Evening star., 1900-08-17
THE MAJESTY OF THE SWORD.
1t Has Been known to Every Civilized
Race.

From the London Sketch.
1t is impossible to name any weapon as
| interesting the sword, which may be
traced back till it is lost in the mists of the
most ancient tradition. Though its blade
bears the blood stains of every civilized
| race under the sun. yet halo of romance is
equally inseparable to its presence among
most civilized nations.
Probably there is no one better read in
the history of the sword, as there is no man
better versed in its use than Can't Alfred
Hutton, F. S. A. who inherited his love of
| fencing from his father. himself a pupil of
the famous Angelo, as Capt Alfred Hutton
was OF that great instructors well-known
son; while the Huttons, both father and
son, belonged to the Dragon Guards
Capt. Hutton lives in spacious chambers
in Jermyn street-one of his rooms makes
| a convenient school-of-arms, and its walls
are decorated with trophies like those of an
armory. Here you may note plate. scale
and chain armor from Afghanistan oriental
dragers and war quo!tS: double-h handed
swords and cup-hilted rapiers of the seven
teenth century, Milanese sword with a
swept" hilt, dating between 15i0-45 Eliza
| time. buckler of Henry the Wits reign.
a gorget in use when Charles III was king
and a case of double-swords, as used bv
Tybalt when fighting Mercutio with a
M
versation to the sword practice as intro
duced by Shakespeare in his plays
TO the swordsman ShakeSpeare's PLAYS
are especially interesting, but none more so
than the play Romeo and Juliet" said
Capt. Hutton. the play is full of fighting
in single combat Firstly, you have the en-
counter between the retainers with swords
and bucklers; secondly, the duel with sin
gle swords between Tybalt and Benvollo.
which finishes with peculiar seizure of
the wrist Then there is the encounter be-
tween Tybalt and Mercutio, each armed
with two swords. Afterward comes Ro-
meo's fight with Tybalt with rapier and
a dagger, illustrative of the death of Tybalt
by means of the thrust, passato sotto, de-
livered on bended knee; and lastly the fight
between Romeo and Paris in the tomb with
rap:er and dagger, the final blow being
given to Paris as his wrist is seized
The history of the evolution of the
sword from its first simple form would be
scarcely possible without illustration?'' was
suggested
Not easily. OF course, can explain the
changes by the swords hanging on wonder
walls. But, when you come to description.
that the simplest form of a sword, with a
straight. transverse hilt like a cross grad
ually developed two more branched
guards till 1t became swept hlt. AS to
the blade, in the course of the sixteenth
century the ordinary straight, two-edged
sword was heightened. narrowed into what
is known as the Italian or Spanish rapier
Afterward. in the early part of the eight
eenth century, the use of the edge was
practically abandoned in rapier play, and
the French bayonet-shaped dueling sword
and so led to the permanent Introduction
for military purposes of the single-edged
broadsword of modern times.
<.'Dueling is nowadays, of course abso-
lutely Illegal: besides. it is unnecessary,
since the legislature has provided remedies
against injuries to ones honor as well as
to ones property and person; but formerly
duels formed a handy means of redress
yet one much, much abused. At one time
men fought for any or no cause of quarrel
while the seconds frequently engaged on
their own account. Doubtless the domestic
use OF swords greatly fostered dueling and
great did the evil become in France in
the time of Henry " that it is said no less
than 1000 gentlemen fell in dueis in a
period of eight years during that kings
re'gn. Many edicts and ordinances had
been made against dueling in France but
Cardinal Richelieu was the first to enforce
the death penalty; this and other examples
which were made, for time, checked the