Prevent;

• Being decoy'd or decieved by feints, as much as possible.

• Being catcht upon time, when advancing to thrust.

• Being without distance when thrusting.

• Resting upon a thrust, after it is delivered.

• A contre-temps, exchanged thrust, or one from the riposte, by making seasonably use of the left hand, as either you yourself, or your adversary shall thrust.

These few lines I do confidently affirm, contain the very marrow and substance of the whole art of the sword; and are the ABSTRACT of a little book I formerly writ, intitled The Sword-Man's Vade Mecum; a very just and apposite title indeed! For it is such an excellent Vade-mecum, that no man who pretends to be anything of a true sword-man, but ought to have its abstract so fixt in his memory, and so ready upon the drawing of his sword; that the practice of the few excellent directions contained in it, should flow from him not only readily and with the least difficulty and constraint, but also, with that unaffected (or rather if I may so word it) A la Negligence Grace, and ease, as if they were wholly natural to him.

May therefore the reader fix it well in his memory, and let him depend upon my word for it, that the closser he keep to it upon an occasion, the more it will conduce to his preservation and safety; and the oftener he practices it, the more & more he will discover of itsworth and excellency, and be sensible and acknowledge, that all I have said, in its behalf and commendation, with respect to its usefulness and security, falls very short of what it really deserves.

O useful ABSTRACT! who posesses Thee; And thy Just Precepts practise with these Three*; Needs no Man's Point, or Edged Sabre fear; Since by Thee, from all Danger he's secure. Weigh well this Chapter then, who wou'd have Art; It, and Preceeding, ought to get by Heart. For in them Two, is compendized All A Sword-Man needs to know, of Broad or Small.

*(Calmness, Vigour and Judgement)

However, that I may somewhat gratify my young curious reader, and remove a little of that itch, which is commonly excited by a kind of curiosity, that attends almost all young people, when they incline to improve themselves in the art of the sword; and who are many times surprisingly taken, with the seeming great names given frequently by masters to some of the lessons in the ordinary method, whereby they imagine, that there is somewhat of a secret mystery in the art, more than really there is; I shall here, although it be althogether beyond what I at first intended, make a kind of abstract of the common lessons of the ordinary method, that young gentlemen may not be hereafter imposed upon, or amused by outlandish and apparently great names, to make them imagine that there is something more mysterious in the lessons of the art than really there is; and which I am hopeful, will render this essay so much the more compleat, that it contains not only my new method of fencing, but in a manner, the substance of what I writ of the common method, in the other three pieces I formerly published upon the same subject; to wit, The Scots Fencing Master, The Sword-Man's Vade Mecum and The Fencing Master's Advice to his Scholar; so that without being at the trouble, of enquiring after any of these, to be informed in the ordinary method; he needs only peruse this, where in the foregoing explications of the terms of art, Chap. 4. and particularly in this and the preceeding chapter, he will find all that is material in them, or needful for him to know, with relation to both this new method and the old.

When a young country gentleman comes to town, and steps into a fencing school, and hears a master desire his scholar to play feint a la teste, botte coupe, flacanade, under counter; or to dequarte and volt; he is amazed these terms, and is perswaded that there is a kind of conjuring magick in the art; and that the understanding but only to play these lessons upon the master's breast-plate, is enof in all conscience to make him a good sword-man, and by a kind of enchantment, cause him to overcome and master, all persons he shall thereafter engage with; when at the same time the lessons to which such specious and hard seeming names are given, are nothing else but the directing of the feint or thrust, to such and such a particular part of the body. For example,

A thrust or feint en dedans, is nothing but a plain thrust or feint within the sword; as en dehors is without the sword.

Feint a la teste, is only when the feint is made at the head, and when it is made more directly to the eyes, it is called aux yeux; but when made towards the lower parts of the body, is termed by the French, feinte basse; and so are all other feints denominate, according to the parts of the body towards which they are directed; as to the shoulders, sides, thighs, legs, feet, &c.

For, all feints must be made, wither upon the length or breadth of the body' ; and as I before said, p.99, a man may form as many different kinds of them, as there are particular members in the body; but because that would make but confusion, therefore masters have thought fit, and with a great deal of reason, to reduce them to a competent number, which may answer the chief parts of the body, either from head to foot upon its length, or from right to left upon its breadth,a list of which I have set down in Chap. 4. Article 13.

