ll
classes, and was supposed to contribute to the manliness of our race;
consequently our distinguished warriors, as well as the members of our
most gentle professions, loved a good old-fashioned English "set-to,"
and nobody, as a rule, was the worse for it, although my poor brother
Jack never recovered his half-crowns.

We had been advised to take our cushions from the gig to sit upon,
because the straw round the ring was soddened with the heavy rains,
and I need not say we found it was a very wise precaution. The straw
had been placed round the ring for the benefit of the _elite_, who
occupied front seats.

The fight now began, and, I must repeat, I never saw anything like it.
Both pugilists were of the heaviest fighting weights. Caunt was a real
giant, ugly as could be by the frequent batterings he had received
in the face. His head was like a bull-dog's, and so was his courage,
whilst his strength must have been that of a very Samson; but if it
was, it did not reside in his hair, for that was short and close as a
mouse's back.

At first I thought Brassy had the best of it; he was more active,
being less ponderous, and landed some very ugly ones, cutting right
into the flesh, although Caunt did not appear to mind it in the least.
Brassy, however, did not follow up his advantage as I thought he ought
to have done, and in my opinion dreaded the enormous power and force
of his opponent in the event of his "getting home."

With the usual fluctuations of a great battle, the contest went on
until nearly a _hundred rounds_ were fought, lasting as many minutes,
but no decisive effect was as yet observable. After this, however,
Brassy could not come up to time. The event, therefore, was declared
in Caunt's favour, and his opponent was carried off the field on a
hurdle into the public-house, where I afterwards saw him in bed.

Thus terminated the great fight of the day, but not thus my day's
adventures.

The sport was all that the most enthusiastic supporters of the Ring
could desire. It no doubt had its barbarous aspects, regarded from
a humanitarian point of view, but it was not so demoralizing as the
spectacle of some poor creature risking his neck in a performance
for which the spectator pays his sixpence, and the whole excitement
consists in the knowledge that the actor may be dashed to pieces
before his eyes.

It was time now to leave the scene, so Charley and I went to look for
our gig (evidence of gentility f