Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 2 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-1740, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863Miles, Henry Downes
History
Pugilistica: The History of British Boxing, Volume 2 (of 3): Containing Lives of the Most Celebrated Pugilists; Full Reports of Their Battles from Contemporary Newspapers, With Authentic Portraits, Personal Anecdotes, and Sketches of the Principal Patrons of the Prize Ring, Forming a Complete History of the Ring from Fig and Broughton, 1719-1740, to the Last Championship Battle Between King and Heenan, in December 1863
Miles, Henry Downes
Boxing
After a short pause Spring rose, almost overpowered by his feelings. He
knew not, he said, how to express in words the overflowing sentiments of
gratitude with which his heart was bursting. He had certainly
endeavoured through life to steer the straight-forward and honest
course, and when he looked inwardly he could not charge himself with
ever having given ground for shaking the confidence of his friends
(hear). Still he could not persuade himself he was better than other
men, or that he had entitled himself to this magnificent token of public
favour—for public it was, arising as it had from the spontaneous
contribution of a large and mixed portion of his countrymen—to whom he
could not say how sincerely he was obliged, or how deeply sensible he
was of their munificent liberality. When he received the cup presented
to him at Manchester, and subsequently that given to him by his friends
in Herefordshire, both of which were then on the table, and when to
these were added other tokens, less in value, but not less dearly
appreciated, he could not but feel proud; but when these were followed
by the testimonial now presented to him, he candidly confessed the
fondest wishes of his ambition had been realised. He should indeed
cherish it with a becoming sense of its intrinsic and representative
value, and would, in the closing years of his life, look back to this
day as one of surpassing interest to himself and to all those who were
dear to him. Here Spring could no longer sustain his self-possession,
and placing his hand on the tankard with deep emotion, he concluded by
saying, “I can only thank you, and all else I might say I must leave to
your own hearts to imagine.” (Loud and continued cheers.)
Caunt, Ned Neale, Frank Redmond, Johnny Broome, Owen Swift, Dan Dismore,
Joe Phelps, etc., were among the pugilists present; and Mr. Sant, one of
the earliest backers and a constant friend of Tom Spring, after a warm
eulogy on mine host, proposed “The Subscribers to the Testimonial.”
[Illustration:
TOM SPRING’S MONUMENT IN NORWOOD CEMETERY.
]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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