think about4' ,that is the sort of caution that the swords are whispering4 ,you may easily satisfy yourselves of the truth of my remarks the next time you have an opportunity of watching a bout of this sort4 ,and if there is so great a difference between simple foils and blunt swords1 you will have no difficulty in believing that the difference between blunt swords and sharp is far greater4 ,wild play subsides1 and those who were willing to charge blindly1 when they risked nothing more than a dent in a leather jacket1 prefer to study ways and means a little more closely4 ,it is a very natural prompting of the instinct4 ,the rule is almost universal1 but there are occasional exceptions1 which you may be called upon to face1 and if you do not want to be taken by surprise1 you had better make yourself acquainted with them beforehand for what they are worth4 ,then you approve1 said ,m4 de ,c41 of occasional practice with muffled swords8 ,not only of occasional but of constant practice1 and that not in the assault only1 but in the lesson too4 ,the greater weight of the sword and the wider blade1 which is straight and less whippy than the foil1 steady the hand1 keep it in position1 and give a truer aim4 ,,vii4 ,i notice1 observed one of my friends1 that you have said nothing about left-handed fencers4 ,no1 ,i answered4 ,the fact is1 there is hardly anything to say1 and even the text-books1 which do not usually err on the side of brevity1 devote very little space to them4 ,for there is really no particular rule1 which applies to them exclusively4 ,but surely they are very difficult8 ,yes in a way no doubt they are1 though one of my friends1 a left-hander of course1 used to say that the supposed difficulty is only a convenient excuse invented by right-handed fencers4 ,his suggestion is more witty than true1 and ,i am willing to allow1 without hesitation1 that left-handers really are puzzling to those who are not accustomed to fence with them4 ,their only real advantage is that they have more opportunities of fencing against right-handers1 than right-handers have of fencing against them4 ,when once you are used to them the difficulty vanishes4 ,the left-hander on the contrary1 when it comes to fighting1 is never rid of the far graver risk which he takes by exposing his left side4 ,i may add that the left-hander's advantage1 which consists entirely in his incognito1 would exist no longer1 if the professors1--who ,i hope may take the hint1--would make a practice of giving lessons occasionally with the left hand4 ,some of them do so already1 and ,i congratulate them on their good sense4 ,if you come to think of it1 there is not a single left-handed thrust or parry1 which cannot be equally well executed by a right-handed player4 ,only1 from want of practice1 the latter finds it more difficult to direct his point because the lines are reversed4 ,quarte becomes sixte1 and vice versa4 ,the left-hander prefers to take the inside engagement1 that is to say quarte4 ,this line suits him better1 and accordingly it is good policy not to let him take it without a struggle4 ,it is usually more difficult to hit him in the outside line4 ,so much for general principles1 for of course left-handed play varies as much as right-handed1 although the contrary is sometimes maintained4 ,but if all left-handers were providentially made alike1 one would think that it could not be very difficult to get to know the pattern by heart4 ,,viii4 ,well1 you must admit that in the course of my remarks ,i try not to pass over anything that is likely to interest those who have1 or those who should1 could1 or would have a fancy for sword-play4 ,my object is to bring out the essential features in clear relief1 and ,i intentionally omit the thousand and one minute details1 which would overcrowd my canvas1 and prevent you from properly appreciating the leading features4 ,these refinements1 which come with experience and habit1 cannot be forced1 they must be slowly acquired by the friction of the blades1 by meeting all sorts and conditions of fencers1 by facing the unforeseen and sudden perils1 which confront you just when they are least expected4 ,you know how awkward a young fellow is when he makes his first appearance in society4 ,when he finds himself in a drawing-room1 he is shy and uncomfortable1 he does not know how to sit down or how to stand up or how to talk1 but presently without consulting any professor1 simply1 so to speak1 by the daily friction of his common intercourse with other people1 older and more experienced than himself1 he acquires confidence1 ease1 address1 manners1 and so forth4 ,it is just the same with fencers4 ,craft1 finesse1 tact1 and judgment come by degrees1 as wings grow out of feathers2 but do not forget that the lesson and the master's pad are your first instructors and must not be neglected4 ,to neglect them would be ungrateful1 and ingratitude is always base4 ,besides you cannot afford it4 ,i am sure ,i don't know what else ,i can find to say2 ,i shall be in a difficulty to-morrow1 unless you promise to help me out4 ,illustration3 ,a ,stop ,thrust4 ,the ,seventh ,evening ,illustration3 ,toucher et ne pas l'tre4 ,i4 ,well1 what is your text to-night8 asked my host as he joined the group which had met as usual in the smoking-room4 ,oh1 ,i replied1 ,i have nothing left to preach about4 ,and ,i1 said the ,marquis de ,g41 who was looking through the evening paper1 don't mean to let you off so easily4 ,here is a piece of news1 which is very interesting in connection with our nightly symposia4 ,read it6 ,read it6 exclaimed a chorus of voices4 ,the ,marquis read out the following paragraph3-- ',an unfortunate encounter recently took place in the ,papal ,states between the young ,marquis de ,monte ,c4 and the ,chevalier d',a4 ,the duel arose out of a very singular incident4 ,the ,chevalier d',a41 a ,neapolitan1 has the reputation of a jettatore1 that is to say he is supposed to have the evil eye4 ,the ,marquis de ,monte ,c41 happening to meet him in a drawing-room1 took up without thinking a little coral hand1 a charm that he was wearing on his watch-chain1 and pointed it at the ,chevalier d',a4 as he was passing close by him4 ,the ,chevalier who knew what people thought of him1 noticed the movement and called the young ,marquis out4 ,they met the following morning1 and the unfortunate ,marquis received a sword thrust in the chest and was killed outright4 ,the ,chevalier1 besides being a very expert swordsman1 is said to have acquired a knowledge of several secret thrusts4' ,,ii4 ,the reading of this paragraph was followed by a momentary silence4 ,then someone remarked3--,i have often heard 'secret thrusts' spoken of1 but how is it that they are not taught by the ,professors8 ,well1 ,i said smiling1 for one sufficient reason1 that if they were taught they would no longer be secret4 ,but1 joking apart1 ,i may as well say at once that my belief in secret thrusts is about equal to my belief in ghosts4 ,come1 this must be looked into4 ,i believe in out of the way and unlooked for strokes1 but further than that ,i cannot go4 ,yet1 surely they must have existed some time or other1 objected my critic1 or how did they come by their name8 ,oh1 they existed more or less at one time1 or perhaps it would be nearer the mark to say that they were supposed to exist4 ,they are a shadowy survival1 a sort of family ghost that we have inherited from the ,italian school4 ,for ,french fencing1 though it has developed characteristic features of its own1 traces its descent1 as you know1 in a direct line from ,italian ancestry4 ,secret thrusts died and were buried when ,science was in its infancy2 and ,science has since grown up in other conditions1 and grown strong by working on other lines4 ,they could not be revived1 unless the attendant ritual of an effete tradition1 the system of a bygone age long since forgotten1 were revived along with them4 ,at the present day1 with our modern weapons and our modern methods1 to use a secret thrust would amount almost to a crime4 ,and if it were not exactly that1 if a charge of murder or manslaughter would not lie1 it certainly would be considered iniquitous by all honourable men4 ,no one with a conscience could conceivably buy success in an affair of honour at such a price4 ,,iii4 ,before we leave this question ,i should like to make my meaning perfectly clear4 ,in the world as we find it there are some things for which no definite penalty is prescribed1 things that do not bring a man within the law1 but that are none the less offences in the court of conscience and very properly censured4 ,an action1 such as we are now discussing1 is to my mind a case in point1 always supposing it to be a possible action2 but is it possible8--that is the question4 ,put yourself in the place of a man who is compelled by force of circumstances to fight a duel4 ,your success1 if you do succeed1 may be due to the blessing of ,providence1 to skill1 or to accident1 but it must satisfy one condition1--it must be unequivocal4 ,you are meeting an honourable enemy in an honourable fight1 and obviously the means you employ must be beyond all question 'straight1' and not devices so crooked as almost to deserve the epithet 'felonious4' ,i found myself speaking with some warmth1 and was pleased to see that my remarks were received with great interest4 ,of course1 ,i continued1 in speaking or writing on a subject of this sort1 one can only express a strictly personal opinion4 ,now1 what do you say8 ,we have been let in for this duel by an evening paper4 ,shall we drop it1 or shall we see it through8 ,i was answered by a general cry3--,go on6 ,i am afraid it may take us rather far afield1 for it involves important considerations4 ,so much the better1 observed my host1 we have plenty of cigars1 and the night is young4 ,we provided ourselves with fresh cigars to follow those already alight1 and settled down in our arm-chairs1 and the most profound silence reigned in the smoking-room4 ,,iv4 ,well1 ,i began1 hitherto we have had in view sword-play in the literal sense of the word1 that is to say theoretical fencing1 fencing regarded as a sport1 as a bout with the foils in a fencing room4 ,we shall now have to consider it from the strictly utilitarian standpoint4 ,in the one case we have an assault1 consisting of a succession of fancy strokes played by connoisseurs1 who in point of skill may of course be equally or unequally matched1 but who nevertheless play the game on the whole in accordance with principles that are tolerably well ascertained4 ,in the other case we have a serious encounter with swords sharply pointed1 flashing in the sun1 and dangerous to life4 ,the first hit1 correct or incorrect1 is decisive1 no matter how it is delivered1 no matter where4 ,do not forget that you have to reckon not only with skill but with the possibility of surprise1 not only with subtlety but with brute force1 not only with science but with blind and headlong ignorance4 ,your opponent does not greatly care whether he lets your blood in orthodox style1 or whether he operates on your face for instance1 or on those parts of the body that are too much neglected in the fencing room4 ,you do not choose your opponent1 he is chosen for you by accident2 he may be tall or short1 strong or weak4 ,you are no longer engaged in a sport in which your object is to play correctly1 in a contest of skill in which you may perhaps allow yourself to be hit occasionally in order to lead your opponent on and afterwards defeat him more easily4 ,the man who confronts you with that threatening point may be an artistic and accomplished swordsman1 but he may equally well never have touched a sword in his life1 and be trusting to luck1 or to his general smartness1 or to a cool head4 ,you may find that you have to do with an enemy whose every movement is studied2 who keeps his distance cleverly2 who never advances or retires without a reason4 ,or on the contrary1 it may turn out that your opponent1 trusting to one supreme effort of audacity1 in defiance of all calculation1 and throwing to the wind every shred of theory1 will make such brutal use of his sword as the primitive and untutored instinct of self-preservation dictates4 ,v4 ,we realise at once how far we have got from the harmless diversion of the assault1 the sham fight conducted under the master's eye on strictly correct principles and with inoffensive weapons4 ,the assault and the duel are even further apart than