h your elbow, your knuckles
outwards. Your body should be erect, your head up, your heels together,
your right foot pointing straight to your front, your left foot at right
angles to it pointing to the left.

Both men acting together now come to the engaging guard, and beat twice,
stick against stick; they then come back to the "recover" by bringing
the right foot back to the left, and bringing the stick into an upright
position in front of the face, basket outwards, and thumb on a level
with the mouth.

After a slight pause, salute to the left in quarte, _i.e._ extend the
stick to your left front across the body, keeping the elbow fairly close
to the side and the finger-nails upwards; then pause again for a second,
and salute to the right in tierce (the back of the hand up); pause
again, and salute to the front, by extending the arm in that direction,
the point of the stick towards your left front. Now step forward about
two feet with the right foot and come to the engaging guard, beat twice,
draw the left foot up to the right, draw yourself up to your full
height, and come again to the recover, drop your stick to the second
guard (_i.e._ low hanging guard for the outside of the leg), making a
slight inclination of the body at the same time (probably this is meant
for a bow ceremonious), and then you may consider yourself at liberty to
put on your mask and begin.

Don't forget, when you cross sticks, to step out of distance again at
once. This salute, of course, is only usual at assaults-at-arms, which
are modern tournaments arranged for the display of the men's skill and
the entertainment of their friends. At the assault-at-arms, as we
understand it generally, there is no element of competition, there are
no prizes to be played for, and therefore, so long as a good display is
made, every one is satisfied, and nobody cares who gets the most points
in any particular bout.

In competitions this is not so, and time is an object; so that as soon
as the men can be got into the ring they are told to put their masks on
and begin.

In assaults and in general play you cannot be too careful to acknowledge
your adversary's hits. In a competition do nothing of the kind. The
judges will see that every point made is scored, and you may safely
relieve your mind from any anxiety on that ground. But in general play
it is different, and you cannot be too careful in scoring your
adversary's points, or be too liberal in allowing the