Botte coupe, is a feint again upon the breadth of the body towards the left side, as the former are upon the length of it; see the abovementioned article. This much for feints, which are performed, without in the least offering to engage, or secure the adversary's sword, before making them.

Again there are other feints, which are preceeded by a kind of securing of the sword, such as that from batterie, see page 117, and from binding, see page ibid. which is the most secure of any.

Next to feints, there are lessons in which a man engages, and in some measure, secures his adversary's sword, before performing them, such as flacanade, wherein, aftercrossing or overlapping the adversary's sword, the thrust is directed towards his right flank, from whence it hath its name; and under counter, which is also an overlapping and raising of the adversary's sword, the hand mean time tuning to seconde, until you make an open beneath the sword, whereat you may give in the thrust at the slott of his breast, or a little below it, whence it is called under counter; and likewise, altho all the other thrusts preceeded by a dry beat, or binding, or the adversary's sword with a kind of springing cross; and which is indeed, as I have often said, the only play at sharps for a man's life. See Chap. 4. Article 17.

Again there are lessons, which are chiefly for diversion in school play, and to show a man's address and agility of body, such as taking of time, dequarting, or dequarting and volting immediately after other, see page 104, and 110.

Lastly, there are passes for school play, half passes, enclosings and commandings, which are not only useful for diversion, but also at sharps; expecially from this new guard in seconde: for all which, to avoid repetitions, see Chap. 4. under their respective articles. This much for the lessons offensive.

Again, for the defensive part; there are the parades in tierce, quarte and seconde, which are nothing else but the position of the sword hand in one of the four quarters of circle when it is parieing, see page 55. and signifies not a farthing for the rendering of a man's parade more certain; that consisting wholly, in the good cross he makes upon his adversary's sword, (whatever position his sword hand is in) and not in the particular positons of tierce, quarte or seconde; altho I do not deny, but in some singular cases, a certain position of the hand in tierce, may be more proper than if it were in quarte or seconde; as at another time that of a quarte may be more proper than those of the other two; which by a little practice, a man will quickly discover of himself: And likewise, the contre caveating parade is so denominate by me, because it is the only true contrary to caveating, slipping or disengaging; and consequently admirable against all kind of feints whatsoever.

This is a short abbreviate of those lesson in the common method, which appear so mysterious to young gentlemen when they first set about fencing; and which I have in a manner but just named; that when other novices shall hereafter hear them mentioned, they may not be likewise amused or surprised with them, as if there were no such lessons in this new method like unto these, becuse I only name and denominate them according to the part of the body upon which they ought to be played, and not according to the nice or outlandish terms, whether French or Italian, whose sound alone, is enof to make them pass with some people for something mysterious, and even so charming and magical, as not to be refuted or defended, when they come in good earnest to make use of them.

For in two words, and without derogating the foregoing excellent abstract; the whole useful art of the sword, without making any mystery of it, or giving particular names to parades, lessons or thrusts, consists in this.

FIRST, to make or form alwise a good cross upon your adversry's sword for your defence, whether he be either thrusting or striking. And

SECONDLY, never to thrust, or strike yourself, but when you are within distance of your adversary, and when you have a view, sight or open for it; and when you have none, then you are either to procure one yourself, by feints, or compel and force him to make one, by beating, binding, or pressing his sword so out of the line of the secured part, as that you have the opportunity by a good open, wither to thrust or strike at him as you please.

When you can perform these, that is PARIE and THRUST dextrously and judiciously, and with a kind of assurance our courage; for this is the life and soul of fencing; then you will really deserve the name of a true and compleat sword-man, altho you should not know the proper name of any one parade or lesson, contained in the whole common school method.

Thus I have put a close to this chapter, which with the first and fifth, contain the whole of this new method of fencing, and also a great deal of the practice from the common; so that if a man fix them well in his memory, and understand my directions, that is, not only with his judgement, but also by frequently praticing them; I dare venture to promise him, a more than ordinary success in his defence, against all single weapons whatsoever, however way he may be engaged, whether in a single combat, or in a closs engaged battel; so that for both the needful theory and practice of the whole art, he needs not, except out of meer curiosity, trouble himself with any other book upon this subject; but only endeavour to put its directions exactly in execution, when he shall be necessitate to use them. I shall now proceed to those principles relating to the art, which I at first promised, and wereupon, in my opinion, all true art with respect to secure fencing, ougt to be founded.

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