The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-12-15
FENCING IN SICILY.
The Duels of the Mafeites and the
 Regulations That Govern Them.

while It strengthens ana lnVlSOrdleS the muscles, compels the student and the proficient likewise to reflect, cal Culate, and move with precision. It is also said to bring into play contem- poraneously With the muscles those eX- cellent qualities, patience and endur- ance, in which so many of us are de- ficient. In Sicily, however, says the London Standard, this game-if so it may be called-wears another aspect, ! and more particularly when practiced by the Mafeites. The, object with them is to excel in it, not only for the hon. or of the thing, but much more for their personal security In time of need. A superior fencer is always looked up to and esteemed. The Sicilians have a natural predilection for arms; they fence with knives however, as We are told by one of their countrymen. Any large place, such as a dancing room or warehouse, is converted into a fencing school. But, as all private schools of the kind are illegal, a signalman is en- gagged to warn the company in time of the approach of the brigadiers. When particular kind of cough is heard, or a given watchword is pronounced, the fencers throw down blanks of wood in a tWinkling, a poor individual scrapes away on his violoncello, and every body begins dancing to some popular melody When the police agent takes his departure after having glanced ! around the place, the music ceases, and the dancers recommence their practice of striking, defending, jump ing aside with alacrlty and using their wits for tricking.
 The police inspection of these secret schools is accounted for by the fact that more often than not the fencing master, pupils and spectators are all 1 prison birds, or fit to become so, There are men who criticise every blow and l pass, youths ambitious to become eel ebrated in the Mafei world, and vet erans respected for the fame they have acquired in the great society of delin- quents These latter are always con- suited when any difference arises be- tween the combatants, and together with their old comrades constitute sort of senate in the quarter to which 1 they belong, not only for questions of | fencing, but on every intricate and del | icate point in connection with Mafeism. l No matter how old and decrepit a Mafeist may be, he Is always respect ed by neophites who kiss his hand and address him as you" happily if they receive the confidential thou" in re- turn, this only being conceded by the old delinquents to promising young men. The old men who have been the most proved instruct the new hands, | 4l,a fA,, tIa;, pupils, for whom they soon feel a cer- tain sympathy because of their intel ligence. This is reciprocated by the pupils by that kind of respect which affectionate disciples have for their master
 The lesson is given with wooden ar nor, master and pupils in their shirt sleeves, and often barefooted likewise. As a matter of course, the different manners of striking are learned one by one; the last step being, as in serious fencing, the assault, in which, ignoring all rules, each combatant stands and | aims as he likes, or can, seeking to strike without being hit himself In one of these schools visited by our in- | formant, ther were several heads of the Mafein hierarchy, present, and cer- l tain dilettani in active service, they | followed the exchange of blows with religious attention, and commented on l the bravery of the assailants taking sides occasionally with one or the oth- CT of them. The celebrity acquired by
 the neophites in this select assembly passed from the school to the public house, and spreading gradually from district to district making the sub | jects of it really famous. Doubtless they will finally arrive at the height of some paladin to prison; who knows that he deserved to go there himself, Our Sicilian, while admitting that feno- ing in this wise Is not at all the same thing as that generally practieed con- | siders nevertheless that inasmuCh as certain rules are always observed by
 the Mafeists in duelling, and their mode of practicing helps them to be- come valiant in the use of the knife, this sort of elementary gymnastics is not without its usefulness. Mafei fencing in general, he says, has for | fundamental principles aiming correct ly and agility in striking. 'Inasmuch as the weapons are short and without guards, parrying is impossible; there fore, the rapid change of position, which in real fencing is an auxiliary | to parrying, is here a substitute for it.. And. again, the use of the left hand
 forbidden in our fencing, give the Mafeist means of natural parrying which no one thinks of calling perfld- ious. When, however, the knives are very long, a species of parrying is adopted which corresponds to the semi
 circle and the second in art. Of the third and fourth parry, the fencer with knives has not an idea.
 Fencing for the Mafeist means a constant preparation for the duel. This is always preceded by the chal- lenge, unless the quarrel occurs unex- pectedly The challenge is usually given, not by the seconds, but by the person offended, who calls upon the of fender and tells him politely that he
 will wait for him outside at a certain spot and hour. And if the two adver-
 saries have Confidenme in each other
 they frequently walk to the spot indi- feeling certain that neither will
 attack the other by stealth. If
 there is any hope of arranging mat ters peaceably, the cause of offence is
 discussed, and however grave the of fense may be the point is argued with