tied round necks whilst the skins of the two men with the moisture as they stood up to each other once more i noticed that whispered very earnestly into s ear as he rose from his knee and that the smith nodded his head with the air of a man who understands and of his orders and what those orders were was instantly apparent was to be turned from the into the the result of the rally in the last round had convinced his seconds that when it came to give and take their hardy and powerful man was likely to have the better of it and then on the top of this came the rain with the slippery grass the superior activity of would be and he would find it harder to avoid the rushes of his opponent it was in taking advantage of such circumstances that the art of lay and many a shrewd and second had won a losing battle for his man go in then i gk in the two prize while every in the crowd took up the roar and went in in such fashion that no man who saw him do it will ever forget it the smith s last battle as game as a met him with a flush hit every time but no human strength or human science seemed capable of stopping the terrible of this iron man round after round he scrambled his way in slap bang right and left every hit sent home sometimes he covered his own face with his left and sometimes he to use any guard at all but his springing were irresistible the rain lashed down upon them pouring from their faces and running in crimson over their bodies but neither gave any heed to it save to always with the view of bringing it in to each other s eyes but round after round the west fell and round after round the rose until the odds were higher in our favour than ever they had been against us with a sinking heart filled with pity and admiration for these two gallant men i longed that every bout might be the last and yet the time was hardly out of s mouth before they had both sprung from their second s knees with laughter upon their faces and words upon their bleeding lips it may have been a humble object lesson but i give you my word that many a time in my life i have myself to a hard task by the remembrance of that morning upon downs asking myself if my manhood were so stone weak that i would not do for my country or for those whom i loved as much as these two would endure for a paltry stake and for their own credit amongst their fellows such a spectacle may those who are brutal but i say that there is a spiritual side to it also and that the sight of the utmost human limit of endurance and courage is one which bears a lesson of its own but if the ring can breed bright virtues it is but a who can deny that it can be the mother of black vices also and we were destined that morning to have a sight of each it so chanced that as the battle went against his man my eyes stole round very often to note the expression upon sir s face for i knew how he had laid the odds and i understood that his fortunes as well as his champion were going down before the blows of the old the confident smile with which he had watched the opening rounds had long vanished from his lips and his cheeks had turned of a sallow whilst his fierce grey eyes looked from under his brows and more than once he burst into savage when was beaten to the ground but especially i noticed that his chin was always coming round to his shoulder and that at the end of every round he sent keen little the smith s last battle glances flying backwards into the crowd for some time amidst the immense of faces which themselves up on the slope behind us i was unable to pick out the exact point at which his gaze was directed but at last i succeeded in following it a very tall man who showed a pair of broad bottle green shoulders high above his neighbours was looking very hard in our direction and i assured myself that a quick exchange of almost was going on between him and the i became conscious also as i watched this stranger that the cluster of men around him were the elements of the whole assembly fierce vicious looking fellows with cruel faces who howled like a pack of wolves at every blow and at whenever he walked across to his corner so turbulent were they that i saw the whisper together and glance up in their direction as if preparing for trouble in store but none of them had realized how near it was to breaking out or how dangerous it might prove thirty rounds had been fought in an hour and twenty five minutes and the rain was down harder than ever a thick steam rose from the two and the ring was a pool of mud repeated falls had turned the men brown stone with a horrible of crimson round after round had ended by going down and it was evident even to my inexperienced eyes that he was rapidly he leaned heavily upon the two jews when they led him to his comer and he when their support was withdrawn yet his science had through long practice become an thing with him so that he stopped and hit with less power but with as great accuracy as ever even now a casual observer might have thought that he had the best of the battle for 