1 join full cry, with all their pack of contributors, in pursuit; and no wonder that the game is run down and exhausted at last, though often not worth the bagging, so wofully torn and mangled. It is a puzzling matter to know how to act at present; one request we have to make of our facetious friends, Bon-mots, and Janus Weathercock, that they do not seduce Mr P. Egan from our service, and that they leave us in possession of the ring. The truth is, that the world is not wide enough for all the present magazines, and some of them must be blown up. Our own private opinion is, (though it might be dangerous to express it) that three magazines are sufficient for Great Britain and Ireland-Baldwin, Blackwood, and Colbourn.* To return to Boxiana. It is a book that we never tire of-take it up when we will it puts us into immediate spirits. It is a sufficient justification of pugilism to say, that Mr Egan is its historian-for a better natured, more gentlemanly person, never wore a glove. On a former occasion we ventured to suggest a resemblance between Mr P. Egan and Mr Thomas Campbell, as the historians of pugilism and poetry. But, in truth, highly as we admire the abilities of the author of the Pleasures of Hope and the Specimens, we cannot affirm, that he has yet produced any such work as Boxiana. Mr Egan combines within himself, as the historian of British pugilism, all the qualifications possessed by all the historians of British poetry. He has all the elegance and feeling of a Percy-all the classical grace and inventive ingenuity of a Warton-all the enthusiasm and zeal of a Headley -all the acuteness and vigour of a Ritson all the learning and wit of an Ellis-all the delicacy and discernment of a Campbell; and at the same time, his style is perfectly his own, and likely to remain so, for it is as inimitable as it is excellent. The man who has not read "Boxiana" is ignorant of the power of the English language. Our readers have already studied with us the history of two Eras of British pugilism. They have been initiated into the mysteries of the schools of Broughton, and of Big Ben. We are now about to make them acquainted with a new school-that of Mendoza-a school whose fame is in some measure gone by, but a school that will ever continue to be admired by every lover of correct taste, sound judgment, elegant execution, and good bottom. This was, indeed, the Augustan age of pugilism, though fortunately it did not precede the decline and fall of the art. There was indubitably a finished and perfect beauty in the finest performances of Mendoza, for which we may now look in vain. He was the Virgil-or, perhaps, the Addison of his time. His battle with Humphries was perhaps superior to any thing in the Æneid. It was a most elaborate performance; yet art was so blended with nature, that its striking merits were visible to the eyes even of the unscientific, and the name of Mendoza now rises up in our me mory when we think of all that was most graceful in attitude, and correct in distance. He was indeed the great founder of the Jewish school,-nor has either Dutch Sam, Belasco, or Iky Pig, eclipsed the fame of their master. Dan has fought upwards of thirty pitched battles, but of these eight only are on record-one with Martin, the celebrated Bath Butcher, three with Humphries, two with Ward, one with Jackson, and one with Lee. In his first contest with Humphries, he was beaten; but in his two others his superiority was immeasureable, The first fight is thus described by Mr Egan : Humphries, upon ascending the stage, was received with loud and repeated cheers, which he gratefully acknowledged by his genteel deportment, when Tom Johnson appeared as his second, the athletic Tring as his bottle-holder, and Mr Allen as um pire. Mendoza, almost instantly following, was greeted with the most flattering marks of attention and respect from the surrounding spectators; a Mr Moravia acted as his umpire, David Benjamin was his second, and Jacobs his bottle-holder, and the whole of them were Jews. Humphries' appearance, when stripped for the fight, was peculiarly attractive, and his fine manly form was seen to great advantage; he had on a pair of fine flannel drawers, white silk stockings, the clocks of which were spangled with gold, and pumps tied with ribbon. The dress of We have bracketted the three senior wranglers this year, and also adopted an alphabetical arrangement. Mendoza was plain and neat. About twenty minutes after one, every thing being ready, the usual salutations took place, when the display of the science was infinite ly fine-much was expected from two such skilful artists, and the feints made by each party were elegant and scientific-Mendoza felt no terrors from the proud fame of his antagonist, and Humphries viewed the admirable skill displayed by his opponent with firmness and composure-the parry ings were long and various, and the amateur experienced one of the richest treats ever exhibited in this noble and manly art at length, Mendoza put