the assault and the formal lesson4 ,in short this newspaper paragraph has brought us face to face with the real duel1 and what we have to do is to discuss it in all its bearings1--so we had better begin at the beginning4 ,unfortunately1 one always finds that it is impossible to discuss the art of fence without coming to the duel2 for say what you will1 cases must sometimes occur when an affront for which the law offers no redress compels you to go out4 ',the duel1' as someone puts it1 'cannot be suppressed4 ,it is like a bad neighbour with whom we have to live on the best terms we can4' ,some years ago ,i happened to read a great deal of fencing literature4 ,the various authors1 though not one of them could find a good word to say for duelling1 contrived between them to fill in a sketch of its rise and progress from the earliest times down to the present day4 ,this is evidently one of the points where the civilised man and the savage meet on common ground1 and is an instance of the law that civilisation modifies1 refines1 perhaps transforms our instincts1 dresses or disguises them in the latest fashion1 but never gets rid of them4 ,at one time the duel was called ,trial by ,battle or simply ,the ,judicial ,combat4 ,then it was pronounced illegal1 and those who fought in a private quarrel were sentenced either to death or to long and cruel periods of imprisonment4 ,at a later period1 growing insolent with impunity1 the duel like a strayed reveller swaggered in the streets and public places2 we find it haunting the taverns1 we see the flicker of the blades under a street lamp1--drawn for a word1 for a ribbon1 for a bet1 for anything1 or for nothing4 ,even the seconds who parted good friends over-night did their best to spit each other next morning4 ,well1 what better evidence could we require to prove that this last resort of wounded honour is somehow deeply rooted in human nature1 than the fact that the ancient and honourable practice of duelling has remained the final court of appeal1 in spite of changed surroundings1 in spite of hostile opinion1 and in spite of the extravagant follies that have sometimes disgraced it8 ,,vi4 ,but this is a digression for which ,i apologise4 ,i was led astray by my subject and drifted quite unconsciously into an unpremeditated preface4 ,don't apologise1 said ,m4 de ,c41 your digression is charming4 ,and besides1 ,i continued1 you know ,i have a sort of moral claim on your indulgence1 for ,i might have displayed my erudition1 and have quoted names and dates and facts unearthed from dusty folios1 and yet ,i have mercifully spared you4 ,oh1 thank you1 thank you6 came from several arm-chairs4 ,when one talks of duelling1 there is a point that strikes one at the outset1 and though it is not directly connected with sword-play1 it is too nearly allied to the duel to be dismissed without notice4 ,i mean the duties of seconds4 ,i shall not now enter upon the question of what those duties may be before the combatants meet4 ,these consist in pressing for moderate counsels1 in acting or even over-acting the part of peacemaker4 ,you all know as well as ,i do that no chance of arriving at an honourable settlement should be neglected before allowing your men to go out4 ,what should we think of the man who could forget that his friend's honour and his friend's life are equally committed to his keeping1 and that he ought not1 out of a quixotic regard for the one1 to jeopardise the other needlessly8 ,when a man fights1 his conviction that right is on his side is everything4 ,and therefore the correct attitude of a second is that of a man1 who acting calmly but firmly in his friend's interest seeks to avoid a quarrel4 ,any other attitude is not only incorrect but even renders him liable to be called to account for neglecting his bounden duty4 ,personally1 if after exhausting every effort to obtain a friendly settlement ,i found that a meeting was unavoidable1 although ,i was thoroughly satisfied in my own mind that it was a case not of injured honour but only of injured vanity1 or of wounded pride1 ,i should not hesitate to withdraw4 ,duels played to the gallery are either odious or absurd2 they are out of date1 and should be numbered with the obsolete fashions of the past4 ,,vii4 ,they arose in the manners and customs of a flamboyant era1 when everyone carried a sword and it was considered the right thing to air it on every opportunity1 in order to fill up the time which might otherwise have passed somewhat heavily4 ,every age has its fashions and its vices1 its childish toys and favourite follies4 ,those gallant blades that cut such a tremendous figure in the old days would meet with a very poor reception now1 if they could revisit the scenes of their dashing exploits4 ,but if it is the duty of a second to play the part of mediator before the action1 it is equally his duty to be cool and collected on the ground4 ,his personal responsibility is increased1 but otherwise his rle remains unchanged4 ,it then becomes imperative on him to anticipate and allow for every contingency1 he must let nothing escape him1 and must give the closest attention to the minutest detail1 in order that his principal may be relieved of all anxiety1 and may preserve that cool presence of mind which is so absolutely indispensable4 ,,viii4 ,in short the fact that has to be grasped is simply this1--that not one of the thousand and one preliminary details is unimportant2 and that things seemingly the most trivial may suddenly assume the most unexpected gravity4 ,the stake is too high to justify any man in gambling it away with a light heart4 ,in the first place the selection of the ground must be carefully considered4 ,the surface should be smooth and even1 without dips or inequalities that can be in the slightest degree dangerous4 ,be particular to avoid a spot where there is any grass4 ,grass is slippery and may imperil your friend's life4 ,here is another point worth remembering4 ,run your eye quickly but carefully over the ground where your friend will stand2 he is very likely to neglect this precaution himself1 and may fail to see a root for instance1 almost unnoticeable to a careless glance1 which might very easily trip him up or throw him off his guard at a critical moment1 when it was too late to stay the impetus of his opponent's point4 ,all this no doubt seems extremely trivial2 but how do you know that the tuft of wet slippery grass1 the half hidden root1 or treacherous stone will not turn the scale a moment later8 ,the contending parties1 it has been said1 are entitled to a fair division of light and ground4 ,if that is so1 you will be well advised not to stand out for your share of light1 and you should never consent to let your principal face the sun4 ,the glitter of the blades confuses the eye and causes hesitation4 ,remember that in fighting the eye is an implement at least as important as the sword4 ,seeing in this case is thinking4 ,the eye warns you of danger1 and instinctively picks out the enemy's weak spot4 ,and more than that1 a steady eye1 an eye that looks one in the face unflinchingly1 overawes and fascinates4 ,while the sword threatens1 the spying questioning eye is the intelligent scout4 ,again1 never allow the combatants to strip4 ,the impression of the cold air on the bare skin and the unaccustomed exposure may affect one more than the other1 if he is naturally more sensitive1 even though he may be quite unconscious of the fact4 ,but1 objected the ,comte de ,r41 what if the other side insist8 ,you must refuse to give way4 ,no one has a right to insist upon it4 ,it is a barrack-room practice1 usual among soldiers1 and does not hold good outside the guard-room4 ,,ix4 ,while we are on this point1 remarked one of my friends1 there are two questions ,i should like to ask you4 ,i will do my best to answer them1 ,i replied1 for--as my lawyer would put it--,i may say1 that ,i am thoroughly acquainted with all the leading cases4 ,well1 is it allowable to use a fencing glove8 ,it is usual4 ,but custom is not always right1 and though many men suppose that they are entitled to it as a matter of course1 they cannot strictly speaking claim it4 ,generally the parties agree beforehand whether fencing gloves shall be used or not4 ,it nearly always happens that both sides prefer to use them1 for with the help of a fencing glove you get a firmer and more confident grip of the sword1 and are less likely to be disarmed4 ,besides1 the hilt of a sword is hard2 it tires and bruises the hand2 the fingers in contact with it are jarred at every parry that is at all strong1 or whenever the blades meet sharply4 ,on these grounds fencing gloves are generally allowed4 ,however1 if the seconds of one side object1 the seconds of the other side cannot either require them to use a fencing glove or claim the right for their own principal4 ,for instance1 the objection may be raised that the use of a fencing glove is familiar to a man accustomed to fencing1 but unfamiliar and of no value to one who has never fenced4 ,true1 this objection is seldom raised1 because1 as ,i pointed out just now1 the man who is not used to fencing is of all men the one who finds a serious difficulty in handling the rough hilt of a sword1 and who has everything to gain by using a padded glove4 ,in any case you are at liberty to wear an ordinary leather glove1 whether your opponent chooses to do so or not4 ,or you may wrap a handkerchief round your hand1 to give you a firmer grip of the sword1 provided you are careful not to leave a hanging end1 which may dangle loose1 and hinder the action of your opponent's point4 ,x4 ,i will now put my second question1 continued my inquisitor4 ,well1 what is your second question8 ,is it permissible to use the unarmed hand to parry and put aside your opponent's blade8 ,oh6 that is a very serious matter1 which ,i did not mean to pass over in silence4 ,but it involves the consideration of several points1 which would perhaps take us too far to-night4 ,suppose we leave it for to-morrow4 ,then we adjourn until to-morrow1 said the ,comte de ,c4 ,and so we broke up4 ,illustration ,the ,eighth ,evening ,illustration3 ,a ,parry with the hand4 ,i4 ,you asked me yesterday1 if it is allowable to use the unarmed hand to parry and put aside the sword4 ,my answer is very emphatic3--,no4 ,but what if the parties agree to allow it beforehand8 asked the ,marquis de ,r4444 ,that is an agreement which in my opinion ought not to be made4 ,the practice is wholly foreign to our ways and to the traditions that have come down to us4 ,i am fully aware of the fact that there is the authority of a very profound writer1 the ,comte de ,chatauvillard1 who has many strong supporters1 for the statement that 'the parry with the hand may be a matter of agreement4' ,and other writers1 among whom is more than one eminent master1 may be quoted for the view that it is a proper matter for arrangement between the contending parties4 ,that does not affect my opinion in the least2 and ,i say very emphatically and very distinctly3--,as you clearly have the right to say yes or no1 say no invariably4 ,such a concession or such an agreement1 even if it is freely entered upon by both sides1 is only too likely to lead to disastrous and fatal mistakes1 while it does not offer any counterbalancing advantage4 ,i will try to explain why4 ,the parry made with the hand that does not hold the sword goes back to the ancient traditions of the ,italian school1 to the methods in vogue when men fought with sword and dagger4 ,they parried and attacked with either weapon indifferently1 bringing one or other into play by voltes and passes1 which have been dismissed from the theory and practice of modern fencing4 ,the art1 which was adapted in those days to the double means of offence and defence1 employed a system very different from that which prevails now4 ,this parry1 or to speak more accurately this method of diverting an opponent's blade1 which was done with either hand indifferently1 was reasonable then2 nowadays it would be a fantastic and dangerous anomaly4 ,i remember trying by way of experiment1 some years ago at ,naples1 several assaults of this sort with an ,italian professor1 named ,parisi4--,the poor fellow died ,i believe in prison1 after taking part in one of the many revolutionary attempts that were made to wreck the kingdom of ,naples4 ,parisi used to come regularly to my house where ,i had furnished a room for fencing4 ,i wished to make a serious