The Sentiment of the Sword. Richard Francis Burton

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СКАЧАТЬ (or first position), so called because it is that naturally and neces- sarily taken by a man drawing his sword from the scabbard which hangs to the left side; (2) seconde; (3) tierce; and (4) carte or quarte (carte dans les armes), as it is technically called.

      These four are the natural or elementary parries or passes; but many first-rate fencers use only two, tierce and carte, with the modifications of high and low taking the place of prime and seconde. Excuse me, but it is hardly possible to speak of the art without using these terms, yet we are perfectly aware how unpleasant they are to the public ear. " I expected a book about the sword," onoe said to mo a London publisher, " and now you send me a thing full of carte and tierce." Thus did that eminent man of type " put the cart before the horse."

      Will you explain," asked Charlie, "if 'low carte' means the hand held low, or the point directed low? "

      In the schools, as you may see in the famous La Boessiere (plate 8), carte basse means point low and hand high. But there is a difference of opinion; some masters refer it to the hand, and others to hand and point when in the same position.

      Prime and seconde yearly become rarer; the first because of its many risks in case of failure, and the second because it causes the point to deviate absolutely from the line of direction. Wary swordsmen affect them only against those who " run in," or to force the blade which lingers too long on the lunge.

      Another simplification, probably due to the facility which it is the fashion of our age to cultivate, has been apparently borrowed from the Italian school. The old tierce, with nails down, and the carte, with nails up, are reserved for certain conventional exercises; they embarrass the learner, and they waste time in execution (9). Wo now adopt the posizione media as a general guard, the thumb upwards, pressing upon the

      (9) There has been a tendency of late years in the modern French school, led by the classic Camilla Provost, to revive the use of Tierce convex side of the grip, and the little finger downwards, the sole requisite precaution being an additional "opposition," or, as some call it, " angulation " that is to say, pressure upon the opposing blade. This may be called the natural position because all the muscles are comparatively at rest; turn the hand one way or the other, and you have tension or extension.

      A low and sullen murmur made itself heard; it came from the direction where Seaton was sitting.

      There are four other parries and passes which are affected by the treatises, as late as the nineteenth century. Some of them are now so rarely used, even in books, that many a fencing master either knows them only by theo.ry, or has a, very hazy idea of them. You need not learn them I quote the names only to complete my list. These are (1) quinte, for which the moderns use "low carte"; (2) sixte, also called " carte sur les armes "; (2) septieme, of which nothing remains but its classical parry, the demi-circle; and (4) octave or seconde, with the nails turned up, sometimes used to force in a weak guard.

      I can tabulate the whole eight within a minute:

       INSIDE OR LEFT.

       1. Prime (low line).

       4. Carte (high line).

       5. Quinte (demi-circle, high line).

       7. Septieme (low line).

       OUTSIDE OR RIGHT.

       2. Seconde (low line).

       3. Tierce (high line).

       6. Sixte (high line).

       8. Octave (low line).

      This contains every guard, thrust, and parry that has ever been devised, or that ever will be devised by man; you can add no more to it than to the forms of the syllogism, or to the orders of architecture. It is the less formidable, as only one-half is necessary to be learned, and only a quarter is generally used.

      Perhaps, if you will allow me to define certain other technical terms, thus they will more easily be grasped by memory.

" Disengagement," the reverse of " engagement," is with- drawing beyond measure ^[5]. By measure (mesure, misura, das maas) we understand the distance which separates two adversaries. It is of three kinds:

      1 The short measure (" within measure "), when the " strong " (forte), or lower halves of the blades nearest the hilt. i ncct and cross.

      2 Normal, or middle measure, when the swords join in the centre of both.

      3 Long measure ("out of measure"), when the "weak" halves (or foibles) cross each other.

      Being " above the arms" (Ic haut des armcs; II disopra delle armi) is when your hand and sword are more elevated than those of your opponent. It is necessary to remember this distinction, as some schools assign the victory, when both oppo- nents touch simultaneously, to the "higher line" of thrust.

      By thus mastering first principles, the most complicated treatises will readily be understood, and the theory of managing the sword becomes self-evident. My royal road to learning, in fact, is the path of common sense. You are spared the list of subjects to which this rule may be applied.

      Until late years, we prepared ourselves for the business and labours of life by giving, say, five hours a .day, between the ages of eight and eighteen an existence of ten years, and ten such years! to reading not speaking, to understanding uot mastering, a few books in Latin and Greek

      " Please leave Greek and Latin alone," was heard faintly, and as if from afar.

      But swimming, which might save a life, was unknown even to many sailors. Fencing, one of the most beneficial exercises *) to brain as well as muscle, the power of defence which may/ preserve us from the insults of the bully, and the dangerous attacks of the duellist in fact, the large class which the French sum up as les impertinents, les brouilleurs, les querellairx et les mechants, was considered an " accomplishment" like that piano so fatal to the feminine mind.

      This was the opposite extreme, quite as uncommendable as that of Duguesclin, who would never learn to write; or of the Spartan-English mother of our day who declared thaj; no son of hers should ever know how to sign his name. In India not a few officers have actually gone into action without even wearing their swoids. Who can feel for them if they come to grief?

      See, also, until the reign of Napoleon III. (who, as the courteous Scotch earl observed to him, made the English a military nation), how much we suffered in person and reputa- tion under the effeminacy arising from our neglect of manly weapons. But I need not press this point.

      " Hear! Hear! " said the smoking-room, with quiet emphasis.

V. How to Teach Fencing

       Table of Contents

      " You must not let your listeners suppose," remarked Lord B., " that you would make arms the business of every man's life."

      Of course not, unless they are to be soldiers; we may leave that to their intelligence. A pleasant and useful exercise should not be turned into an absorbing pursuit. Some will be amateur fencing masters, like myself; others will take up a foil gymnastically, or to spend a pleasant hour amongst friends.

      But СКАЧАТЬ