The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-01-12
MEN OF THE SWORD.
SOME DISTINGUISHED MASTERS OF
TINE ART OF FENCING.
A NOvellsts B1under - stage Combats
Cheered In Paris and Laughed 1T in
New York - American Actors who
Know the FOils.

A NOvellst's BIunder - stage Combat
Cheered In Paris and Laughed 1t In
New York - American Actors who
Know the FOils.
IN Y. SUM-
The art of fencing has furnished
many picturesque scene to the poets,
dramatists, and novelists of the roman
tic school In all countries. Stage fights
we'll executed always draw good
crowd, and good combat has often
saved the fortunes OF bad play. The
duel scenes Of the ''Corsican Brothers"
the fencing bouts in Hamlet" and the
Lady Of Lyons" the single combats
in9 Richard Ill.," Macbeth" and
Romeo and Juliet are as familiar as
popular. The novels of Scott and Bull
wer in England, Dumas and others in
France, are fall Of sword combats,
while Goethe and Schiller in Germany
exhibit no less fondness for the gentle
mans weapon" When Col Damas
says that "any man who has carte and
tierce at his Ringers ends must be q
gentleman" he expresses feeling that
comes down from the times Of chivalry.
In recent years, with the improve
ment In firearms and the general disuse
Of the sword, fencing has dropped out of
favor in literature. save in military or
naval novels. With the disuse of the
weapon comes the liability to mistake
in description OF it's use, as was lately
shown by no less writer than Wilkie
Collins. His Christmas story of last
year, called "The Duel in Herne Wood"
is founded on such a blunder. He made
his hero a skillful fencer, who has visited
the schools Of Paris, Vienna, and every
where else. The hero is CHALLENGED to
a sword duel by the villain, who pays a
poor fencing. master ESQ to teach him a
secret by which greenhorn can defeat
master. This secret consists simply
In catching the opponents swordwrist
with the left hand while fighting, and
then running him through.
This is the first and commonest move
in what Is known a5 fencing "a la bril-
gasad," and is in use in Spain, Italy, Ger
many. France, everywhere, indeed,
where great fencing schools exist. New
ertheless Mr.. Collins POUNDS his whole
story on the remorse suffered by the vii
lain for using this costly secret-the
same, by the by, which Marryat uses In
the duel in Peter Simple" and q mod
ification Of the trick by which Lever
makes Tom Burke defeat Maitre Fran
co.'s.
This same general disuse OF the sword
and consequent bungling in It's occa-
sional employment have cast ridicule on
ent day. The ludiorous exhibitions OF |
what is known as two up and two |
down." that constitute the average |
modern actors idea Of combat, would |
not have been tolerated in the DAYS of |
Garrick, when the audience was capa- |
BILE OF criticizing the fencing as we'll as |
the acting. As it is, the eo-called |
fight" at the end Of Richard I'LL" is |
sure to be greeted with laughter and
ironic cheers in most theatres, when
executed In this style. When the actors
take the trouble to learn to fence the
result is very different. The fine ap.
pearance OF Fechter with sword in his
hand was the theme OF many critic in
the days when Fechter was still new to
this country, and there is no doubt that
he did look we'll; but it was the con-
trast with the bunglers round him that
made most OF his fame, for Fechter Is
only an ordinary fencer. The Juror
lately excited by good stage Getting in
has not ceased. All the world is run
ming to see the duels in Romeo and
Juliet" simply because they look real,
the actors having been carefully trained
by a fencing master. Any American
manager who takes the trouble and
bears the expense of training his com.
pany to vivid and lifelike representa-
lions of hand hand fighting will find
It pay handsomely. The great pecu-
n n r nl ,P III ~As l
proves this, and skillful management
can tranafer the excitement to the stage
here as we'll as ia France.
AT present the number OF our actors,
sven the most celebrated, who can ,
make stage combat look real, is very !
small. Lester Wallack is q pretty fair !;
boxer In the oldfashioned style, and /
IAN play the single stickY moderately !
veil, but with the rapier he is nowhere. !
edwin Booth Is only fair foil fencer, :
,ut his brother, Junius, while not so
amous as an actor, is a flrst-olass !
wordsman, having won matches with :
he foil against experts. Pope, who re- :
emily played at Niblo's In the "Corsi. :
an Brothers, Is an excellent fencer. y
nd Frank Mayo and Charley Thorne !
re experts at knife play. These aside. =
lardly decent fencer can be found on 2
ur stage. Barrett, while a noted actor, q
no fencer at all, and makes q perfect e
urlesque Of the fight in Richard III" :
Every large town In France has its =
1tle d'drnaes, sometimes two or three, g
nd the ambition OF all the provincial
sncing masters is some day to teach in a
'aris. To become mdjtre d'armss in 9
'aris only one way is open-that of =
kill. An aspirant must be able to hold :.
is own with the best masters there, :,
nd series Of victorious assaults" q
onfers the coveted breset de i,Ointe OF a
ne Ecole PolytechniQue or the Ecose q q
entrale d'Escrime, the rendezvous OF s
ne best fencers. Different masters in .
aris have their supporters and schools, \
3 they always have had. Once it was n n
afangere who was known as the Roi ;,
Escrime in the days Of the first Napo- .
.on. He was the inventor of the coup a
'dfret, the "time thrust" which has =
ED its own ever since as the highest :,
~ - -Irsv T. o Il i