study of ,italian play1 and of the surviving traditions of this school1 which is rapidly disappearing and is only connected with its past by a few almost invisible threads4 ,well1 ,parisi used to fence with a long ,italian sword in one hand1 and in the other a sort of stiletto1 which he employed to parry my attacks in certain lines2 and while he thus stopped my attack with his dagger1 he made not exactly a riposte but rather a simultaneous counter-attack on me with his sword4 ,this kind of play1 which continually produced new and difficult situations1 was very interesting4 ,if ,parisi dropped his dagger1 what happened8 ,his left hand1 instead of following my blade1 sprang at once to a fixed position4 ,and to what position8 ,why1 you could see at a glance1 by the way he carried his forearm1 thrown rather high across his chest and only a few inches away from it1 that he was ready for the parry with the hand1 in fact doubly ready for it1 both by the position of his body and by the forward position of his left arm4 ,now we who follow the rules of ,french fencing do just the reverse4 ,we carry our left arm to the rear1 and so leave a smaller surface exposed to our opponent's point2 we therefore cannot bring our left hand into play without abandoning the ,french position1 or at all events without sacrificing some of its fundamental principles4 ,,ii4 ,it is a good many years since ,i first took up fencing2 ,i have been in all the fencing-rooms2 ,i have fenced with many professors and with all sorts and conditions of amateurs1 and no one has ever suggested to me that we should agree to parry with the hand4 ,i have never1 no not once in all the assaults that ,i have witnessed1 heard such a suggestion made2 ,i have never seen this kind of parry employed2 ,i have never heard of a master showing or teaching it to his pupils as a possible case or even as a highly improbable case1 against which it was his duty1 as a wise and experienced professor1 to put on their guard those whose instruction was committed to his care4 ,then why1 when the assault ceases to be an exercise or an amusement1 why1 when you stake your life upon the issue1 should you go out of your way to suggest or assent to something foreign to all recognised practice8 ,if you approve of the surviving methods of the old ,italian school1 you should admit all the precepts of that school1 and then you will at least be logical4 ,your sword will have a long heavy blade1 broad and perfectly rigid2 the hilt will be surmounted by a little cross-bar of steel on which you will place your fingers1 and to which you will attach them with a long ribbon2 incidentally you will do away with the freedom of the hand1 the supple action of the wrist and the niceties of finger play4 ,you will have to make frequent use of parries of contraction1 which are indispensable to ,italian play1 though they are little valued1 not to say altogether ignored by the ,french school4 ,you must learn your voltes and passes1 the manoeuvres of ducking and dodging2 and then1 ,i repeat1 you will at least be logical4 ,but an agreement which recognises only one of these practices1 while it disregards all the rest1 seems to me absurd4 ,let me now show you the danger1 which can hardly be avoided1 of admitting this parry with the left hand4 ,between the open palm1 which merely brushes the blade aside1 and the hand1 which by a nervous movement closes unconsciously on the blade and holds it fast1 the difference is very hard to seize4 ,the thing is done in a moment4 ,it passes like a flash in the confusion of the encounter and leaves no trace behind4 ,without a doubt the man who has unconsciously arrested the blade1 instead of merely turning it aside1 will be in despair1 and in the loyalty of his heart will be the first to accuse himself4 ,but if his point has taken effect1 if he has delivered a fatal thrust1 will his despair or regret or any self-reproach heal the wound that he has inflicted1 or restore the life that he has taken8 ,if the odds were a thousand to one against a fatal issue1 that one chance would be enough to condemn fatally this dangerous agreement4 ,moreover1 ,i may remark1 speaking from the experience that is obtained by long familiarity1 and perhaps from some small skill in the practice of arms1 that it is often very difficult1 not to say impossible1 for the most practised eye in the confusion of a multitude of thrusts1 swiftly parried and as swiftly returned1 to follow with accuracy the course of two swords1 that pass to and fro and interlace like living things1 or to judge with indisputable certainty the difference between these two movements1 one of which is authorised by consent1 while the other may suddenly turn an honourable fight into a foul assassination4 ,the mere act of judging so bristles with difficulties1 that it is likely to lead to a conflict of opinion between even the most unbiassed judges4 ,who can decide between them8 ,the fact on which their judgment is based is there no longer4 ,it passed in a moment1 quick as thought4 ,consider the terrible position in which you are placed1 in the presence of a man lying stretched on the ground before you1 cold and lifeless1 who ought to be a living man full of strength and vigour4 ,and now1 ,i appeal to all seconds4 ,in the name of good sense1 in common fairness1 could you or could you not with a clear conscience take the heavy responsibility of such a risk8 ,,iii4 ,i am trying1 you see1 to obtain a comprehensive view of the manifold duties of seconds1 and to omit none of the minute matters of detail1 which it is their duty to attend to1 and which ought to be present to their minds4 ,here is another point1 which is worthy of their serious attention4 ,when the combatants have taken sword in hand and the blades are crossed1 the seconds should stand within reach1 holding a sword or walking-stick1 and ready to stop the fight should any irregularity occur1 or if either of the men should slip1 or stumble1 or be disarmed1 or wounded4 ,this last case especially requires their utmost vigilance1 for there are two events1 both equally disastrous1 that may occur4 ,suppose one of the men is wounded4 ,in the natural excitement of the moment1 the man who has delivered the thrust is often unaware that his point has taken effect4 ,before he can tell that his opponent is disabled1 perhaps before he can check himself1 he may inflict a second wound1 unless the swords are instantly knocked up4 ,the wounded man1 on the other hand1 may not immediately feel the effect of his wound1 and by continuing to fight may run the risk of being wounded a second time1 and that more seriously4 ,it may also happen1 and this is the great danger1 that in a fit of blind rage he will rush madly on his opponent4 ,again1 the man who has inflicted a wound and has felt his point go home1 instantly and instinctively stays his hand1 and even if his opponent renews the attack hesitates to strike a second time one who is already hurt4 ,it is during this juncture of a moment's pause with a moment's hesitation that the wounded man may make his mad rush1 and either run his opponent through the body1 or meet his own destruction1 if his opponent has promptly recovered his guard1 and calmly offers him his point4 ,,iv4 ,both cases are alike disastrous1 for either may lead to a fatal result at a time when by the wound already received the fight may be regarded as closed1 or at least as suspended4 ,the seconds1 who by redoubling their precautions might have saved the useless shedding of blood1 will of course be held to blame4 ,no doubt it sometimes happens that in spite of the closest attention the attack is so prompt1 so impetuous1 so swift1 that it is impossible to intervene in time4 ,but then at all events the seconds will have no cause for self-reproach4 ,fortunately such cases are of very rare occurrence1 but they do sometimes happen2 and it is therefore very necessary for the seconds to watch the crossed swords incessantly1 and to follow their every movement1 in order to intervene the moment that one of the men is wounded1 however slight the wound may seem4 ,if on examination the wound is found to be so trivial that the fight can continue without disadvantage to the wounded man1 the combatants will at least have had time to recover their coolness and self-possession4 ,this close attention is one of the most important points2 it is in fact a matter of absolute necessity4 ,here is the seconds' real difficulty1 for here the whole responsibility rests with them4 ,i have still several things to say1 of which you will recognise the importance4 ,but it is getting late1 and if you will allow me ,i will postpone them to our next meeting4 ,illustration ,the ,ninth ,evening ,illustration3 ,corps ,corps4 ,i4 ,i wish1 remarked the ,comte de ,c4441 when we met the next day1 that you would tell us what you think of the corps corps in the duel4 ,that1 ,i replied1 is the very thing ,i was going to talk about4 ,the right course in my opinion is to come to an agreement with the seconds of the other side that the combatants shall be separated and start afresh1 when they become entangled at close quarters in what is termed a corps corps4 ,otherwise1 in a struggle of this sort it is impossible to say what may happen1 except that both men are likely to receive their quietus1--a very symmetrical settling of their accounts by the process of double entry4 ,but here again1 one cannot help feeling that we have another thorny case1 which calls for the exercise of judgment with due regard to the circumstances of the moment and fair play for both sides4 ,if one of the men makes a furious rush on the other1 the seconds ought not to knock up the swords until the man who has stood the attack has delivered his riposte4 ,for he has gained this clear advantage1 that after stopping the rush he is prepared with an effective rejoinder1 and this advantage he is clearly entitled to use4 ,many questions of duelling must be left to the impartial discretion of the seconds4 ,there is therefore no need to consider what would happen1 if a second were to take unfair advantage of an agreement1 honourably entered into on both sides1 by interfering when the case expressly provided for had not arisen4 ,well1 but suppose such a thing did happen8 ,why1 then1 your conscience must tell you how to act4 ,perhaps you might interfere summarily to stop the proceedings1 if the nature of the quarrel allowed it1 or you might call upon the second who had so misconstrued his duty to withdraw and take no further part in the affair4 ,i have often heard men say3--',if ,i were acting second in an affair that was not so serious as to warrant a fatal issue1 and were to see that my principal was about to be run through the body by a thrust that would certainly be fatal1 ,i should not hesitate to knock up the swords4 ,i could not resist the temptation2 my feelings would be too strong for me4 ,and as a matter of fact should ,i be very far wrong8' ,yes1 my friend1 you would be absolutely wrong4 ,you would be assuming the most onerous1 the most terrible responsibility1 and your action1 though dictated by a praiseworthy impulse1 would probably cause you the most bitter remorse4 ,for consider3--you have arrested the sword which would have struck one of the opponents full in the body4 ,the fight continues1 and the man whose blow you intercepted with the praiseworthy motive1 ,i quite admit1 of preventing a mortal wound1 is himself wounded or possibly killed4 ,fortune which favoured him at the outset suddenly turns against him and favours his opponent1 perhaps with a lucky fluke1 a thing which no foresight can prevent4 ,what would your feelings be1 when you saw stretched at your feet a man whose death you had caused by exposing him to a danger that he ought never to have encountered8 ,a duel is always a miserable business2 but when once you have faithfully and energetically done all that you can to prevent it1 you must leave chance to decide between the combatants2 only see that you take all the measures that are in your power to minimise the chances of a fatal issue4 ,it seems to me1 someone remarked1 that if1 when a friend asks you to oblige him with your services1 one were to think of all these innumerable responsibilities1 one would invariably decline to act4 ,i don't know whether one would always decline1 but ,i know very well that the second's part is one of unsparing self-sacrifice and devotion4 ,i know that the man who undertakes it lightly