Year: 1874

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JOHN MORRISSEY'S HISTORY.


went down to John Morrissey's clubhouse
last night. He was at leisure and communi.
cative. II went to New York" he said, "a
stout lad, determined to fight, and to fight
the biggest man to be found. There was
nothing 1 could think of but to fight, and |
had to think of that; for was kicked ashore
almost every day from the boat of Captain
Smith, who is now my father-in-law. had
read of Hyer and Sullivan, and the great pu-
glists in New York, and one day l took my
bundle and came to the city, determined to
get fight out of them. 1t was at the Empire
Club, on Park row, where l hunted them up.
The first saw was Isaiah Rynders, famous
political leader in them days, and I went up
to him, surrounded by his crowd, and said :
"Mr Rynders, have come down here from
Troy to fight. I've got no money, but | will
fight for reputation. will fight Mr.. Hyer,
or you, or anybody you can pick out" They
Just all set on me at once, and gave me beat
ing that made my head ache for three weeks.
After that laid for them individually. Said
I: "Gentlemen, l will lick your crowd, and
make you acknowledge me, if it takes me
years." I was as poor as wharf rat, and
could barely pick up my food; but l kept on
the wharves, unloading steamers, working with
longshoremen, and getting beaten so often that
I was hardly ever right we'll. AS long as /
was poor nobody would do me the favor to
fight me in the ring, and | finally went to
California, in the mining times, to make a
stake. There fought Thompson and whipped
him, and 1 returned to New York with some
reputation. The day I landed challenged
Hyer to fight for $4,000. He came round
with Bill Poole to whip me before l got out Of
bed one morning, and l was so determined
about it that they saw would never leave
New York till had that belt. Finally,
fought Sullivan at Boston Corners hard
est fight ever had. He was an artist, and
he broke my nose, and cut me all to pieces
but I have always known that l could keep
my legs and stand up until any of my oppo-
nents were worn out. That was my calcula-
tion with Heenan endurance against strength.
Hyer I never could bring to the scratch. He
had lost his moral force, and never would
fight me. His friend Poole, as you know, set
on me with pack of his friends, and expect
ed to bring me so near my end that would
lose stomach for fair contest.


unable to get any of them to meet me, I
married and went to business. All at once
Heenan came from California with a reputa-
ton, and they said, "Here is our man to give
Morrissey fogging at last" I then declined
to fight, until l was worried and set upon, in
and out of print, and finally they whipped
my old father and abused my family. Said l
to my wife: Il can't live this way, shall
have to fight that man" My wife said; "Yes,
you must fight him. went into training
on my father.inlaw farm. Every effort was
made to bring the whole sentiment Of the
United States against me. You can't tell how
many years and how much pain have had to
bear for that perfectly unjust odium of seek
ing to challenge an American as an lrishman.
Mr.. Heenan tied the American colors to the
ropes, and his coat, when he took it of, was
actually lined with the American flag. |
had to laugh in his face. He broke my nose
a second time, and think he could strike the
most powerful blow of any man l ever saw;
but 1 won the battle and closed them out. l
followed him to England to see the fight he
had with Sayers for by this time I was ang-
ry at years of persecution, and l wanted to
see the last man of that old Hyer coterie
closed out" Then the still powerful gladia-
tor related how he came to play cards by pro-
fession. "A prize fighter" he said, "can grad
uate with no other avocation equal to his
start. 1 have always played cards, more or
less. My general reputation among Ameri-
cans, l felt, required me to do something to
start my boy, for whose character live at
present, in great degree, and l chased up
the seat in Congress so as to be able to say,
If your father did begin in the ring, he wrote
NJ. c. after his name"


A PEEP INTO THE BANK OF ENGLAND.


The Bank of England must be seen on the
inside as we'll as out, and to get into the inte-
rior of this remarkable building, to observe
the operations Of an institution that exerts
more moral and political power than any SOW
ereign in Europe, you must have an order
from the Governor Of the Bank. The build
ing occupies an irregular area of eight acres
of ground-an edice of no architectural
beauty, with not one window toward the street.


I was led, on presenting my card of ad-
mission, into private room, where, after a
delay of few moments, messenger came
and conducted me through the mighty and
mysterious building Down he went into
room where the notes Of the bank received
the day before were now examined, compared
with the entries in the books, and stored away.
The Bank of England never issues the same
note second time. 1t receives, in the ordi-
nary course of business, about 100000, or
s4,6OO,OOOO daily in notes. These are put up
into parcels according to their denomination,
boxed up with the date Of their reception, and
are kept ten years-at the expiration Of which
period they are taken out and ground up in
the mill, which I saw running, and made again
into paper. If, in the course of those ten
years, any dispute in business or lawsuits
should arise concerning the payment of any
note, the Bank can produce the identical bill.


TO meet the demand for notes so constantly
used up, the Bank has its own paper,makers,