“He speaks plain cannon, fire, and smoke, and bounce; He gives the bastinado with his tongue; Our ears are cudgelled; not a word of his But buffets better than a fist of France. Zounds! I was never so bethump’d with words Since I first called my brother’s father ‘dad.’” Reynolds proved too much in these letters (several of which serve to “pad” out the bulk of “Boxiana”) by charging conduct upon men whose whole life gave the lie to such imputations. On the 19th of February, 1824, Langan had a bumper benefit at the Tennis Court, and, at its close, thus addressed the audience:—“Gentlemen, I thank you for the honour you have conferred upon me, and I beg to assure you, on the honour of an Irishman (placing his hand on his breast), if I have the good fortune again to enter the ring, that no effort shall be wanting on my part to make it a more pleasant and agreeable ‘mill’ than the last in which I was engaged. Gentlemen, I am ready to fight any man who calls himself Champion of England, for any sum, from three hundred to a thousand, upon a boarded stage, like this, in the same way as Cribb fought Molineaux.” This challenge produced the following epistle from Spring to the Editor of _Pierce Egan’s Life in London_:— “SIR, “Your paper, and others of the public journals, have of late teemed with idle correspondence on the subject of my fight with Langan. Of Langan I have nothing to say, but that I consider him a brave fellow in the ring, and a good fellow out of it; but in order to put an end to all further chaffing, and to bring our matters to a clear understanding, I have only this to observe: Langan, at his own benefit, publicly stated that “he was ready to fight any man who called himself Champion of England, on a stage, for from £300 to £1,000.” Now, I have been pronounced the character he describes, and I am ready to fight Langan, or any other man, for £500, in a roped ring on the turf, or for £1,000 in any way that himself or his friends may think proper to suggest—on an iron pavement if they choose. This is my final answer to all challenges; and I shall be at the Fives’ Court to-morrow, at Turner’s benefit, and come to the scratch if called. “I am, sir, yours most respectfully, “THOMAS W. SPRING. “_February 24, 1824._” This was followed by a letter (bearing internal marks of proceeding from the pen of Tom Reynolds) magniloquently entitled— “THE IRISH CHAMPION’S DECLARATION TO THE SPORTING WORLD. “GENTLEMEN, “Mr. Spring, in his letter, speaks of his wish to avoid ‘chaffing, and bring matters to a right understanding’ between him and me. To show you, therefore, the chaffing is not on my side, and that I am really anxious to have matters clearly understood, I beg leave to submit the following facts to your judgment:—