cannot be too severely blamed1 and ,i may add that ,i have never accepted the charge without passing a sleepless night haunted by the most gloomy forebodings4 ,the second who conceives that he is merely required to be a passive witness1 robs the part of all its meaning1 all its value1 all its dignity4 ,you remember1 ,i was speaking just now of the case of a second who acting on the spur of the moment instinctively intercepts a blow4 ,i will give you an experience of my own4 ,i was once acting for a friend in an affair of honour2 ,i was thoroughly on the alert and carefully following the play of the points with that close attention1 and perhaps ,i may say with that sureness of eye1 which one acquires from some familiarity with sword-play1 when ,i saw the opponent's point coming straight at my friend's body4 ,before ,i could think1 ,i saw in an instant1 as no one accustomed to fencing could fail to see1 that the wound would be mortal4 ,i knocked up the swords1 and as the two men had got to close quarters1 ,i called out3--',on guard4' ,but ,i had hardly done so1 when ,i realised the full extent of my unconsidered action1 and ,i felt--well1 ,i really cannot tell you what my feelings were at that moment4 ,luckily for me1 my friend1 who was no less clumsy than brave1 was not the man to leave me long in this cruel position4 ,he fell a few seconds later seriously wounded4 ,the simple fact is1 that where so many considerations have to be taken into account1 you cannot be too careful never to go a step beyond the limits of strict and unassailable justice1 in fairness to yourself and to everyone else concerned4 ,,ii4 ,in this connection ,i am reminded of another case1 which not unfrequently occurs1 and on which ,i have sometimes heard the most contradictory opinions expressed1 for it presents a really difficult problem4 ,in the course of the fight one of the antagonists calls for a halt--have you the right to insist that the fight shall continue without interruption8 ,in my opinion you unquestionably have that right1 unless the case has been already provided for1 or both men consent4 ,still surely1 said the ,comte de ,c4441 in a prolonged set-to1 if your opponent is exhausted1 if he is so done that he can hardly hold his sword1 if he is blown and distressed1 you cannot refuse to give him a minute or two to recover his wind4 ,well1 ,i replied1 ,i have stated what ,i believe to be the rights of the case1 on which either combatant can fairly insist4 ,i will now give you my reasons4 ,your opponent1 you say1 is done2 well1 perhaps he may be1 but have you considered why8 ,is not his fatigue due to the violence and the excessive energy with which he began the fight1 to the regardless eagerness with which he has assailed you1 without consulting his staying powers or husbanding his strength8 ,you have had to bear the brunt of all this fury1 you have sustained incessant attacks1 but you with more skill have economised your resources and have bided your time to attack him4 ,that opportune moment evidently comes just when your opponent1 exhausted by the failure of his repeated attacks1 is likely to offer you the least resistance4 ,then what happens8 ,he calls for a halt6 ,and are you to let him off without pressing the advantage that you with your judgment and self-restraint have held in reserve8 ,are you to give him leave to recover his wind1 that is to say to recover his strength and rally his scattered forces1 in order that he may start afresh to make a second onset with the same ardour and the same violence as before8 ,the danger that you have safely encountered once may prove too much for you the second time4 ,how does that strike you8 ,surely it is as though a man1 engaged in a duel with pistols1 in which each party is at liberty to fire when he chooses1 were to be in too great hurry to let fly at his opponent1 and then1 when his barrels were emptied and useless1 were to ask permission to reload1 before he has received his opponent's fire4 ,,iii4 ,situations requiring nerve and self-control undoubtedly occur in a duel with pistols1 but similar situations1 more trying and more critical1 occur in a duel with swords4 ,you are willing to admit them in the one case1 yet you refuse to admit them in the other4 ,but1 after all1 persisted my critic1 you can hardly strike a man1 who is so utterly done that he can hardly keep his point up4 ,quite true2 but do you feel that hesitation1 when you raise your pistol to fire on a man who has emptied his barrels8 ,do you not say1 and with perfect justice1 ',i have stood his fire1 it is his turn now to stand mine'8 ,yet the cases are strictly parallel4 ,in each case you have taken the risk and have escaped unhurt1 and the empty pistol in your opponent's hand is more completely spent than a sword in a hand that is nerveless from fatigue4 ,for no power can recharge the pistol with the ball that has sped1 but on the contrary a man with a sword in his hand may possibly by a supreme effort pull himself together1 and dangerous to the last strike you before you can strike him4 ,but here1 as usual1 fashion refuses to be logical1 and the sentiment of chivalry1 which we look for in all right-minded men1 does not nowadays allow us to make use of an advantage1 which some day or other1 perhaps in precisely identical circumstances1 may very likely be claimed without scruple4 ,,iv4 ,there is1 by the way1 another argument which ,i remember was once put to me by a friend1 and which struck me forcibly at the time4 ,my friend1 who is something of a scholar1 and has not forgotten his ,latin1 quoted these lines from ,virgil3-- ,ille pedum melior motu fretusque iuventa2 ,hic membris et mole valens2 sed tarda trementi ,genua labant1 vastos quatit aeger anhelitus artus#c4 ,these verses describe the fighting qualities of two heroes1 who are about to enter the ring4 ,no one1 ,i suppose1 would seriously maintain that they ought to be handicapped1 that one of them should be made to concede some points in which he is superior1 that is to say some of the chances in his favour1 while the other retains all that he can muster4 ,and yet can we not easily imagine two men meeting to fight a duel1 one of whom has in his favour every chance but one1 advantage of reach1 dexterity1 speed1 and swordsmanship1 while the other relies only on sound condition and great staying power8 ,in an unequal combat such as this1 what can the latter do but tire his opponent out1 get him thoroughly well blown1 and so reduce the balance of advantage1 which until then tells with full force against him8 ,the other man who thereupon calls for a truce is practically asking his antagonist to forgo his superiority of sound wind and limb1 while he1 so far from giving up his own advantages of reach1 dexterity1 and science1 has every intention of making the most of them when the fight begins afresh4 ,then again1 the staying power which you handicap1 is very likely derived from a well developed chest which incidentally offers a larger target to the adverse point2 the greater vigour may be due to the fact that its owner is thick-set1 with heavy muscular limbs which make his movements slow and ponderous4 ,why recognise the inequality of the match in the one case1 and disregard it in the other8 ,v4 ,suppose1 added my friend1 that the question is discussed by the seconds before the fight begins4 ,one side might say3--',if our man is tired or blown1 you will have no objection1 we presume1 to allowing a short interval8' ',we cannot agree to that1' the other side would reply4 ',the only chance we have of making an even fight of it is that our man should outstay yours4' ,if they insist1 the answer is this3--',your man has every acquired advantage1 ours has only the one advantage of superior physique4 ,if we are to give up our points1 you must forfeit yours1 and how can you8'--,some arguments are so one-sided4 ,in conclusion1 ,i think that such questions may very properly be debated between the seconds1 but that they ought never to come to the ears of the principals1 for one of them might seem to be asking a favour1 which the other would have a perfect right to refuse4 ,i feel that ,i have dwelt on this matter at great length1 but ,i was anxious to sift it thoroughly1 because it is of vital importance and has often given rise to a serious conflict of opinions4 ,i have tried to give you the rights of the case in a strictly impartial spirit4 ,exceptional cases may occur1 to which the rule cannot be applied without hardship1 but such circumstances1 as for example the bad health or feeble constitution of one of the combatants1 should be provided for by arrangement4 ,,vi4 ,one more question1 please1 continued the ,comte de ,c41 just to complete my cross-examination4 ,when a man is called out1 can he be required to fight two duels with two opponents in succession8 ,no1 that cannot be expected of him4 ,the man who has fought once ought to be treated as a privileged person1 and cannot in any case be compelled to cross swords a second time4 ,tired as he is1 or as he may be by the first encounter1 he stands at a disadvantage in meeting a fresh antagonist4 ,a second encounter1 if it cannot be avoided and if both sides consent1 ought not to take place until the next day1 or after an interval of at least some hours1 unless the party interested1 that is to say the man who has already fought1 requests that it may take place at once4 ,but on no account should the man1 who at a later stage may probably or possibly become a principal1 witness the first encounter either as a simple spectator or as a second4 ,for the mere fact of his presence gives him a real and indisputable advantage1 especially if the duel is fought with swords4 ,and then the first law of the duel1--that it should be a fair fight with no favour1--is broken4 ,there is one case and strictly speaking only one1 in which his presence is permissible4 ,that is1 when being the party injured and therefore having the choice of weapons he selects different weapons from those employed in the first encounter1--pistols for example1 if the former fight was with swords1 or swords if it was fought with pistols4 ,but1 ,i repeat1 this can only be allowed1 if the man who has already fought wishes it or consents to it freely4 ,in any other circumstances if ,i were acting second on an occasion of this sort1 ,i should refuse to countenance a duel which ,i should consider equally irregular and unfair4 ,,vii4 ,take the question on its merits4 ,in a duel with swords there are two things you want to know3 first1 what is your opponent's natural temper1 when he is fighting in earnest2 secondly1 what is the character of his play and the quality of his swordsmanship4 ,no one can deny that it is very advantageous to know1 whether the man that you have to face is impatient and excitable or self-possessed and cool2 whether he will attack you with resolution or play a waiting game2 whether he will attempt to parry or simply offer his point2 whether he is energetic or the reverse1 skilful or clumsy1 an ugly customer or not particularly formidable4 ,the fact of your presence at a previous encounter is sufficient by itself to give you information on all these heads4 ,you are reassured and reinforced2 undisturbed by doubt and hesitation you can mature your plans at leisure with a quiet mind4 ,you have been over the ground and know how the land lies4 ,even if you have not the vaguest notion of fencing1 if your ignorance is so complete that you are not in a position to make the best use of all this valuable information1 still the fact that you have been a spectator of the first fight1 apart from any conclusions you may draw1 robs of its imaginary terrors the great unknown1 and shows you what you have to do4 ,your antagonist on the contrary has everything to learn4 ,he does not know whether you are skilful or incompetent2 whether he ought to attack you or to wait for your attack2 whether your nerves are shaky or firm2 whether you are naturally cool or excitable4 ,he is in the dark1 a stranger feeling his way in a new country4 ,you1 meanwhile1 having no need to waste time on such deliberations1 go to work at once1 with every probability of winning an easy victory4 ,therefore1 just as in the case of the man who is at a disadvantage in point of science and practice1 but superior in bodily strength1 soundness of wind1 and condition1 ,i maintained that he has as much right to make full use of those advantages as his opponent has to use those which