46.—Caunt again succeeded in catching Bendy by the neck under his powerful arm, threw, and fell heavily on him, but at the same time came with great force against the ground himself.
47.—Caunt led off with the left, catching Bendy on the forehead. Bendy retreated, hit Caunt as he came in with his left on his distorted phiz, dropped, and looked up in derision. Appeal from this species of generalship seemed now to be idle, and was not repeated. [He slipped through Caunt’s hands, which he was entitled to do.—Ed.]
The succeeding ten rounds were fought in the same style. Little worthy of note occurred; each in turn obtained some trifling advantage in the hitting or failing but neither exhibited any disposition to say enough, although we thought that Bendigo from his repeated falls, began to evince symptoms of fatigue. The confusion round the ring continued most annoying, although, the ropes and stakes were still preserved entire. Many persons, from the pressure of those behind, were completely exhausted, and happy to beat a retreat. For ourselves (Ed. of Bell’s Life) we had repeatedly to bear the weight of some half-dozen neighbours, to which the bodies of both Caunt and Bendigo were occasionally added as they fell over the ropes on us. During all this time the members of the London Ring, with one or two exceptions (Macdonald and Johnny Broome in particular), were perfectly quiescent, and looked on with modest timidity, evidently afraid to interfere with the “club law” of the Nottingham bands, who were regularly organised, and obeyed the signals of their leaders with a discipline worthy of a better cause. [An impartial observation convinced us that Caunt’s partisans quite rivalled those of Bendigo in riotous ruffianism.—Ed. “Pugilistica.”]
58.—Bendigo “jumped Jim Crow” round his man, tipped him a left-handed smeller, and dropped without a return.
59.—Caunt followed Bendy to the corner of the ring, hitting out left and right, but without precision, and certainly without doing execution. Bendy nailed him with his left in the old style, and slipped down, but instantly jumped up to renew the round. Caunt, instead of stopping to fight, considering the round over, ran across the ring to his corner, Bendy after him, till they reached the ropes, and after a confused scramble, in which Bendy used his left and right behind Caunt’s back, both were down, amidst general expressions of distaste at this style of fighting, but loud applause for Bendy.
60.—Caunt no sooner on his legs than to his man, but Bendy escaped his intended compliments left and right, threw in his left on the mouth, and dropped, Caunt falling over him.
61.—One hour and twenty-four minutes had now elapsed, but there were still no symptoms of an approaching termination to the battle; each appeared fresh on his pins and strong; and although Caunt showed awful flesh wounds on his dial, there was nothing to diminish the hopes of his friends(!) Bendy exhibited but a few slight contusions, and although, no doubt, shaken by the falls, and his own repeated prostrations, he appeared as active and leary as ever. Caunt, anxious to be at work, rattled to his man, hitting left and right, but Bendy retired, and fell back across the ropes.
62.—Bendy again on the retreat; Caunt after him, hitting wildly and without precision left and right. Bendy gave him an upper pop with his left, and slipped down. Caunt was retiring, when Bendy jumped up again to renew active operations, but Caunt dropped on his knees, looked up in Bendy’s face, grinning, as much as to say, “Would you?” and Bendy, deeming discretion the better part of valour, contented himself with shaking his fist and retiring to his corner. Spring here remarked that jumping up to hit a man when the round was over, and when he was unprepared, was as much foul as striking a man down, and in this we perfectly concur. [No appeal was made, but the Squire sent to Clarke to caution his man that such conduct was dangerous.—Ed.]
63.—Caunt let fly left and right, but missed his blows. Both slipped down on their knees in the struggle which followed, and laughed at each other. In Caunt’s laugh, from the state of his mug, there was little of the comic.
64.—Bendy renewed his hanky-panky tricks, and trotted round his opponent. Caunt rushed to him, but he retreated to the ropes, hit up, and dropped, but instantly rose again to renew the round. Caunt was with him, but he again got down, falling over the bottom rope; and Caunt narrowly escaped dropping with his knee on a tender part.