The Bryan daily eagle. (Bryan, Tex.) 1895-1898, 1896-11-04

Wll. He Is willing TO
g @-'r- fight these POI men.
- one after the other.
until he has killed
them all or Is killed himself Those
who know Greco say that nothing
would give him more satisfaction Than
20 shed the blood OF innumerable
Frenehmen. lie would not draw the
line at POI. n Il came to that point.
lie Is a man who knows neither fear
nor fatigue. The trouble arose from
the criticisms Of Grcco's style. which
have been made for some time In the
French newspapers. Fencing Is the
one exercise In which an Frenchmen
Of the better class have some prof.
cheney. With them II IL an art as
much as a sport. Il Is not long since
athletic sports a. we understand them
were unknown In France. but they
always fenced there. Above all. every
man In public life or journalism must
be a good fencer. Any injudlclous
word. action or writing on the part
OF any OF these Is liable 70 become the
cause Of a duel. Il these persons were
not good fencers they would be liable
TO kin one another. which they sell
dom do. As an illustration OF the uni
yersal proficiency OF Frenchmen with
q foil Il may be recalled that the ferry
General Boulanger fought a duel with
the elderly statesman NJ. Jules Ferry.
and that Boulanger was wounded. In
this country an elderly politician would
scarcely be able 10 encounter an active
army officer with swords. Some OF the
French newspapers keep duelllng odi-
tors. Italy Is also a nation Of fencers.
and between the styles Of the two coun-
tries there are marked differences.
These have existed since the Middle
Ages. or the days when the rapler was
brought 70 perfection. II would re-
qulre much iechnlcallty to explain
them. but It may be said that the Ital-
Tan moves moro quickly and uses more
force He Is usually more muscular
than the Frenchman. Recently signor
Greco went 10 France and met many
champions in a friendly competition
with varying success. These encoun-
tiers we're the subject OF much COM
mont In the press and by the members
OF the French National Fencing socie-
y. OF which NJ. cheyilllard is presl-
dent.
Now. the Frenchman Is nothing II
no, self-satisHed. The general conclu-
sion OF the critics was that the Italian
style a. exhibited by slgnor Greco was
distinctly inferior TO the French. The
Italian methods no doubt were very
dramatic. but they we're a,ro exhaust
ing and inartlstic. and taa fencer In
actual combat would soon have bis an
tics cut short In a calm and scientific
manner BY his French opponent Sig
nor Greco replied holly In print and
was again told that he was wrong.
Then he issued his challenge lie
invited NJ. chevllliard. the president OF
the fencing society, to meet him IN a
duel and decide the merits Of their re-
spectlve styles by mortal combat lie
cent similar catalogues to the editors
Of two hundred representative jour
nails Al the same time he told his
countrymen how he had dehed the
whole French nation.
A. yet neither NJ. Chevilliard nor
the representative journalists have ac-
cepted the invitations.
The president OF the French society
puts bic case as follows: He has. II Is
true. read Slgnor Greco's challenge
bat only In q newspaper. II appeared
In the Rlforma. and he declined TO trus
his senses. or to imagine that slgnol
Greco could by any possibility mean Il
The Italian masters friends declare
that such statement on H. Chevll
llard's part Il devoid Of seriousness Of
even truth, and Slgnor Greco has ION
armed the challenges and assured his
rival Of his intentions by telegram.
NJ. Chevilllard Ia a man OF wealth
and leisure. while slgnor Greco Is 1
professional athlete OF remarkable
physique. They do not seem suitable
antagonists. but as NJ. Chevllllard hal
not received a personal challenge. ans
as he has taken part In contests will
Greco. Il would hardly be reasonable
for him to refuse the challenge.
Greco h an ideal gladiator In appear
ancc. One can hardly think OF encoun
terlng his 1e without a shlver. M
Is nothing, II not serious. Probabl!
his sense OF humor Is slight-tha
makes him all the more dangerous
His muscular development Is beyon,
praise. Where shall you find the rep
resentailye journalist with such bl
cops?
Again. the signor's expression argue
q dislnclinatIon 20 overlook oven IN
most trlalng slight One can lmagln
aim making ready for battle az a.
least provocatlon; one can picture hi
blade fickerlng like forked lightnin
about en- onendors heart. lungs. an
even liver The soil Of France wi
reek with native gore n he has hi
way.