he possesses1 so in the situation we are now considering1 ,i maintain that we must refuse to allow anything that goes to handicap the combatants1 or tends to incline the scales unfairly on one side rather than the other4 ,it may be that some of the considerations1 that ,i have put forward1 have not occurred to you before4 ,but now1 bearing them in mind1 can you say that you really and truly believe that such a fight as this is a fair fight1 or that you would consent to have anything to do with it8 ,i think that ,i have said everything that ,i had to say on the duties of seconds1 as they appear to me in the light of my own experience and of the history of the subject4 ,to-morrow we will discuss a still more important matter1 the methods to be adopted by the principals4 ,illustration ,the ,tenth ,evening ,illustration3 ,the instinctive position4 ,i4 ,the next day found us lighting our cigars as usual4 ,brilliant conversation1 you know1 cannot be maintained without something to smoke4 ,our talk this evening was to be about the methods of attack and defence1 which offer the most likely chances of success in an actual duel4 ,i began at once3--,yesterday1 ,i said1 ,i was speaking of the whole duty of seconds4 ,i endeavoured to describe as clearly and fully as possible1 what they ought to do and provide for1 and ,i showed why it is essential that they should follow every stage and every incident of the fight with the utmost keenness1 for the onus of responsibility is rightly held to rest on them4 ,the preliminaries are now settled2 the antagonists1 armed with swords of equal length1 stand face to face4 ,one of the seconds is stationed between them4 ,he addresses to each in turn the venerable formula3--',are you ready8--,on guard4' ,upon their assenting he steps back and gives the fatal word3--',go4' ,the fighting is about to begin1 and the two men stand expectant1 neither stirring yet1 each sheltering his life behind a few inches of cold steel4 ,,ii4 ,there are only three contingencies that we need consider1 which naturally divide the discussion under three heads4 ,the first arises1 when a man who has never touched a sword finds himself opposed to an old hand4 ,the second1 when both antagonists are alike unskilled4 ,the third1 when both are adepts4 ,i may say at once with regard to this last case1 that in a duel between two skilful opponents the advantage of superior science which one or the other of them may possess vanishes more often than not1 and is compensated for by difference of temperament4 ,for ,i cannot remind you too often1 that in actual fighting it is not a question of hitting your opponent often1 or of placing your point artistically1 but of striking somehow and anyhow one blow and only one4 ,swords are not worn now1 and swordsmanship as a necessary part of polite education has gone out of fashion4 ,our more punctilious ancestors prided themselves on never wounding their antagonist except with some thrust ingeniously conceived and brilliantly executed4 ,perhaps it was better so4 ,it was certainly more picturesque1 more chivalrous and magnificent4 ,to mistake your sword for a spit1 though you might succeed in running your antagonist through and through1 would have been voted a blackguardly proceeding1 unworthy of a gentleman4 ,molire's principle is good enough for us3--',hit the other man1 and don't be hit yourself4' ,our object is to hit no matter where1--no matter how4 ,the art of fence is now so much neglected that it seldom happens when two men go out to fight1 that they have even a passable knowledge of their weapon4 ,,iii4 ,when a man knows nothing about fencing1 either because he has never touched a sword1 or because he has only knocked about with his friends in a rough way and very occasionally1 his first thought when he has to fight is to call on a professor1 and endeavour to obtain some ideas which will enable him to defend himself on the field of battle4 ,i will describe one of these lessons which the professor is expected to give1 and ,i shall try to point out the only sort of advice that is of universal application in such cases4 ,the novice explains that he has to go out the next morning1 and requests the professor to be good enough to give him a hint or two4 ',do you know anything about fencing8' enquires the professor4 ',no1 practically nothing4' ',you know that one holds the sword by the hilt and tries to hit the other man with the point1 and that is about all1 ,i suppose1' continues the professor1 who will have his little joke4 ,and he takes down a pair of swords provided with buttons1 hands one to his pupil1 and the lesson begins4 ,one wonders how often this same lesson has been repeated4 ,it never varies1 and it never ought to vary4 ,its whole value lies in its simplicity4 ,the ignorant fencer can do nothing without a cool head and steady nerve1 which are the more effective1 when they are opposed1 as they often are1 to bluster and over-confidence4 ,first and foremost the professor must make his pupil understand the absolute necessity of standing firmly on his feet with an easy balance that allows perfect freedom of movement4 ,the position1 whatever it may be1 that your extempore pupil falls into naturally1 is the position you must accept4 ,it is important to give him confidence in it and to modify it only so far as is absolutely necessary to enable him to move about easily4 ,your business is to make the best of this position1 and if possible turn even its defects to account4 ,the body should be inclined forwards rather than backwards4 ,in this somewhat crouching attitude the upper part of the body1 that is to say the chest1 by its advanced position with the sword arm held in front1 acts as a kind of natural rampart or shield to cover the lower part1 where a wound is almost certain to prove mortal4 ,keep in view from the very first the importance of inspiring confidence in the unpractised fencer4 ,for confidence alone implies some sort of self-possession and reacts immediately on nerve and muscle4 ,he soon begins to feel somewhat more at ease4 ,some slight modifications are all that is required to correct the glaring faults that are most obviously dangerous4 ,i am not afraid of putting the truth of my statement to a practical test4 ,if you will now1 all of you1 take one of those swords which ,i see hanging on the wall and place yourselves on guard1 not in what you imagine to be a fencing attitude1 but as you would stand if you were seriously threatened1 you will find that the attitudes you assume will all be very much alike1 apart from such slight variations as are due to differences of physique4 ,,iv4 ,come1 ,i'll be your shocking example1 said one of my hearers4 ,i have never touched a sword in my life4 ,see what you can make of me4 ,very good1 ,i replied1 rising as ,i spoke2 and taking down a pair of swords ,i handed him one4 ,then without giving him time to think1 ,i made a quick movement and threatened him with the point4 ,instinctively he threw himself on guard4 ,there1 that will do1 ,i said1 stay as you are2 ,i only wish you could be photographed to illustrate the instinctive attitude4 ,oh1 don't be too conceited2 ,i do not mean to say that your position is faultless1--very far from that2 but the attitude in which you are standing is the origin of the orthodox guard as taught in the fencing-room1 because it is essentially the attitude that accords with our natural fighting instincts4 ,i am getting tired of this1 observed my patient1 who had scrupulously stuck to his position4 ,one moment1 ,i replied4 ,you are tired because your arm is too much extended4 ,draw it back a trifle1 to relax the muscles and give them their natural play4 ,carry yourself more upright by slightly raising the body4 ,your left foot is too far from the right2 bring it rather more forward2 sink down a little on your legs1 so as to be ready either to spring quickly to the rear or to advance4 ,bring your right shoulder forward1 in order to expose your chest less1 but not further than you can manage with comfort4 ,you see ,i am not very exacting4 ,there1 that will do very well4 ,now1 if ,i make a movement1 straighten your arm boldly1 and step back4 ,very well done4 ,and yet you tell me you have never touched a sword1 or even a foil in a fencing-room4 ,then all ,i can say is that ,i could not have chosen a better subject for my demonstration4 ,we will now put the swords back in their place1 and return to our discussion4 ,perhaps ,i may have occasion to trouble you again by and by4 ,i am entirely at your disposal1 ,professor1 replied my obliging pupil4 ,v4 ,the rest of the lesson may be summed up in a convenient formula4 ,for so far as ,i know1 there is only one really useful tip that a professor can give to the uninstructed novice who says3--',this afternoon or to-morrow morning ,i have to go out4' ,the professor will make a great mistake if he attempts to teach him some fancy stroke1 for he will only disturb the natural working of his instinct1 without controlling it4 ,he must remember that the excitement of fighting does not leave much room for thought1 and he must accordingly take care to limit his instruction to the simplest and clearest ideas1 easy to understand and easy to put into practice1 such as arise naturally out of the instinctive sense of self-preservation4 ,these remarks of course do not apply to those dull and inert creatures1 cursed with a temperament so heavy1 and so sluggish1 that they do not know what it is to move briskly and can never rise to the occasion4 ,you can put nothing into such as these and can get nothing out of them4 ,when swords are crossed1 the thing to do is simply what our friend here did just now3--,retire4 ,i say 'retire' in order to avoid saying 'run away4' ,retire always1 retire incessantly1 but retire little by little1 so as not to consume once and for all the entire hinterland2 retire in short1 not like a man in a panic1 but like one who is watching his opportunity4 ,never forget this1--the only principle that at the critical moment is available for him who cannot count on science to assist him3--,get back and straighten the arm2--or in other words3--,defend yourself by threatening your opponent4 ,never attack2 that is the point on which your attention must be concentrated4 ,but1 exclaimed one of my hearers1 what do you mean by 'threatening8' ,it is not so easy to threaten when you are an absolute duffer4 ,,vi4 ,the naked point of a sword resolutely offered at the body or at the face is always a threat4 ,no one who sees it directed straight at him with a set fixity of purpose and a suggestive glitter can fail to be alarmed by it or can afford to disregard it1 more especially perhaps if he knows that the man behind it is unsophisticated1 and cannot be depended upon to obey the ordinary rules1 that he has no deep design or artful scheme in the background1 but just one idea--to keep his point always there1 like a sentry at his post4 ,put shortly1 my advice amounts to this3--,defend yourself by retreating2 threaten by offering the point4 ,offering the point1 that is to say straightening the arm1 is the attack of the incapable fencer4 ,by retreating you maintain the distance between yourself and your opponent1 and make it difficult for him to get command of your blade on a simulated attack4 ,there is only one other movement that ,i should teach to a novice1 who came to me for advice in these circumstances4 ,i should tell him--as he retires and straightens his arm--to change the line occasionally2 that is to say to pass his point under his opponent's blade and threaten him on the other side1 in fact a simple disengagement4 ,it is the easiest thing in the world to understand1 and anyone1 however little he may be skilled in the art of fencing1 can do it with the greatest ease2 the act of retiring itself facilitates the execution of the movement4 ,an hour's practice will make him familiar with this change of line1 which as ,i remarked just now answers the double purpose of attack and defence4 ,i should make my pupil repeat this very simple performance over and over again1 instructing him to straighten his arm1 sometimes with his point held high on a level with the chest1 attacking the high lines1 sometimes with the point lowered1 attacking the low lines4 ,you understand of course what is meant by the high and low lines4 ,it is the ,a--,b--,c of fencing4 ,notice that my lesson is simplified to a degree that is almost ludicrous4 ,i dissect every movement and