The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-07-07

fOther. whose nearing II ADBasWuhs Neh~AVD"
is proud TO be known as the Deaf 'un any on
who stands more than six feet high is sure q
be dubbed the Infant; while the coghoheh y
the man who Is hard as nails IL ltkely - "
Chicken. Joe the Pseman and Tom me tin
| man the Nobby Cabrnan. the Arunl Black "a
native of Africa,e the Windsor fes aPP''
Daddy, Hackney Bill, Topper breWn, na
mer Lane, and Slashers innumeraoie. JUS y
| ly prove the prevalence OF this custom an'
| as for distiuc ton, what can be more gralhS
| ing than to be known as the Big nm, ., c.m
handed down TO posterity as the ID - aobri
,at ,ira ,rsa, mer, of old, from Caius Mucias
| inc i.ef:-nander down 10 Puoii"s 'ai
| Nasu or Conkey, the aspirant ls III " Poei1ioh
| in Adj v.rtise ia the pugilisuc organ iot soihe
| u q" 49, ,rhon, eio try conclusions" 1t is
a rans hesore a spirited lad' Ia found to
| nar,orn this operation, which consists in
pomu,eIling aud being pommeiied with a
sonv fst--the more knuckiey the better--untii
one of the operators is either blind or breath
less, at which happy period the other opera
tor rs hailed victor, and receives, in addition
| 10 the injuries which have been inflicted upon
| him, sum of money called "the stakes > for
| you can't be pounded into mummy In the
prize ring without paying handsomely for IT.
| "Novices," as they are termed, may get the
breath knocked out of their bodies, and their
| features made undis tinguishabie AZ the COM
parativeiy cheap rate of f5 a time but as they
| advance in fame and experience, they have to
/ pay more for the privilege, as much as EGO
being sometimes hardly sufficient to stand a
| two hours drubbing However, young
pugil seldom has any difficulty on this score
| he easily persuades phtianthronst TO JON
| him in the process of mutual disagreement,
1 and he prepares himself for the pleasing task
| in the following manner;
| About two months or NOR previous to the
events day, he puts himself entirely into the
hands OF a trainer, who keeps him in a state OF
temperance and sobriety and puts him through
/ A course of treatment which few of us would
endure even to escape thrashing, that he may
be in the best possible state OF body for the re-
ception OF the grea test possible amount of pun
ishment He Is physicked oieted, ana exercised
like horse daylight is his hour for rising,
| and nghtfaii in summer. and the correspond
ing hour in winter, his time for retiring to res
| A bath before breakfast rundown with
rough towels CT horse hair gloves. and trot
| of a mile or more, commence his day his
1 breakfast-hour not later Than eight, and his
dinner hour not later than five; no coffee or
| tea, or slops of any kind, are allowed him at
| his meals home brewed beer, and not more
than pint and a half of that per diem, is his
| drink beef aud mutton are his meat; and his
| bread must be country made; no fat OF any
| kind must find Is way into his mouth and
| should be require any nourlshment beyond
| his two meals, a high authority recommends
| 'all-potent water-gruel." Wine he is warned
| against, even in small quantities. spirits he is
| absolutely forbidden, and smoking he must
| avoid like poison whilst his day must be di-
| yide6 into certain portions for the purposes of
walking running. lighting the sack, sparring
| with his trainer, and practlclng the clubs and
l
| and steadiastiy, the same high authority
| which has been more thar once alluded 10 de-
cIares he will "peel' (Which is flstic for taking
| off ones clothes) as fair as any wonlan-a high
| ly satisfactory thing to know when you are
| going to be beaten black and blue. Fair or not,
| however, the day at last arrives when pugii
| makes his debut in the Il. r., which, contrary
| TO the general shape OF rings, is square OF
twenty four feet in extent, marked out upon
| some piece of turf by stakes and ropes. Pugil
| is accompanied by two friends or pals of
| whom one carries sponge, and is called his
"second - the other is provided with a bottle
| of wafer, and is called his "botte-holder;''
| and they together, with the tenderness of
| nurses, perform all those offices which are
capable OF being performed with sponge and
| water tor q person suffering under repeated
discharges Of a tistic battery. Pugirs entry
into the ring is made i'll peculiarly origl-
| ual and aceful manner: he first of ali throws,
or, us he himself would say, 'shies'' his "cas-
| tori or 'tile''-that Is, what ne wears on MS
head-into the ring las though nothing but the
| necessary of recovering that article of costume
| would induce him TO enter in person. and
| then follows il himself He shakes the nand
| or 'daddle' of his opponent with CHASTITY
grin aud the greeting OF the warriors is the
signal for burst of applause from the multi
| Jude of spectatoTS-the many thieves amongst
| them taking that favorable opportunity of do
lug little profitable business, tor the best
| lime il is said, for abstractipg mans watch,
| is when he is INDUCING ms sentimental emo
lions. When this interesting ceremony is
a.
