The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-11-10

orders may be issued from Pail Mall,
the army in the field has to be ready
to fight with any weapon under any
circumstances. Boxing l hope, is as
natural to every British soldier as
breathing. But it may happen that
lie will need something a trifle more
deadly, and that the scope both of his
offensive and defensive movements
may need to be enlarged. If so, there
is no finer training in the world than
that proficiency in hand weapons
which the foil can teach him. 1t would
be with the greatest regret, there
fore, that should see any
diminution in the swordsmanship of
the army. Practice in a sale d'armes
teaches a man the kind OF skill which
gives him confidence. where he may
have none before. 1t may not turn a
coward into a Bayard all at once; but
it will make a nervous man rely upon
his own skill. This is the peculiar vir-
tue of the foil. 1t seems to lead to so
many other things. The average SOL
der may be a clumsy fellow enough,
but teach him the beginnings and the
principles of foil play, and then take
him on to the sword or anything else
he can hold in his hand. Walking
sticks, for instance!"
And in a moment the captain was
holding a walking stick in such a
threatening manner that the interview
seemed likely to come to an abrupt
conclusion.
you see," he went on, smiling, "the
thing has far more possibilities than
you might imagine. Walkingstick-play.
as taught by NJ. Vigny, for instance, is
an extremely useful bit of knowledge.
Now, try and hit me on the head"
We tried. AS soon as the Goals had
been picked out of our hair. and the
lower portion of our waistcoat had been
removed from our collar, the captain
cheerfully resumed
IF you are mobbed. you observe. the
gres. thing is never to raise your hand
TO strike. Always keep it low. Hold
your stick at each end, and thrust the
first man on the mark. the second in
the throat, clear a circle round you
rapidly and"
But the audience had fled. II is not a
healthy thing to pretend to be a mob
when Capt. Hutton displays "a little of
the art of self-defense," and it was to
a PROSTATE form upon a sofa that the
captain addressed his last remarks:
whether he is on horseback or on
foot, the English soldier is now prac-
tically reduced 10 nothing but his rifle,
and at close quarters he does not even
is no drill that teaches him the COM
plete possibilities of the weapon as
have developed them in the chapter
on Butt Fencing, in my little manual,
called The Swordsman.'
The manual was on the shelf. With
vague memories of Mulvaney and Lea
royd we reached II down and read. We
have been reading II ever since. The
possibilities OF a butt-end are as fas-
mating as they are endless, and Tom
my Atkins is apparently In Official ig-
norance Of all OF them. What can be
done with young soldiers when they are
properly trained Capt. Hutton has
proved very conclusively IN the case OF
the young cadets OF the London Rife
Brigade. who became so proficient un-
der his instruction az all kinds OF hand
weapons, ancient and modern, that
they have given displays and lectures
on the subject all over England.
The result Of our conversation seem
ed 20 prove that N there sae 0ns man
who needed compulsory instruction IN
fencing N was the British solder. capt
Hutton may be- an enthusiast for tie
HrIne blanche. but be Il practical
soldier, TOO. ana be is far from being
alone in me opinion that ~ ranks WI
lose far more than they are likely 90
Esin n me srt snq praeiics " sworas-