explain how the parts are put together1 being particularly careful to avoid the use of technical terms1 for my imaginary pupil is supposed to be completely ignorant1 and he would be hopelessly puzzled by them4 ,if on the other hand he happens to have some smattering of knowledge he will appreciate more fully and derive all the more benefit from the lesson thus reduced to its simplest expression4 ,,vii4 ,you say nothing1 remarked one of my hearers1 about the movement1 which consists in reversing the lunge4 ,no1 ,i answered2 because ,i believe that this device1 which is only proper in certain exceptional circumstances1 is likely to prove very dangerous if it is employed at the wrong moment or at random4 ,if it does not come off1 you are left without defence at your opponent's mercy4 ,to put the matter shortly3--if you adopt my plan1 you retire and at the same moment offer your point either with a straight thrust or with a disengagement2 then you immediately recover your guard and bring your forearm back to its original position4 ,whether your thrust has succeeded or not1 you are always provided with a sound defence1 you are set firmly on your legs1 your balance is undisturbed1 and upon your opponent's advance you can repeat the process again and again4 ,now suppose that you decide to lunge to the rear2 that is to say1 to reverse the lunge by throwing the left leg back to its full extent and dropping the body1 without moving the right foot2 well1 when will you do this and how8 ,you are not an expert4 ,what secret instinct will inform you that the opportune moment has come for executing this manoeuvre8 ,for after you have executed it1 you must recover1 and recover smartly1 if you are to regain your guard2 no easy matter1 ,i assure you4 ,in attempting to perform a movement so complicated1 you with your want of experience can hardly fail to be thrown into disorder1 to the great advantage of your adversary1 who will seize the opportunity to press you briskly and get command of your blade4 ,even supposing that you escape from this danger1 you cannot go on repeating the process continually2 you cannot repeat it indifferently on every attack1 or on every semblance of an attack that is made upon you4 ,you must judge your opportunity4 ,now fencing judgment1 especially in a duel1 implies knowledge1 and remember we are arguing on the assumption that you are ignorant4 ,for these reasons ,i should never think of recommending the lunge to the rear to anyone who has not acquired some familiarity with his weapon4 ,,viii4 ,if we now turn from the man whose only chance lies in his getting a rule of thumb to work by to the man who is more or less used to fencing1 the case is different4 ,the scope of the lesson is enlarged4 ,the pupil knows a few words of the language1 we must try to turn his knowledge to account4 ,my advice to him would be3--,in the first place1 take the same guard as that already indicated2 but make a little play with your point1 by changing the line occasionally from inside to outside and so on1 in order to bother your opponent4 ,make a show of attacking now and then1 in order to recover any ground that you may have lost by retreating4 ,but be very careful never on any account to attack in real earnest4 ,you must be doubly strong and doubly sure of all your movements to enable you to attack without getting out of your depth1 and perhaps throwing yourself away in a moment of inadvertence4 ,and then ,i should go on to say3--,sometimes1 but always accompanying the movement with a short step to the rear1 make a parry of counter quarte and circle1 a sweeping parry which cuts all the lines1 and is bound to find the blade somewhere4 ,come back to your first position at once1 holding your point well in front of your body4 ,then if you find that your opponent means to develope his attack fully1 and that his point is directed high1 throw your left foot back boldly1 remembering to drop your head and body at the same moment1 in order to avoid the point which would otherwise strike you in the upper part of the chest or in the face4 ,above all1 recover as smartly as you can by springing quickly to the rear1 so as to regain your defensive position before your adversary1 if he has avoided or parried your thrust1 can take advantage of his opportunity4 ,but once more ,i must caution you that this sort of thing requires such training and judgment as ,i should not expect anyone to possess who has not by regular practice made himself thoroughly at home with the sword4 ,,ix4 ,we are allowed to criticise1 ,i believe1 remarked the ,comte de ,c4 after a pause which followed these remarks4 ,by all means1 ,i replied2 ,i not only allow but invite criticism4 ,in working out an idea1 ,i may very likely neglect some side of it that ought not to be passed over4 ,well1 you seem to me inconsistent4 ,you said the other day1 and ,i quite agreed with you3--',the first and fundamental rule of fencing is to parry2' and now you tell us on the contrary not to attempt to parry4 ,that is fair criticism1 ,i answered1 but ,i do not admit the inconsistency4 ,you will remember that we were then talking of scientific fencing1 that is to say of the systematic study of swordsmanship4 ,but that has nothing to do with the present question4 ,the whole art of fencing cannot be learnt in three or four hours4 ,let me give you an analogy1 for an analogy often serves to put an argument simply4 ,two men are on a sinking ship2 one of them knows how to swim1 the other only knows how to go to the bottom and stay there4 ,meanwhile the danger is immediate4 ,would you say to the man who cannot swim a stroke3--',look here1 this is the way to swim2 you move your arms like this1 and at the same time you move your legs like that'8 ,do you mean to tell me that he will be able to put into practice straight away what you have just shown him8 ,or do you suppose1 that thanks to your demonstration he will be able to swim when he finds himself in the water8 ,no1 of course you are not so foolish as to suppose anything of the sort4 ,you would of course tell him to catch hold of something or other1 anything--a spar1 an oar1 or a plank1 and to support himself on it as best he can2 that is his only chance4 ,well1 my case is on all fours with that4 ,my pupil is in imminent peril of his life4 ,my business is to give him the spar or the plank1 which may serve to keep him afloat4 ,i don't bother about teaching him to swim4 ,x4 ,of course there is nothing to prevent one from showing one or two parries to the novice who has to fight a duel at short notice4 ,but the only parries that would be of any use to him are the comprehensive and rather complicated parries1 which sweep through all the lines4 ,what would be the result8 ,his parries would be weak1 undecided1 and slow4 ,instead of tripping neatly round the blade1 they would labour painfully after it in wide circles4 ,to deceive them would be the merest child's play1 and the poor novice1 encountering nothing but empty air1 would let his blade fly into space1 and send his arm after it1 leaving himself completely exposed4 ,even supposing that his opponent does not take advantage of his opportunity1 the novice realises how helpless he is1 and racks his brains for some device to avoid the danger when he is again attacked4 ,then he does not know what to do1 what not to do2 he loses his head and is seized with panic2 he strikes wildly at his opponent's blade1 as a drowning man strikes wildly at the water1 and nothing remains to be done but to wait for the finishing thrust1 or to rush blindly at his opponent1 with the probability that he will run upon his point4 ,those are my reasons for not attempting to teach an untutored novice things which he cannot possibly perform4 ,now1 on the other hand1 consider in detail the measures that ,i do put at his disposal4 ,by retiring he evades the point4 ,evading the point1 by drawing the body back or by springing to the rear1 may not be the same thing as parrying1 but it amounts to much the same in the end1 since you retire out of range and are not hit4 ,or if you are hit1 at the worst you can be only lightly touched1 because by retiring you make your opponent lose the ground which he reckoned on gaining by his attack4 ,moreover when he sees that you straighten your arm every time on the chance of reaching him1 he dare not lunge out recklessly4 ,if he does1 you have at least a chance of hitting him1--by a fluke no doubt1 but ,i suppose you do not much mind that4 ,,xi4 ,there is one last objection that ,i will anticipate4 ,what1 ,i may be asked1 becomes of your scheme of defence1 if1 the moment that the novice extends his sword at a venture1 the adversary engages it8 ,without a doubt that is what he ought to do1 and what he will do1 as ,i shall presently explain4 ,but you do not imagine1 ,i suppose1 that a man completely ignorant of the use of his weapon1 who goes to a professor for advice on the eve of an encounter1 can hope to come away comforted with the assurance that he has learnt the whole art of how to hit his opponent without being touched himself8 ,that1 ,i fancy1 would be too convenient4 ,it would be better then to study the art of not learning to fence1 instead of spending months and years in studying the art of fencing4 ,ignorance would indeed be bliss and wisdom folly4 ,the man who has not learnt the use of the weapon to which he entrusts his life1 may think himself lucky if he can lessen the chances1 to which he is exposed1 of a fatal issue4 ,the master can hope to accomplish nothing more than to give his pupil some confidence1 and show him the only course that can be commended by common sense and at the same time furnishes some sort of defence4 ,if the novice does what he is told he will1 ,i repeat1 put difficulties and dangers in the way of his opponent2 he will force him to act with caution1 he will keep him at long range1 and compel him to shift his ground when he attacks4 ,in shifting his ground he may1 either through carelessness or in the excitement of the moment1 leave himself uncovered1 and give an opening to the point that is continually directed at him4 ,but ,i do not for a moment suppose that a wary and experienced fencer1 who keeps his head cool1 will not easily defeat such elementary strategy4 ,you may tell your pupil to be prudent1 you may tell him to be calm and resolute1 but now or never you should add the pious wish ',heaven help you'4 ,,xii4 ,may ,i ask one more question8 said one of my friends4 ,i have often heard it said that if you don't know much about fencing the best thing to do is1 as soon as you come on guard1 to make a sudden rush at the other man before he has time to collect himself4 ,well1 ,i replied1 if you wish to make sure of being incurably spitted1 that is the most infallible way to set about it4 ,the seconds1 before giving the signal to begin1 have just asked your opponent if he is ready4 ,is it likely that he will allow himself to be rushed1 or to be victimised by such a transparent piece of bluff8 ,is it not much more likely that he will have been told to look out for a surprise attack8 ,one of two things1--either the man who confronts you is a skilful fencer1 in which case he will not want you to give him time to collect himself1 but will be quite capable of taking his own time2 or his ignorance of fencing is on a par with yours1 and then it is a toss up4 ,it follows that if this desperate plan of attack is chosen1 because it is thought likely to succeed1 it is absurd4 ,if however it is chosen1 because the man who chooses it is of a restive impatient disposition1 one who cannot wait and for whom cool defensive tactics are an impossibility1 the case is different4 ,all that one can say to the pupil1 whose temper is such that he cannot play a waiting game1 is something of this sort3--,trust your instinct1 be guided by your natural impulse4 ,you quite understand that by acting as you propose you run a greater risk2 for your attack is delivered at random1 you are embarking on a wild and hazardous speculation4 ,your only chance of success1 as you yourself admit1 is that you may1 by suddenly and violently letting yourself go for all you are worth1 take your opponent by surprise and put him off his parry4 ,i can only give you one word of advice4 ,before letting yourself go1 try at any rate to beat the other man's sword out of line in any way you can4 ,knock it up or down1 to one side or the other2 as soon as you have made your beat1 let yourself go straight1 