whispered he to me, placing himself between me and my adversary, so that he could not observe his motions; 'clench your fist in this manner, and hold your arms in this, and when he strikes at you, move them as I now show you, and he can't hurt you; now, don't be afraid, but go at him.' Iconfess that I was somewhat afraid, but I considered myself in some degree under the protection of the famous Sergeant, and, clenching my fist, I went at my foe, using the guard which my ally recommended.The result corresponded to a certain degree with the predictions of the Sergeant; I gave my foe a bloody nose and a black eye, though, notwithstanding my recent lesson in the art of self-defence, he contrived to give me two or three clumsy blows.From that moment I was the especial favourite of the Sergeant, who gave me further lessons, so that in a little time I became a very fair boxer, beating everybody of my own size who attacked me.The old gentleman, however, made me promise never to be quarrelsome, nor to turn his instructions to account, except in self-defence.I have always borne in mind my promise, and have made it a point of conscience never to fight unless absolutely compelled.Folks may rail against boxing if they please, but being able to box may sometimes stand a quiet man in good stead.How should I have fared to-day, but for the instructions of Sergeant Broughton? But for them, the brutal ruffian who insulted me must have passed unpunished.He will not soon forget the lesson which I have just given him - the only lesson he could understand.What would have been the use of reasoning with a fellow of that description? Brave old Broughton! I owe him much.""And your manner of fighting," said I, "was the manner employed by Sergeant Broughton?""Yes," said my new acquaintance; "it was the manner in which he beat every one who attempted to contend with him, till, in an evil hour, he entered the ring with Slack, without any training or preparation, and by a chance blow lost the battle to a man who had been beaten with ease by those who, in the hands of Broughton, appeared like so many children.It was the way of fighting of him who first taught Englishmen to box scientifically, who was the head and father of the fighters of what is now called the old school, the last of which were Johnson and Big Ben.""A wonderful man, that Big Ben," said I.
"He was so," said the elderly individual; "but had it not been for Broughton, I question whether Ben would have ever been the fighter he was.Oh! there was no one like old Broughton; but for him I should at the present moment be sneaking along the road, pursued by the hissings and hootings of the dirty flatterers of that blackguard coachman.""What did you mean," said I, "by those words of yours, that the coachmen would speedily disappear from the roads?""I meant," said he, "that a new method of travelling is about to be established, which will supersede the old.I am a poor engraver, as my father was before me; but engraving is an intellectual trade, and by following it, I have been brought in contact with some of the cleverest men in England.It has even made me acquainted with the projector of the scheme, which he has told me many of the wisest heads of England have been dreaming of during a period of six hundred years, and which it seems was alluded to by a certain Brazen Head in the story-book of Friar Bacon, who is generally supposed to have been a wizard, but in reality was a great philosopher.Young man, in less than twenty years, by which time I shall be dead and gone, England will be surrounded with roads of metal, on which armies may travel with mighty velocity, and of which the walls of brass and iron by which the friar proposed to defend his native land are the types." He then, shaking me by the hand, proceeded on his way, whilst I returned to the inn.