in the first blow, and recoiling from its effects slipped and fell upon his back, in consequence of the stage being slippery from the rain which had fell previous to the battle, yet was of no material effect against Humphries, as he warded it off and retreated. In the second round Mendoza, full of vigour, went into his antagonist and knocked him down; and in closing in the next, the Jew threw Humphries. The odds which had been much in favour of Humphries, were now changing rapidly upon Mendoza. The Jew, flushed with his success, found his game all alive, and showed himself off to the best advantage, with all the heroism of a most experienced pugilist. Humphries appeared to make no way against Mendoza, who had now knocked Dick down six times in succession. The Jews sported their cash freely, as the Christian, it was supposed, must soon be vanquished; but the friends of Humphries were not to be dismayed, and took the odds greedily. At one time the contest was nearly coming to a premature termination, from the cry of" foul, foul!" by the friends of Mendoza, who, in the early part of the fight, had drove Humphries upon the rail of the stage, and while the latter was upon the balance, aimed a blow at his ribs which must have finished the battle, but Johnson caught it. The umpires considered it a knock-down blow, and that Johnson was correct. The stage was so slippery that Humphries could scarcely stand upon his legs, and soon discharged the finery from his legs, for the more substantial service of worsted hose-Dick now felt his feet, went in with his usual confidence, and the bets became even. Humphries was now himself, and fast recovering in wind and strength, the amateurs were delighted with his undaunted courage and neatness of execution. Mendoza was thrown, and in falling pitched upon his face, his forehead was dreadfully cut just above the right eye, and his nose assumed a different shape; but the Jew's pluck was good, and in the next round gave Humphries a prime facer, that the bets were still alive. Humphries was gaining ground fast, and soon put in a doubler upon the loins of Mendoza, one of the Jews most vulnerable parts; which was followed up by one in the neck, the Jew reeling fell with his leg under him, sprained his ancle, and was reluctantly compelled to acknowledge the superiority of the Christian. Mendoza almost immediately afterwards fainted, and was taken from the stage. Thus ended this truly celebrated contest, in twenty-eight minutes, fifty-four seconds, in which, perhaps, there never was so much skill and dexterity ever witnessed; nor more money depending upon its termination. The Jews were severe sufferers-and al. though Mendoza was defeated, his fame and character as a pugilist were consider. ably increased-his style of fighting was highly spoken of by the scientific amateur; and that in close fighting, and as a quick hitter, he was evidently superior to his antagonist. The advantage was also upon the side of Mendoza in point of strength of arm, and when struggling to obtain the throw, he punished his adversary considerably by keeping down his head. His guard was excellent, and displayed a thorough knowledge of the art, by keeping it closer to his body than that of his adversary, by which means his blows were given with more force when he struck out his arms, and with respect to stopping, he was not deficient to Humphries ;-but for elegance of position-cool and prompt judgmentfortitude of manner-and force of blow, he was materially inferior. He wanted also that personal courage, which was so apparent in Humphries, and whose confidence rendered him so indifferent of himself-but in point of throwing, Mendoza, though not expected, had the complete advantage, and the activity he displayed throughout the fight was considerable. Mendoza contended for victory with all the style and valour of a true Hero. THE TABLES TURNED. Humphries, attended by Tom Johnson as his second, entered between one and two o'clock, followed by Butcher, as his bottleholder, and Harvey Christian Coombe, Esq. as his umpire; and Mendoza immediately afterwards made his appearance, attended by Captain Brown and Michael Ryan, as his second and bottle-holder, having for his umpire, Sir Thomas Appreece. The seconds, according to an agreement, retired to separate corners on the setting-to of the combatants :-The moment became interesting, and anxiety was upon the utmost stretch-the opinions of the amateurs had undergone various changes since the last combat; and the issue of the contest was extremely doubtful-Mendoza was considered a formidable rival, and he had rather rose into estimation than otherwise since the first battle, and the betting had no stability about it. Humphries appeared strong and elegant in his position, and endeavoured to put in a facer; but Dan, on the alert, stopped it with great neatness, and returned a sharp blow, that levelled his opponent. Mendoza, elated with the attempt, concluded the second and third rounds in the same style. It