The daily exchange. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1858-1861, 1860-03-16
FOREIGN MISCELLANY.
THE COMING FIGHT FOR THE CHAMPION

SHIP
The absorbing topic among the clancy" of both
hemspheres, at this time is the prize-fght between
the "Benicia Boy" Keenan, of New York, and
Sayers, of England. By the late arrivals we are
informed that the authorities of the town near
which it is expected the fight is to take place, have
under consideration means to prevent the meeting,
and the notice of Parliament has also been called
to the intended contest.
correspondent of the London Field furnishes
the following account of Heenan, and "training"
in England:
My ytheme is man. In my late wanderings have met
with remarkably fine specimen of the genus He is
a stranger among u.s. all England knows he is here
but all England has not seen him. His name has
for the last month been in Everybody's mouth.
The gentlemen of England are, with few excep-
tions, anxious to him, the so-called sporting
men are raving to have peep at him, and they
who not to mingle with their fellows in sport
pastime are on the qui Uire to ascertain what
manner of creature he must be, who has crossed
three thousand miles of ocean to beard the British
champion on his own arena. His name is Keenan,
"and he comes in shape much bigger than an agate
stone" He stands six feet and an inch, weighs 1S2
pounds, and is as finely built young fellow eer
sun shOne upon. | found him the Downs of
Wiltshire and am bound to echo the words of Mr..
Grantley Berkley in pronouncing him a "magni-
fcent specimen of man." Having read of him
in all the morning and several of the weekly pa
pers, was prejudiced against him. One word was
enough to convince me he was not the rufian he
had been painted. We met at COvertsde; | guessed
who he was, ,and opened conversation by advising
him to be careful of the high-bred bul l-dOg he was
leading by pocket handkerchief. The 'Benicia
Boy"-that, gentle reader, is his "Corinthian"
tlte-thanked me with smile, and said, ''If | do
not hold him, guess the hounds will eat him, and
the hunters will eat me-" At once, methnught
this man is more of a gentleman than pugilist.
took liking to him, and did my utmost to get him
a view of the fox, for which he was most eager;
unfortunately drew several coverts before find
ing, which did after "The Boy had gone home
to his early dinner.
Perceiving that | very nearly knew where to
draw for him, he invited me to visit his s'castle
[ did so next day, and found it to correspond ex-
actly with his description, namely, "a fortified
farm, within a high wall of flint and clay like the
squares a chess-board." The house door was
thrown open to me by one of his friends, we'll
educated and well-spoken New Yorker. The par
ty consisted of three, the gentleman aforesaid the
Boy (abOut four feet round the chest,) and his
trainer, small man, who walked as though he
could never tire. ! was curious, but hope not
Extensively so; asked many questions, and was an
swered most courteously. They had found the
place by accident, and chose it for its onesomeness
| was then initiated in few of the arts and sci
ences connected with athletic exercises. "Now"
quoth he, "you have seen the playground-alIow
me to show you the school" Not being learned in
pugilistic lore, the sight of his gymnasium was to
me an interesting novelty. large barn, Gre
plele Will every appropriated to the art
OF self-defence-that is the term used by its pro-
tessors to soften down the more rough word "'box-
lng"-was' the school to which he conducted me.
The articles of furniture bore but slight resemb-
lance to anything had seen at Gillow's or Dow
blgglns, but they such as, by being constant
ly used would strengthen the frame, expand the
lungs, give liberty to the shoulders develope the
muScleS-in short, render so healthy and ac-
tive that he could endure excessive exerton with
out showing fatigue. One bay of the barn was
full of agricultural implements, the other was
'The Boys" playrOom wet day. There he
had weights and puleys to get him into wind: he
had no boat to pull to get him into water although
he sat at his work as do the gentlemen who start
from Putney; there he had a swinging sack to
practice at, and fancy he was engaging the re-
nOwned Tom Sayers; there he had some very pretty
clubs, which he called his dumb bells, of about the
same size imagines that of Hercules to have
been when he tanned the Nemean lion.