without the least hesitation4 ,by this means you will avoid an interchange of hits or a stop thrust4 ,but ,i warn you this is not so easy as it sounds4 ,possibly1 where so much depends on luck and accident1 you may bring off your hit4 ,but if you are the wounded man1 you will be wounded with a vengeance1 for you will probably run on the sword up to the hilt1--a trifling consideration1 which is perhaps worth taking into account4 ,this plan in fact can never be recommended2 it involves not only too many risks1 but risks that are too serious and too certain4 ,i will show you presently in greater detail why this is so1 when we look at the question from the other side1 from the point of view of a fencer more or less skilful1 who is opposed to a novice ignorant of swordsmanship but a determined natural fighter1 who is thoroughly roused by a keen sense of danger4 ,,xiii4 ,the case we shall consider next will be the reverse of this4 ,by reversing the position we shall hear what is to be said on both sides1 and we shall then have considered from every point of view1 the probabilities of victory or defeat1 which are likely to occur in a duel4 ,we will leave that for to-morrow4 ,and so we broke up4 ,illustration ,the ,eleventh ,evening ,illustration3 ,the real thing4 ,i4 ,we have now to examine the duel with swords from a different point of view4 ,the ignorant and inexperienced fencer1 trying at the last moment to find a desperate remedy for a desperate state of affairs1 may be dismissed1 and we have now to consider the case of combatants who are more or less evenly matched1 and who are fighting in deadly earnest4 ,for as ,i have already said1 a duel generally equalises the forces on either side1 except when a skilful and resolute swordsman meets a clumsy hesitating duffer1 or when a cool head is opposed to that rash and furious bluster which more often than not leads a man to his destruction4 ,first and foremost1 your invariable rule must be3--,distrust your enemy2 never be overconfident4 ,i cannot too often repeat that the unexpected always turns up just when you are least prepared for it4 ,it is this glorious uncertainty that to my mind makes fighting with swords the only sort of duelling that is fair and sportsmanlike1 the only sort in which energy1 courage1 and resolution always give some chance to the weaker combatant4 ,in a duel fought with pistols1 what a wretched rle is assigned to the combatants4 ,energy is of no use1 courage of no value2 you stand up like a target to be shot at1 without any possibility of defence4 ,courage and cowardice meet on equal terms2 the feeblest and most spiritless sneak may succeed in defeating the most determined courage and the manliest energy4 ,a finger presses a trigger1 and the thing is done4 ,duelling with pistols has always seemed to me a monstrous practice4 ,i am delighted to see it disappearing from our manners1 and going more and more out of fashion every day4 ,,ii4 ,to return to my subject1--there are certain elementary principles of self-defence1 from which the prudent fencer ought never to depart2 principles of such universal application1 that they may be considered the foundation on which is based all serious fighting1 which is conducted with any sort of method4 ,as soon as the second who undertakes to start the proceedings has put you on guard1 and steps back1 leaving you at liberty to set to1 you should immediately take two or three paces to the rear1 before your opponent can realise or anticipate what you are about4 ,by this means you at once put yourself out of range1 and out of danger either from a surprise or from one of those blind and frantic rushes1 to which1 as we have seen1 some men are apt to pin their faith4 ,but1 exclaimed one of my hearers1 not altogether seriously1 if your opponent does the same thing1 you will find yourselves at a range more suitable for pistol practice than for sword-play4 ,in that case1 ,i replied1 taking him seriously1 you have three advantages for one1--surely a substantial gain4 ,in the first place1 if the same idea has occurred to your opponent as to you1 or if the same advice has been given to you both1 the advice is the more likely to be sound4 ,in the second place1 his quick strategic movement to the rear tells you very plainly that he too has no fancy for a surprise1 or for that rough and tumble style of fighting which reduces sword-play to a sort of fisticuffs4 ,you are able to make up your mind at once that he is not that sort of fighter1 and that his attacks will be prudent and well considered4 ,in the third place1 the brief pause gives you a moment or two to pull yourself together and get steady1 to take a good look at your opponent's point1 and get over that first involuntary sensation1 that momentary chill1 which no one1 not even the bravest of us1 ever fails to experience4 ,it also gives you time to run your eye over your antagonist1 and by noting how he stands1 how he holds his sword1 in a word how he shapes1 to look the situation in the face and settle your plan of campaign4 ,that1 ,i think you will admit1 is something gained1 even if you have to stand for a few seconds at a range which1 as you say1 seems more suitable for pistol practice4 ,,iii4 ,have you never observed how all animals1 from the most insignificant creatures up to the most savage beasts1 set about fighting8 ,look at two cocks in a back-yard or two bulls in a field4 ,notice how they skirmish and spar before really letting themselves go2 notice the wicked glitter of their eyes as they intently watch for an opening1 where they will presently plant their most telling blow4 ,what teaches them not to rush at each other's throat in blind fury8 ,why1 simply instinct1 the science of self-preservation which is common to every living thing2 and common instinct should teach you the same lesson4 ,you will easily realise how completely you upset or at least disturb the calculations of the man who is clinging to advice of this kind3--',the moment you are on guard1--lunge1 before your opponent has time to collect himself'2 or of the man1 whose one idea is to make a wild and indiscriminate charge4 ,such men1 however lacking they may be in brains1 can hardly fail to perceive that the distance between you and them makes a surprise impracticable4 ,if they do attempt it1 their movements will be disconcerted2 they will give themselves away1 and may probably run upon your point if you hold it straight before you1 or in any case they must give you time to see them coming4 ,you may be attacked no doubt1 and attacked furiously1 but you will not be surprised4 ,,iv4 ,when you have placed yourself out of range you remain free to choose your next move4 ,if your opponent now seems inclined to shorten the distance between you1 wait for him without breaking ground4 ,he is compelled to advance1 and therefore is at a disadvantage2 for if he exposes himself1 you are ready for him2 you do your best to harass his advance1 you watch your opportunity1 and whatever movement he makes you let him see that he is continually threatened by your point4 ,he cannot help giving you notice of his attack2 you see what is coming1 and are able to take your measures accordingly4 ,the way he manages his advance1 and the accompanying movements of his point1 hand1 and arm1 are sure signs by which you can tell how much or how little he knows4 ,if on the other hand he stands on the defensive and seems inclined to wait for your attack1 you may advance cautiously1 with short steps1 keeping your legs well under you and your body well balanced1 levelling your point now at his eyes1 now at his chest2--for you must be careful to guard against the dangers that ,i have just mentioned4 ,in order to counteract1 or at least to lessen the disadvantage to which you are exposed on your advance1 you must occupy your opponent's attention by continually threatening him in the different lines2 for by compelling him to protect himself you prevent him from attacking you1 and meanwhile little by little you gain ground4 ,it is a good plan to feint a serious attack in order to compel him to show his hand1 and to find out whether he means to rely on a parry1 or if he will simply straighten his arm4 ,but you must be very sure of yourself1 and have complete control of your movements1 or you will very likely disclose your own plans by some involuntary and incautious gesture4 ,all that ,i have said applies with equal force to good and bad fencers1 to the expert as well as to the novice4 ,prudence and self-control are more than half the battle4 ,to these must be added science1 which enables you to deceive your opponent by deluding him as to your real object1 while you compel him unwillingly to betray himself4 ,v4 ,i hope1 ,i said1 interrupting myself1 that you find me tolerably intelligible and that you follow the connection between the successive steps of my argument8 ,my audience with one voice assured me that ,i was perfectly intelligible1 and that they were following me with the greatest interest4 ,i may be a trifle long-winded in dealing with these points1 but please remember that after pointing out a danger or giving a piece of advice1 ,i have to show how the danger may be met1 by explaining the answering move4 ,to proceed1--whichever of you has made the first advance1 you are now within striking distance4 ,if you are absolutely ignorant of sword-play1 like the unfortunate duellist whose case we were considering last night1 ,i have already told you what in my opinion you can do1 or at least may attempt to do4 ,i have nothing more to say on that head4 ,the opponents that we now have in view are supposed to have a knowledge of the use of weapons4 ,it follows that the questions to be considered will naturally resemble those that we have already discussed when talking of theoretical sword-play and more particularly of the assault4 ,the only difference is the difference between a sham fight and a real fight1 the difference between a muzzled foil and an unmuzzled sword4 ,besides that1 in an assault you are governed by conventional restrictions clearly defined and well understood2 you do not attempt to hit your opponent except in accordance with the rules2 you wear a mask and a jacket4 ,but the mistakes which you are most anxious to avoid in an assault are the very things that you try to turn to account in a fight1 in order to perplex your opponent and spoil his game4 ,for fencing1 if the professors will allow me to say so1 is perhaps the one art in which mistakes may upon occasion prove of the greatest possible advantage to him who makes them4 ,otherwise it would be mere bookwork1 to be learnt more or less thoroughly1 and the man who knew his book completely would have nothing to fear2 but to my mind it is nothing of the sort4 ,no knowledge of fencing can make a man invulnerable4 ,if anyone imagines that he is an exception to the rule he betrays a singularly misplaced confidence in his own powers1--a very dangerous error4 ,but ought we to condemn swordsmanship on that account8 ,my own opinion is that this uncertainty is the great beauty of the sword1 the one feature that distinguishes it as the only weapon for a fair fight2 for even the weakest player has his opportunity1 his lucky moments1 his strokes of fortune1 which must always prevent the duel from degenerating into simple butchery4 ,if fencing were an exact science1 if you knew1 that as sure as two and two make four1 you could certainly hit your man1 and that he as certainly could not hit you1 how could you in common honesty cross swords with him8 ,,vi4 ,i am afraid that ,i have been wandering somewhat from my text2 but this digression1 though it may at first sight seem out of place1 still when one comes to consider it is very closely connected with our subject4 ,for it serves to emphasise once more the fact that1 in spite of every probability1 luck may always turn the scale in favour of the other side1 and to remind you that you cannot attach too much importance to the most minute particulars of your defence4 ,habitual mistrust is one of the most necessary requirements for this complicated art4 ,put in another way it is the careful study of the enemy whom you have to face4 ,the mistrust that marks the wary1 calculating player1 not only preserves him from danger but creates dangers for his opponent4 ,,vii4 ,i was saying the other day that ,i did not believe in secret thrusts1 and that the thrusts that have received this absurd misnomer are nothing but strokes