soon began to appear, that doza's friends insisted that he had won the the fight, to have the advantage. After thirty minutes had elapsed, Humphries, either from accident or design, committed the same error, in falling without a blow Mendoza had put in some tremendous hits, and, in following them up, Humphries retreated and fell; when Dan, without the slightest murmur, was deemed the conqueror. Mendoza was now the championand Bill Ward, a Bristol trump, who had been originally brought up to town to fight Johnson, was now matched against the Israelite. He was a stronger and taller man than Mendoza-of great activity-full of pluck, and fine scienced. The odds were on Ward on setting to. The following is a spirited sketch of the battle: At the commencement of the fight, the odds were considerably upon Ward; and much was expected from his well-known acquirements; and it is but fair to state, that Bill endeavoured to prove the conqueror, and used every exertion that he was master of to obtain so desirable an end; and, for the first eight rounds of the battle, was an object of attraction; and dealt out some tremendous blows; particularly in the fourteenth, he gave Mendoza a dreadful hit upon the jaw, that knocked him off his legs like a shuttlecock, and Dan came down with uncommon violence. Ward's friends were now in high spirits, and the betting went forwards, as it was thought that Dan had received rather a sickener; but Mendoza's game soon brought him about, and he went in with the most determined resolution, and gave Ward a knock-down blow. The superiority of Mendoza now became manifest; Ward perceived he was in the hands of his master; and the spectators began to change their opinions. Mendoza levelled his antagonist every round; though, notwithstanding, Ward put in some good hits. In the twenty-third round the combatants closed-Ward was completely exhausted, and, upon Mendoza falling on him, reluctantly gave in. The above contest established Dan's fame; and his scientific excellence was generally acknowledged. But the hour was at hand when the Jew was to succumb to the Gentile. John Jackson entered the ring against him, and in ten minutes and a half Dan was done up and dished. "1st round. The spectators were more than commonly interested, from the celebrity of the combatants. Judgment was not wanting on either side, and a fine display of the art was witnessed the amateur experienced a rich treat in the developement of the science in all its characteristic minutia a minute had expired, and both waiting for the advantage, when Jackson put in a tremendous hit, that laid Dan prostrate on the stage. 6 “2d.—In this round Mendoza shewed the advantage of the science to perfection, by stopping the blows of his antagonist with great neatness, and in returning several good hits. 3d-Both on the alert, and pelting away without ceremony-Jackson put in several severe hits, and Mendoza was not behind in returning the compliment; but in the termination of the round Dan went down. Notwithstanding the odds rose two to one on Mendoza. 4th. This was the heat of the battle fear was out of the question, and the combatants lost to every thing but victory. Jackson, confident of his powers and knowledge, went in with great courage, treating the science of Mendoza with indifference, and punishing him most terribly, when Dan fell from a severe blow upon the right eye, which bled profusely. The odds rose upon Jackson. 5th.-The scene was now considerably changed, and some murmurings were ex pressed by the friends of Mendoza, on witnessing Jackson take hold of his opponent by the hair, and serving him out in that defenceless state, till he fell to the ground. An appeal was made to the umpires upon the propriety of the action, when it was deemed perfectly consistent with the rules of fighting, and the battle proceeded. The odds were now changed two to one on Jack son. "6th-7th.-8th.-Mendoza was getting rather exhausted, and endeavoured to recover his strength by acting on the defensive; but he could make no way against the superiority of Jackson. 9th.Mendoza stood no chance-Jackson appeared in full vigour, and hit away his man with great ease. Dan suffered considerably, and after falling completely exhausted, acknowledged he had done." About seven years afterwards, an epistolary correspondence of an angry kind took place between these formidable heroes in the public newspapers. It led, however, to no second combat-which was well-for the Jew had not strength to fight Jackson. Jem Belcher, after his overthrow of Gamble the Irishman, challenged Dan on the field; and the fight would have been an interesting one, between the founders of the old and new schools. There is something exceedingly chivalrous in the challenge and Jem Belcher appears another Ivanhoe in the ring. Belcher. I wish you'd do it now. The parties becoming rather irritated with each other, an immediate set-to was nearly the consequence, but their friends stepped in and prevented it. Dan's last battle was