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
and so it appeared with poor Katty. Amongst her numerous elegant
customers was the funny, joking, gay Jack Langan. Katty endeavoured to
smother the unruly flame, but all-powerful love prevailed, and upon
every succeeding visit at Jack’s crib it increased like an oil-fed
blaze. The cream of her dairy was continually offered as a present to
our hero to embellish his tea tackle; in addition to which, lots of
new-laid eggs, lumps of butter, and oceans of milk; a dietary, according
to Lord Byron, of the most dangerous excitement to amatory ideas. Jack’s
counsel urged in his defence, that instead of being the seducer, he was
the seduced: and it would be a perversion of justice if he was not
placed as the payee, instead of the payer, for endeavouring to impart
comfort and consolation to the love-stricken damsel. But despite the
sophistry of his learned counsel, the jury were ungallant enough to
award damages against him of One Hundred Pounds. This circumstance,
combined with the treachery of a friend, compelled Jack once more to
quit Ireland, and try his luck in England. A few fleeting hours enabled
our hero to lose sight of the Pigeon-house, and the charms of Miss Katty
Flynn, and he landed in a whole skin at Liverpool, where he was not long
before he found himself seated snugly in Bob Gregson’s hostelrie.
Under this friendly roof he rested himself for a few days. Jack then
started for Manchester, in which place Pat Crawley had the honour of
entertaining the aspiring Irish hero, at the Three Tuns Tavern. At
Oldham Jack followed the occupation of a sawyer, and Tom Reynolds, like
the celebrated Peter Pindar, who discovered Opie in a saw-pit, found
Langan in a similar situation. “Come up, Jack,” says Tom, “and I’ll soon
make a top-sawyer of you.” Langan obeyed the summons; and after
comparing notes together, and having a small wet, Reynolds and Langan
became inseparable friends, setting-to together, both in private and
public, for their mutual advantage. Things went on in this way for a few
months, when Matthew Vipond, alias Weeping, a Manchester man, well known
as a good bit of stuff, entered the lists with the Irish Champion, on
Wednesday, April 30, 1823. The celebrity of the pugilists drew together
five thousand persons. The battle was fought between Buxton and
Bakewell, in a field called Lydia’s Island, and certainly a better place
could not be wished for—it was a perfect amphitheatre, and every person
was near enough to the ring to have a distinct view of the men, when
seated on the ridges of the surrounding eminences. The ring, which was a
roped one of twenty-four feet square, being formed, Vipond first entered
it, and threw up his golgotha; a few minutes after Langan made his
_entrée_, and hoisted his also in the air. The Manchester man was
seconded by two amateurs, the Irishman by Reynolds and Halton. Ned
Turner and Bob Purcell also attended. About two o’clock the men peeled,
shook each other by the fives, and the mill commenced.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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