The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-02-24
JOHN L. DESCRIBES
MEETING WITH PRINCE.
New York World9

vate boxing exhibition. He was Prince
of Wales then.
/ went over to England in December.
1887, to fight Charley Mitchell. You re-
member how the people treated ne;
cheered till they were raw and pretty
nearly mObbed me in the street trying
to shake hands as l got out of a coach,
and bloekading the streets for hours
waiting for me TO come out of the
house I was in.
! I suppose the Prince of Wales must
/ have heard of this. for one day the
/ princes secretary-Lord Clifford,
think, was his name-COmes and calls
on me and asks if I'll go and box for
/ the prince in private. because it
| wouldn't be quite the real thing for
/ his nibs to go to public boxing show.
| L was never too proud to do any good
/ turn for any good fellow and I'd al
ways heard that the Prince of Wales
was one of the all right kind; so I told
/ him. Yes, III be pleased to favor the
prince any time he says. And now I
want to ask him a favor. There's a
I brilliant young American journalist
] here in London, friend of mine. !
want him to go with me-
| Lord Clifford was the politest man
/ you ever saw, and he began to explain
how sorry he was that my friend
couldn't go.
That's all right" I says. you
needn't bother. Just tell the prince
that ] won't spar. Where 1 go my
friend goes That's ALL
Being strange in that country and
not knowing their ways, I asked
friend what I ought to wear. He tells
me: "A long frock coat and gray
trousers, and a plug hat, because it
is in the afternoon.
/ NO" I says, that won't do. 1t
may be the right thing for ordinary
people, but the Prince of Wales is no
ordinary man. He's liable to be king
some day It's only right to show him
respect by wearing full dress even
ing suit
And that's what did. and I made
Jack Ashton, my sparring partner. do
the same thing. poor Jack he's dead
nOw) And I've since been told by ex-
perts that evening dress was the right
thing.
Now. these poses I'm giving you are
just as it happened, except the evening
dress My friend is a dead ringer
for the prince"
When we got to St. James Barracks
the Earl of Pembroke and another
swell guy meets us at the DOOR They
| were on to me in a minute, but they
put up a kick about letting in my
friend.
MY name is John L. Sullivan, and
the Prince of Wales is waiting to see
me- told them. This young gentle
man is my friend. Where I goes he
goes; understand me2'
Lord Clifford Gf I have the name
right came over to meet me.
His highness," he says. lis waiting
to meet you" So I left my friend
talking with some of the lords and
went with the secretary. We found
the prince at a small table in the cor
ner. There was a dozen of his friends
around, most of them standing and a
few sitting down. ] understand they
were all lords and dukes, etc. You
ought to have seen them rubbering
when we came up.
Now, anyone who says King Edward
is cheSty has another guess coming.
He's as pleasant as the best American
politician you ever knew, and you
; can't go further than that. AS soon
as we got near the table the prince
looks UP and smiles. [ smiled back al
him. There wasn't any real need OF
an introduction, for we knew each
r other by reputation all right. But
Lord Clifford takes me by the arm anC
says: Your highness, allow me tC
= present John L. Sullivan of America"
6 Well, I was in a corner for a second
I or two. I've read about people kneel-
: ing before kings and princes, but none
: of that for mine. L never knelt to any
man living, and never could, king or NJ
= king But, say, the Prince of Wales /:
, a man all right. He never tried e
put on any dignity with me. He pushes
! over a chair and says:
: Mr. Sullivan, this is pleasure. -
is the health?''
! From that minute we were ole
: 1 friends. We began TO chin like long
: / lost brothers. The prince was shOr
man, with bright eyes and good
, fresh color. Ills hair was a little Sh!
on top, and he wore a full beard cut t
| a point He was a little bit too bis
!. for his height, but he looked to me a.
if he'd be a pretty good welteTweight-
q say 142 pounds in condition
And maybe he didn't know all abOu
= / the fighting gamei He wanted to know
. | if it wasn't dangerous to jump at {
: | man right off the reel, the way did
: if there wasn't danger of knocking VI
: my hands by cutting loose slam-banE
| at . fellow.
! told him it was more dangerous 70
: the other fellow than for me, and III
: laughed. And maybe I wasn't pleased
: / to find the prince so well posted abou
| the game! That man is a genuine sport
| The lords and dukes, etc, sat Their
| not saying a word and getting thej
ears full and I guess they found i
| pretty swift going when the primes
e called me John and odd man" befor
we had been Ginning two minutes.
How many fighting men have Vol
l | knocked out. John?' he asked me-
We'll" I says. slowly and counting
up as we'll as I could, well, let M
. | See-I guess about Toe, not counting
them that got scared to death and Wen
to the floor without waiting for tn
old punch
/ LET me feel that terrible right arm
of yours" says the prince.
The little table was covered with bot
: ties of Scotch and soda potash, the.
E call IT'D. and a lot Of glasses, so I stool
= up ard put up the arm and let tn
t prince take hold Of an American
I muscle. He was standing up. too.
Z There's an armi" he says. Now
can understand how you knock zen
out so fast I've heard a great dea
about that right, and I never dreamet
that I'd have a chance to feel it."
l SO we sat down again and kept OF
+ Ginning. The prince was smoking tn
< best cigars I ever touched. Talk abou
the big black ones Tod Sloan smokes
They're outcIassed.
Smoke. John?" says the prince.
Sometimes" I says, and lit one
They were so good that when the prime
passed the box a second time I put
: couple in my pocket He smiled an
q nodded. as much as to say it was al
= right, he knew I wanted 'em for m
. friends.
j Jim Smith (the prince called mir
= Jem) and Jake KilTain were matche
then for the championship of England
and the prince wanted to know m