New Britain herald., 1915-02-19
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BY "GRAVY,"

British devotees of soccer boxing and other sports have lately come ir for much criticism because they have persisted in indulging in their faNorite pastimes while the nation is in dAn- ger While many of the leading boxers of England have enlisted, the game still iourishes more or less II was always thus, for British love of sport is mighty hard to eradicate. History affords noteworthy instance, for when Napoleon was threatening to invade England, just as the Ger mans are now doing, the sportsmsn of the tight little island refused to abandon their pastimes.
 It was just 11O years ago, come to- morrow, on February 20, 1905, that King George IIL frightened to the depths of his Teuton soul by the threats of Bonaparte, called upon all his subjects to fast and pray. in or der that the Lord might look with favor upon them. The old mon arch spent most of his time on !his knees, begging the Almighty to stay the invasion of his realms The masses of the English people, while vigorously preparing to resist the enemy, which had already raided the mouth of the Bristol channel and captured a number of British mer- chant ships, were not inclined to fol- low the kings advice that they aban- don all sports and amusements
 On the day of the solemn fast AplS pointed by the king, the Lords and Commons listened to sermons, because they had to, and two aldermen ac-
 companied the Lord Mayor to the services at St. Pauls. Very few males attended the meetings held in chapels all over the kingdom, and the
 king became so indignant that he
 declared war upon all sports, but especially prize-figthing.
 The very day appointed by King George for fasting witnessed many
 private pugilistic bouts and meetings
 of convivial souls to arrange for other
 matches. The laws against irreligion
 were so severe that these meetings
 had to be hedged about with secrecy One of these sessions of sporting men was held in the upstairs rooms of ] the Jolly Brewers" a place of liquid 1 refreshment then kept by Jem Bell cher, the former champion, who had been forced to retire from the ring | by the loss of one of his eyes. Among | the boxing bugs who thus did violence | to the kings wishes were many not ables, including Lord Save and Sele. ! Lord Eardley, Sir Harry Nane Tenn pest and many army officers who | later distinguished themselves in the l field. The purpose of the gather 1 ing was to make a match between | Hen Pearce, the Game Chicken"
 who then held the title, and Elias 1 Spray, a young coppersmith whose | pugilistic ability had attracted the att 1 tention of some of the gentlemen present. With pipes and cigars and | plentiful grog the Corinthians cela- | brated the fast" and made arrange 1 ments for the match. Several wagers were made, including one of s3,5O0 against $2,O00, with the odds favor | ing the Chicken"
 Rumors of this affair reached the
 king, and he organized a horse pa trol charged with suppressing prize fights. The ingenuity of the sports
 was greater than the vigilance of the i authorities, however, and the battle
 was staged at Moulsey Hurst-the first
 of many notable battles fought on
 that spot Pearce bested the cop persmith in thirty-five minutes. In spite of the prohibition of the king perhaps because of it--three other bat ties for the championship, as well as
 scores of minor bouts, were fought in that memorable year of 1895. And | Napoleon never set his foot on British
 soil.