[A PRINCELY ART.]
BY SHERWOOD RYSE.
It is not much more than a hundred years since gentlemen gave up wearing rapiers at their sides—a practice which was once as common as is that of carrying a cane among us. And with a weapon so handy, it can easily be believed that it was drawn on very slight provocation. Hence every gentleman who valued a whole skin was diligent to make himself a master of the small-sword, as it was generally called. Small it was originally, however, only by comparison with more formidable weapons. Richard Cœur de Lion's sword, you will remember, was so large and heavy that none other than himself could wield it.
In the reign of the haughty Queen Elizabeth, the rapier, only lately introduced into England, was so much in fashion that he was the greatest dandy who wore the longest rapier and the widest "ruff." Queen Bess herself set the fashion in ruffs, but the flattery of imitation was not dear to her. She loved flattery; but to have every one copying her large ruffs—and who ever saw a picture of Elizabeth without one?—was more than her quick temper could put up with. And so she issued one of those orders which seem so strange to us now: she stationed "grave persons" at the gate of every town to break the points of all rapiers exceeding one yard in length, and to cut all ruffs measuring more than the "nayle of a yard."
Skill with the small-sword was a necessary part of the education of a gentleman. At the age when the boy of our day is just about opening his Latin grammar for the first time, the young prince or noble of two hundred years ago was being taught the art of longe and parry, of tierce and carte. And besides the usefulness of being skillful with a weapon which every gentleman carried and was ready to use at short notice, the practice of fencing gave an easy carriage to the body, making the joints supple, and strengthening every muscle.
The art of fencing, says an old French comedy, consists of two simple things—to hit, and not to be hit; but like a great many other simple things, its simplicity takes a vast deal of finding out. Each position, whether for thrust or parry, is easy by itself, but when your thrust is quickly parried, and the point of your opponent's foil is reaching for your breast quick as thought, then the cool head, the quick eye, the ready hand, are brought into play. The first thing for the beginner to do after equipping himself for the contest—and about this we shall have a few words to say later on—is to master the proper position. In no exercise is position of greater importance. Let the right side of your body be half turned toward your adversary; feet at right angles, with the left foot pointing to the left, and placed behind the right. The foil is held in the left hand, down by your side. Grasping it by the hilt with the right hand, you draw it through the left hand, at the same time raising both hands so that by the time the point of your foil comes into your left hand both hands are above your head, the one holding the hilt and the other the point of the foil.
From this position you will easily and gracefully fall into the third position, "on guard," by bringing your sword-hand down in front of you, and bending your elbow until the fore-arm and the sword make one straight line. The left arm will remain where it was. While you are doing this, bend the knees, and advance the right foot about twelve inches, sinking down only just so far as that the shin-bone of the right leg shall be perpendicular to the floor. This position is the position of defense, and is always returned to after a thrust.
Thus far you have maintained an attitude of defense only, and if you have mastered that, you have laid the foundation of your future skill. Watch your adversary's eye, and decide instantly when you will thrust, or longe, as it is called. Straightening the right arm, you advance the right foot about eighteen inches, taking care not to lean forward so far that the shin-bone makes anything less than a right angle with the floor. If you get up from the seat where you are sitting to read this, and try the movement, you will see why this right angle formed by leg and floor is important. Lean too far forward, and you can not spring back instantly and without effort to the position of defense, and thus you are at the mercy of your opponent, who will quickly parry your blow, and be able to reach you almost without advancing his right foot. Instantly after longeing you must spring back, in order to be able to parry the longe of your adversary.
In longeing, as in the "on-guard" position, the nails of the sword-hand must be turned up. This may seem a trifle, but in reality it is of the greatest importance, since the force and directness of the blow depend upon it. Try it with a cane, and you will at once feel how much firmer your wrist is than when you thrust with your nails turned down. To prove it another way: do the stroke with a long poker, and see how much easier it is to extend the poker and hold it extended with your nails turned up than when they are turned down.
There are four thrusts in fencing, and twice as many parries; that is, there are two parries for each thrust. The object of this is that having parried a thrust, you may at once return the blow; and were you always to parry the same kind of thrust in the same manner, you would always be obliged to attack in the same manner. The difference between the two kinds of parries for each thrust is that one is done with the nails turned up, the other with them turned down. Thus, having parried a thrust, the hand is in one of two positions for making a return thrust.