The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-22 00:00:00

STAKEHOLDER, &C.

Sir,—An appeal having been made to me as referee,
through the medium of your paper, by Mr. Spring, to
reverse my decision in the late fight between Bendigo
and !;aunt, on grounds unworthy of my consideration, I
request you will confirm that decision by paying over
the stakes to Bendigo, who, in my opinion, is justly en-
titled to them. It was with the greatest reluctance, and
at the particular request of my friends, and the una-
nimous solicitation of the backers of the men, that I
accepted the office ; but I shall always consider it one
of the greatest acts of folly I ever was guilty of in my
life. In discharging. my duty, I endeavoured to do justice
to the contending parties to the best of my abilities and
judgment ; and, arriving at the conclusion I did, and now
confirm, I was actuated only by a complete conviction of
the justice of my decision, and not from the intimidation
of the " roughs," as Mr. Spring states in his letter. It
would redound more to tho credit of the ox-champion, if
be termed my decision an error in judgment, rwher than
a direct robbery. Such insinuations against a gentle-
man who undertakes the office of referee, merely to
oblige both parties, and unanimously chosen by them,
are not calulated to induce any gentleman in future to
accept it ; and, in taking leave of the ring, I should ad-
vise all my young friends to avoid so thankless and un-
satisfactory an office. Had I been under the intimi-
dation of the " roughs," I had several opportunities of
putting an end to the fight before the conclusion, by acts
on the part of Caunt.
A noble lord and several gentlemen who stood close
to me during the whole fight can corroborate this state-
ment. I most positively deny that I stated to any one
that a man going down without a blow, after he himself
had treacherously delivered blows, was fair. In no one
instance, in my judgment, did Bendigo break the laws of
fair fighting. I must also contradict, in the most positive
manner, that I even stated to any person that 1 did not
see the last round, which Mr. Saunders, of St. Martin's-
lane has advanced. I saw every round distinctly and
clearly, and when Caunt came up the last round he had
evidently not recovered from the 92d. After the men
were in position Bendigo very soon commenced opera-
tions, and Caunt turned round directly and skulked
away with his back to Bendigo, and sat down on his
nether end. He never knocked Bendigo down once in
the fight, nor ever got him against the ropes in the last
round. In my opinion Caunt got away as soon as he
could from Bendigo, fell without a blow to avoid being
hit out of time, and fairly lost the fight.—l am your
obedient servant, THE OLD SQUIRE.
Doncaster, Sept. 18, 1845.

HYDROPHOBIA.
THE LATE DUKE OF RICHMOND.

The following particulars' given by Mr. Tolfrey, in
his recent publication, will be read with interest, par-
ticularly by the (and there are many in Brighton as
well as in Sussex) who personally knew the estimable
Nobleman to whom the melancholy details refer.

It will be necessary to observe that the conversation,
with which the account opens, took place at a tent
dinner-party in the woods, given on the occasion of lay-
ing out the site of a new town :
" As the Duke was sipping his claret, he observed to
Colonel Cockburn, ' I don't know how it is, Cockburn,
but I cannot relish my wine to-night as usual, and I feel
that if I were a dog, I should be shot for a mad one."
" What must have been the feeling that could have
dictated such an extraordinary speech ! Was it the re-
sult of disease ope:ating on the nervous system, and af-
fecting the mind in connexion with the accident itself ?
This is scarcely conceivable ; for, up to the moment of
the utterance of this singular expression, the Duke had
never alluded in any way whatever to the circumstance
of having been biten. The insidious poison lurking in
the veins may have given rise to sensations which called
forth the observation ; but under any circumstances it
must be quoted as a remarkable instance of prediction, if
not prescience. To the majority of the party present
the words were unheaded, or perhaps looked upon as a
quaint and passing observation. Not so, however, with '
Colonel Cockburn and Major Bowles, who viewed the
1 matter in a more serious light ; for as soon as the meet-
ing broke up and the Duke had retired to his tent, they
held a consultation, and communicated their thoughts as
well as apprehensions to each other."
The disorder unhappily made progress ; and the fatal
result is thus described by Mr. Tolfrey:—
" Colonel Cockburn and Major Bowles pressed the
Duke to partake of some nourishment: but the tea and
coffee were untouched, and an impatient gesture of the
hand betrayed the sufferings of the object of their soli-
citude at the sight of liquids. The meal was hurried
over with all practicable dispatch, and the Duke con-
sented to accompany the gentlemen down to the river
and embark in the canoe ; and it had been decided upon
that Major Bowles was to attend the Duke while Colonel
Cockburn rode from the place of einb:.,rkation to the
Rapids, there to make arrangements for the Duke's being
conveyed down the Ottoway to Lachine, about nine
miles from Montreal. Leaning on the arm of his com-
panion the Duke walked to the river's side, but the
moment his Grace saw the water, a spasmodic seizure
told the agony he was enduring. lie was turning away
from the obnoxious element, when his Grace was en-
treated to muster resolution and enter the canoe. With
a desperate effort he did so. exclaiming, as he rushed
into the frail bark, ' Charles Lennox never was afraid
of anything.'
" Major Bowles quickly followed ; the Canadian boat-
men shoved off, and the canoe, with its illustrious freight,
was soon floating down the current. Its course, how-
ever, was but of short duration • for a few seconds
had scarcely elapsed ere the Duke, in a paroxysm of
agony, seized one of the Canadian boatmen by the
throat, commanding him with frantic earnestness to row
to land. _ - _

" The mandate was of too imperative a nature to ad-
knit of a ref usal ur e“,,n. delay : iL was oh..yed on the in-
sta!:`_ ; and the can•-le 1. d s..T:reely grated on 019 Atraed
bz‘tore the Duke had leaped upon the bank, and was
making for the woods. Col. Cockburn, who had mounted
his horse for the purpose of apprising the Batteliers at
the station at the head of the Rapids of the Duke's ap-