with his false friend, Lee the butcher, who used him extremely ill, and Dan fought simply to punish his perfidy. Lee had been long known as a skilful and quick sparrer-but his set-tos had been all bloodless, and with the mufflers; and it was not thought he could have any chance against Mendoza, in real war. fare. He had none-for though he protracted the fight upwards of an hour, by shifting, and dropping-now and then touched Dan, and occasional ly threw him--we ourselves might as well have been pitted against the Israelite,-who punished him severely, flooring him incessantly, and holding all his operations, defensive and offensive, in contempt. Yet beautiful as was this last display of Mendoza, and finished as was his shewy, we had almost said flowery style of boxing, it was the decided opinion among the best judges, that it would have lost both its efficacy and attraction before the rapid dexterity and irresistible gaiety of Jem Belcher. Besides, Dan was past his best, and Jem in his heyday and we hate to see the laurels torn off the brow of age by the hand of youth. The piety of the pugilis revolts at the spectacle. We feel that it is utterly impossible for us to conclude this article, without ing the melancholy occasion, to the adverting, in such terms as are becom great, indeed irreparable, loss which the boxing world has lately sustained in the death of Sir Daniel Donelly. Ireland, we understand, is inconsolable. Since the heroic age of Corcoran and Ryan no such leveller had appeared. Happy and contented with the fame he had enjoyed under his native skies, it never had been the desire of Sir Daniel to fight on this side of the Channel. Accordingly, he past his prime in and about Dublin, satisfied with being held the most formidable Buffer (so our good Irish friends denominate Pugilists) among a potatofed population of upwards of five million. No one who has been in Ireland will suppose, that Sir Daniel Donelly may of the championship, with his hands walked up to the "good eminence Belcher. Dan Mendoza. Scotland. Mendoza. Well-the time come. beneath his feet, rejoicing in the blood that dyed its threefold beauty, more proudly than it ever rejoiced, when, sprinkled with the dews of morning, it waved its verdant locks to the breezes that swept the level expanse of the Bog of Allen, or the rugged magnificence of Macgillicuddy's reeks. in his breeches-pockets. We are not The death of this illustrious man has left unsolved a great problem, Was England or Ireland to have taken precedence in the rank of nations? Could Donelly have beat Crib? Could Carter have beat Donelly? Alas! vain interrogatories! The glory of Ireland is eclipsed-and ages may elapse before another sun shine in, what Mr Egan beautifully calls, her pugilistic hemisphere. We have just received a vast number of Elegies on his death-from Cork, Limerick, Waterford, and Dublin-some of them eminently beautiful. It was not to be thought that such a man would be permitted to leave us, without the meed of some melodious tear; and we are happy to see among the "Luctus," the names of Moore, Maturin, Croly, and Anster. Of these LETTERS OF TIMOTHY TICKLER, ESQ. TO EMINENT LITERARY CHARACTERS. No VI. To the Editor of the History of the Erskine Dinner.* DEAR MOSES, I THANK you for sending me your pamphlet, containing an account of the dinner to Lord Erskine, and in return shall forward to you a copy of the Southside Papers, as soon as the last proof sheet comes to hand, which, I trust, it will do in the course of next month at farthest. In that publication I hope you will find much to amuse you; and I would even flatter myself, something to improve you too, provided you read it with some portion of that temper and calmness of judgment that always characterized you until of late, i. e. since you have assumed the place and manners of a leading Edinburgh Whig. My dear friend, be assured, in spite of all you hear, that I still entertain the warmest affection for you. I do not indeed pretend to consider you as a man of genius; which foolish idea, I fear, some of your new associates have been studiously cramming into your head; nor yet, if some of your recent doings provoke a slight suspicion that your brain has suffered, am I inclined to attribute your misfortune to "overmuch learning." But I have a real regard for you, and, as a proof of this, would fain give you a little advice, which, if taken in good part, may, Í would hope, restore you in some measure to yourself, and, perhaps, prevent your relations from entertaining any farther rights of cognoscing youwhich, I assure you, is a scheme that has frequently been discussed among them of late, and all with the most friendly intentions. Take up in time, and don't allow yourself to be made a fool for life, only for the pleasure (which with you is, after all, I fear, a verv Account of the proceedings at the dinner given to Lord Erskine, in the Assembly-Rooms, George Street, Edinburgh, 21st February 1820. Edinburgh, John Robertson, 8vo. 1s. 6d. |