| miss their thermometers, the seconds OF the
| TWO combatants decide by the time-honored
but rather vulgar arbitrdment of the "toss.'
| which OF the principals shall have the sun in
his eyes, or any other disadvantage arising
| from a particular positi They then tie the
handkerchiefs or "colors'' of the principals to
the stakes; 'time" is called, and the struggle
begins
the boxing match between Dares and Entel-
lus and with the exception of the cestus, 1t
would serve for a poetIcal description OF an
English prize-fght; whilst every newspaper
has lately contained some account of the
great in ternational affair." between little
boy about six feet two inches in height, and
weighing thirteen stone, and the Champ iop of
England, five feet eight inches in height, and
weighing ten stone and half, which affair
was currently reported in fistic' circles of the
lowest class 10 have been arranged by Queen
Victoria and the American President for the
purpose of settling at the same time the
| championship OF England, the slavery ques-
| ton, and the San J uan difficulty. The die
| ton, however, most appropriate TO the SUBJ
| ject is that In vogue amongst "the Fancy"
| themselves the poetcal would be out of
| place, and plain English prose might make
| some people angry, and others sick; but the
| true pugilisIic slang by The grotesq OF
its humor, prevents the MIND from fully
| realizing or dwelling too much upon the hor-
| rors of the scene portrayed. When you read
| for example, that Tom "took extraordinary
| liberties with Jerry's head, or that Bill
"leIt MS sign Iudu udi OH OH piece,
| or that the Boy twas well countered by Tom
on the proboscis," or that somebody "Was
very busy on somebody else's mug, or that
one person mapped hot 'un on the sneeZer,'
whilst the right pepper ofanoth person ''dis-
played marks of pepper" or that Ned ''met''
Harry Every straight and effectively on the
nozzle, opening fresh bin,' you are led away
| by the singuIarity of the expressions from the
contemplation of a bruised, swollen, bleeding,
manned and blinded felow-creature, the
| facts being wrapped up" as an elegant
scholar once remarked, "sandyidge-like."-
| Such is the language In which pugifs ex-
PLOTS are celebrated in his own peculiar or
gan and should he have the misfortune to
Kill his opponent, the surUirOr is said, by a
| strange misapplication of phrases, to have
met with an accident; just as, If you and i
! were fencing, and my foil broke and passed
through your body, it would be l, and not
| you, who met with an accident
Ifpugl be sufficiently tall, heavy, skillful
and successful he continues to bruise and be
| bruised until he obtains the champions belt
the highest distinction to be won by fisticufis-
| otherwise he retires from the profession of
| nose breaking after one or two encounters :;
| in Ell Their case, his last end is the same with
| the help of his many admirers and "backers,"
| he purchases a business i'll the "public'' line,
| and manages by the combination of gln-sell
| ing and teaching 1.-The noble art of selt-de-
fence" to pay his share OF the taxes OF his
| country. Some pugils exc out their income
| by card-sharping, and some by keeping a rat
pit, in which humane persons of every class
may see supernaturally small but savage
/ dogs Kill an uncOnscionable numb Der OF IA Is in
an incredibly short space of time. Cock
| ghting also, is another method of turning an
| honest perhaps, but rather. barbarous penny
much in favor amongst retired pugils, as is
/ also betting upon horse-races, and anything
else of that nature sanctioned by the aristoc-
| racy.
| Pugil, if weighed in the moral and religious
balances will, il is to be feared, be found sad
ily wanting. He pays great devotion the
| shrine OF Bacchus" to use the elegant phrase
| by which he coyly confesses that he is habitu-
| ally drunk and there is no authentic record,