that are not generally recognised by the ordinary rules of fencing4 ,strip them of their imaginary terrors1 and far from being dangerous to you they become more than a little dangerous for the man who attempts them4 ,to describe them1 we need not distinguish more than two sorts1--methods of attack1 and methods of evading or dodging an opponent's attack4 ,these tricks are all very much of the same character4 ,take this for an example3--lunge as though you were making a simple attack1 then suddenly draw your arm back to make your opponent parry in the air1 throw yourself out of line and let drive1 hitting him in the ribs4 ,or again3--after a false attack1 dodge by stooping low to avoid the parry and riposte1 and hit your opponent in the low lines4 ,the sudden disappearance of your body will probably astonish him4 ,some men delight in charging at you with a shout1 at the same time drawing back their arm to avoid your parry4 ,this strange war-cry occasionally has the effect of causing a moment's involuntary pause1 of which they take advantage to drive their point home anyhow and anywhere4 ,others again1 when the blades are engaged in tierce1 suddenly bring their left foot to the front1 at the same time swinging the body round1 left shoulder forward and out of line with your point4 ,if on the other hand these strokes1 which if not foul are decidedly irregular1 are employed to meet an attack1 the same thing is done with slight variations4 ,suppose ,i deliver an attack2 my opponent1 instead of parrying1 springs aside out of line4 ,sword and body vanish2 the target has moved away2 my attack loses itself in space1 and ,i am hit by a flank movement4 ,or again1 he ducks suddenly1 supporting himself on his free hand1 and allows my point to pass harmlessly over his head1 while at the same time he hits me somewhere1--in the low lines of course4 ,or again1 he seizes my blade in tierce1 swings the left foot round to the front1 suddenly arrives at close quarters1 and before ,i have time either to retreat or to recover my guard1 stabs me by drawing back or dropping his hand4 ,i might extend this list of examples indefinitely1 but you see that all these strokes are contrived on the same plan1 and only differ from each other in unimportant details4 ,it needs no argument to prove how completely the man who resorts to such tactics gives himself away if they are unsuccessful1 for in order to make them really formidable there must be no hanging back1--you must let yourself go without the least reserve4 ,,viii4 ,but surely1 someone objected1 in the hands of a skilful swordsman they would be doubly dangerous8 ,that contingency1 ,i replied1 is worth considering1 but a skilful swordsman would be very unlikely to resort to such methods4 ,why should he8 ,if his opponent is a duffer1 he has no need to be so tricky4 ,if on the other hand his opponent is a cool-headed fencer1 as skilful as himself1 he knows the penalty of failure too well to make the attempt4 ,i need hardly tell you1--though ,i believe ,i have mentioned the fact already1--that when you attack you ought to be particularly careful not to let yourself go so completely that you cannot recover your defensive position1 if your attack fails4 ,all these remarks illustrate how necessary it is to distrust your enemy1 to approach a strange antagonist with caution1 and always keep him at a distance4 ,by retreating the moment you come on guard you have already provided against a surprise and against wild rushes4 ,when you are within range1 take my advice and do not join blades1 and always1 as much as possible1 avoid coming to such close quarters that your opponent can reach you without breaking ground4 ,but do not misunderstand me when ,i tell you not to join blades4 ,i do not mean that you are never to cover yourself1 and never to allow the blades to meet2 that would be a mistake4 ,all that ,i mean is that you should take care never to allow your opponent to hold your blade4 ,by playing light and refusing a proffered engagement you put a stop to all forcing strokes1--croiss1 beats1 binds1 flanconnade1--which are the most dangerous of all strokes1 because they are the most certain4 ,i call them certain1 because by holding your blade prisoner they control it forcibly1 and make a stop thrust or an exchange of hits impossible4 ,,ix4 ,there are of course several ways of dealing with a man who refuses to engage1 but they are difficult and require much practice4 ,it generally happens that your refusal disconcerts your opponent4 ,he has no definite point to start from1 he hesitates1 and his hesitation retards his attack4 ,if his attack is complicated1 you may venture on a stop thrust1 offered with caution and accompanied by a short step to the rear2 and you worry1 and annoy1 and wear him out to the best of your ability4 ,if his attack is simple1 he will be afraid of an exchange of hits2 and the more skilful he is1 the more cautious you will find him2 and as ,i said when speaking of the assault1 you may lessen the danger of a simple attack by a brisk retreat to a greater or less distance1 as the case may be4 ,by this means you parry more easily1 you increase the distance to be traversed1 and you counteract the rapidity of the attack by two methods of defence instead of one4 ,if you are hit1 the wound is slight1 or at all events much less severe than it would have been1 if you had tried to parry without breaking ground4 ,if on the other hand your parry is successful1 you have escaped the danger of a corps corps1 and are in a better position for delivering your riposte4 ,so much for the defence1 now let us suppose that you are the attacking party4 ,you attack1 either because you place more reliance on the quickness of your hand than on the certainty of your riposte1 or because your opponent1 by confining himself to defensive tactics1 compels you to do so4 ,you must be doubly cautious now4 ,x4 ,if it is important1 as ,i have just now pointed out1 to avoid engaging blades when you are acting on the defensive1 in order to protect yourself from what may be called attacks on the sword1 it is obviously of equal importance never to attack without first attempting to master your opponent's fort4 ,eschew feints2--,i have shown you how dangerous they are--therefore be content with direct attacks1 prefacing them with an engagement in carte or tierce1 or with a pressure1 or a beat1 light or heavy1 accordingly as you wish to draw your opponent to one line or another4 ,your object will be gained more easily1 if he is willing to join blades4 ,if on the other hand he is unwilling to do so1 you must by force or fraud bring him to an engagement1 and you should never finish your attack until you have succeeded in finding his blade2 unless in his efforts to elude you he leaves himself completely exposed4 ,when that happens a straight thrust is a certainty4 ,what you have most to fear is a stop thrust1 the straightening of your opponent's arm on your preparation or advance4 ,this is generally a favourite stroke with those who deliberately stand on the defensive4 ,in nine cases out of ten the refusal to join blades may be successfully met by a simulated attack1 if it is well marked4 ,either your opponent attempts to parry1 or he straightens his arm2 whereupon you immediately engage his blade1 and drive your attack home1 without quitting his blade1 and above all without any feint4 ,,xi4 ,it is evidently impossible to enumerate in the course of conversation all the situations that may occur1 or to describe all the traps that you may set for your opponent or that he may set for you4 ,these things are matters of instinct and inspiration1 the happy thoughts of the moment1 and depend on character and individual temperament1 physical and moral4 ,the art of fighting cannot of course be learnt in a day2 it grows upon you gradually1 as you learn by experience to combine the various elements scientifically into a well-ordered whole4 ,picture for yourselves two men fighting4--,you see them at one moment standing their full height1 the next bent double1 swerving to right and left1 colliding violently1 and entangled in a furious encounter2 suddenly they break away1 recoiling from each other with a bound1 rest for a moment1 panting and glaring1 till suddenly they renew the struggle4 ,do you suppose that all these intricate evolutions1 and the subtle application of muscular force that they imply1 can be systematically analysed and taught8 ,of course not4 ,in every art proficiency can only be obtained by persistent and intelligent application4 ,practice alone makes perfect4 ,it is by studying combinations1 by trying to adapt the means at his disposal to the object in view1 that the artist tests the limits of his art and discovers its hidden secrets1 fashions it at will1 and makes it his obedient slave4 ,these remarks would not be complete1 if ,i failed to caution you against a very pernicious habit1 which one is apt to contract in the fencing-room1 and which in a duel may easily lead to a fatal issue4 ,i mean the habit of stopping after you have made a hit1 instead of immediately recovering your guard and putting yourself out of distance4 ,never forget this important point2 if you do1 you may after wounding your opponent receive a mortal wound1 for which you will have only yourself to blame4 ,every fencer knows how commonly it happens in an assault1 that a man ripostes automatically after he is hit1 and strikes his opponent almost simultaneously1 especially when the latter has not taken the trouble to attend strictly to his recovery4 ,remember that a sword-thrust1 even though it be mortal1 does not take effect immediately4 ,there is always a momentary interval before the wounded man falters1 or drops his sword1 or falls to the ground unconscious4 ,the moment you think you have made a hit1--for you may be mistaken1--get back as smartly as you can1 and be ready to go on fighting4 ,,xii4 ,well1 ,i added after a short pause1 nothing else occurs to me in the way of general advice1 which ,i can commend to your notice4 ,when the time for actual fighting arrives1 your attention must be concentrated on the important points1 and these may be summed up in two or three words3--self-reliance1 well-judged caution1 restrained and well-timed energy4 ,you have given us most excellent advice1 exclaimed the ,comte de ,c4 ,if one could only think of it all at the critical moment1 one would be well provided4 ,think of only half of it1 ,i answered1 and you will not do so badly1--there are so many men who cannot think at all4 ,,xiii4 ,the next day we all met as usual in the smoking-room4 ,well1 someone asked me1 what are you going to talk about to-night8 ,why1 ,i answered1 my subject is exhausted1 ,i have told you all ,i know1 or at any rate all that ,i think worth knowing4 ,illustration ,,footnotes3 #a ,lafaugre1 ,trait sur les ,armes4 #b ,acadmie de l',espe1 by ,gerard ,thibault1 ,antwerp1 #afbh4 #c ,dares the nimbler-footed1 in manhood's confident ease2 ,huge ,entellus of limb and of weight1--but his tardier knees ,totter1 and troubled breath convulses his towering frame4 ,,virgil1 ,aeneid ,v4 ,,bowen4 ,small ,post #hvo4 #fs4 ,,schools ,,and ,,masters ,,of ,,fence1 from the ,middle ,ages to the ,end of the ,eighteenth ,century4 ,by ,egerton ,castle1 ,m4,a41 ,f4,s4,a4 ,with a ,complete ,bibliography4 ,illustrated with #adj ,reproductions of ,old ,engravings and #f ,plates of ,swords1 showing #aad ,examples4 99 99 99 99 99 ,small ,crown #hvo4 #as4 ,,fencing4 ,by the late ,h4 ,a4 ,colmore ,dunn1 ,barrister-at-,law1 ,inns of ,court ,school of ,arms1 ,winner of the ,medal at the ,german ,gymnasium4 ,with #ag ,illustrations4 99 99 99 99 99 ,small #dto4 #a4 #as4 #j;d4 net4 ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,george ,,silver4 ,comprising ',paradoxes of ,defence' 7,printed in #aeii and now reprinted71 and ',bref instructions vpo my ,pradoxes of ,defence' 7,printed for the first time from the ,,ms4 in the ,british ,museum74 ,edited with an ,introduction by ,cyril ,g4 ,r4 ,matthey1 ,captain1 ,london ,rifle ,brigade2 ,member of the ,london ,fencing ,club2 and ,membre d'honneur du ,cercle d',escrime de ,bruxelles4 ,with #h ,collotype ,reproductions from the ,,ms4 in the ,british ,museum4 99 99 99 99 99 ,london3 ,george ,bell and ,sons1 ,york ,street1 ,covent ,garden4 ,transcriber's ,note3 ,every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible4 ,italic text has been marked with underscores4 ,,oe ligatures have been expanded4