With these toys he played as would small boy
with battledore. | yielded to his kind invitation
to handle his playthings; but after very few cir
cumvOlutiOns my feeble arm "did not seem to care
of the ways and means of training human being;
but should imagine that few weeks practice
with the sort Of tools have attempted to deineate
would give a man such preparation that "Obser-
yer" would describe him as being ''it to run for a
mans life My afternoons lounge did not termi-
nate with the lesson the dumbbells for was in
vited to take second peep at his paror and test the
quality Of his bohea. From my youth up | have
sve oaken tabe-even that item bore no trace of
being tOwn-made-and, in the absence of bsOn a
grass-fed OK supplied a dish most palatable to a
man with appetite. The meal was soon discuss
ed, and we had chat about things over the water,
what he called ''hOme." This aspirant for site
honOrs is no iiterate vsiter; and, if may be al
lowed to venture opinion after seeing his quiet
and decent demeanor, | must yield to the notion
that if he be not too much of a gentleman for the
work he has set himself, he will achieve it. His
age is twenty-five; he therefore has a decided ad-
vantage in point of youth. He has also length of
arm to serve him, and only requires that most ne
cessary ingredient in the manufacture of a pugilst
science, to render him most formidable oppo-
nent. If he be better player at htting-in- theface
than the English champion, he will set a good ex-
ample to his cOuntrymen by taking back to the
Great West the Champions belt of Old England
From the London Observer, FebT7drU %
LOSS OF THE AMERICAN SHIP LUNA.
The reported catastrophe to the American ship
Luna, outward bound to New Orleans with a loss
of upwards of one hundred lives, on the rocks off
Barfeur, near Cherbourg, last Sunday, is unhappi-
ly confirmed. The loss took place about mid day
For hours previously the ill-fated ship seen off
the coast, battling with gale of wind from the
Northeast, till at.length she appeared to become
unmanageable, and was driven on to the rocks
about two hundred fathoms from the shore where
she speedily became a total wreck. Her perilous
position observed by the people on shore long
before she struck, but owing to the terrible sea
rolling in, 1t was utterly impoSsibe-ndeed be
yond human power to launch boat through the
ser to 60 to the assistance of the ship and her v-
ing freight the whole of whom, numbering one
hundred and seven persons, perished. Two only
reached the shore alive; one OF them died almost
Immediately afterwards. The survivor, an Italian
named Clement was unable to give any satisfacto-
ry details of the loss of the ship for two or three
days afterwards, owing to his greatly exhausted
condition. He stated that the ship sailed from
Havre on the previous day (Friday), and that
there board seventy-siX passengers, of
whom fOrty-seven were men, twenty-seven women
and oh hn stara tNyno ci,y
hands, besides a French cook for the passengers
Her cargo was of general description. The Cap
tain his imminent danger when off Barfeur,
and attempted to beach the ship a sandbank sit
uate between Barfieur Church and the lighthouse,
where there might be a chance of saving the pas
sengers, but in running for it the violence of the
gale and heavy drove her the rock, where
her destruction followed. The coast is strewn with
the wreck. Many bodies have been washed up.
RUSSIA'S REPLY TO ENGLAND,
A Paris letter in the Independence Beige, says:
The reply of Russia to the propositions made by
the English Cabinet for the arrangement Of the af-
fairs OF Italy has been received. Russia does not
reject the four points in an absolute and direct
manner, but discusses them with much authority
and moderation. Although she does MT recon-
mend their rejection, it results from her statement
that she repudiates the principles on which En-
gland has based them. The despatch concludes by
declaring that Russia and Prussia entertain the
same ideas before to the mode Of solution to be
adopted in order to remove pending difficulties and
bring about the durable pacitcatiOn of Europe
1t may be remembe ed, in fact that the cabinet of
st. Petersburg has always endeavOred to establish
that no hopes could be entertained of coming to a
general understanding the points which now d-
vide the powers, except by meeting OF their plen-
potentaries either in a congress or a conference,
and by accepting free discussion on all subjects
which each power might think proper to bring
forward connected with the questions pending
In word, Russia thinks that the best and surest
solution to be given to existing difficulties can only
result from meeting of the penipotentiaries of
the great powers without any decisions come to
beforehand, and without any bases previously es-
tabished, to restrict the circle of their delbera-
tiOns.
IRISH AID TO THE POPE.
DR.. Cuen's schemes for replenishing the Popes
excheQuer has been triumphant success in the do-
cese of Dublin. Bank notes and gold were as
plenty vesterdavin the almost countless chapels of
the metropolis, as copper and small silver on any
ordinary Sunday of the year. As yet the returns
are but from nine parishes and these imperfect
but they sufficiently clear to show that a gross
of nearly ELI 900 has testified the devotion of
the faithful of Dublin to the head of their Church
in the hour of his necessity. The sum realized in
the cathedral parish alone amounted to &2,322,
and the lists have not yet been closed. When they
are completed it will probably appear that DR..
Cullen's most sanguine expectations have been ex-
ceeded and before the close of a fortnight some
fl3 900 GA 900, lately the property of the peo
Pile of Dublin, will be on its way tORome.-DubIin
correspondence London Times, Feb. 27.
MEETING OF LEATHER DEALERs.-A general con-
vention of shOe-leather dealers of the States of
New York and Pennsylvania was held at the Astor
House, New York, on Wednesday, for the purpose
of forming an association for the protection of their
interests. About forty tqnneries were represented.