THE REV. JOHN RUSSELL. 31 



school. At Oxford, in a town-and-gown row, 

 he had knocked down the ringleader of the mob 

 — a prize-fighting butcher, the terror of the 

 slums — with such force that his comrades who 

 lifted him up carried him to the rear in a state 

 of insensibility, shouting as they did so that a 

 coroner's inquest would sit upon the corpse, 

 and hang Denne for the murder. 



The butcher, however, lived to fight at 

 many a town-and-gown row after that day, but 

 never again could be induced to confront Denne 

 in single combat, either by the jeers of the 

 gownsmen or the encouragement of his friends. 



It was only at rare intervals that Gordon 

 favoured the hall at Exeter with his company 

 at dinner, for as a general rule he preferred 

 taking that meal with his Christ Church friends, 

 either at Saddler's, the Mitre, or at the Maiden- 

 head Hotel. But dropping in on one occasion, 

 he had scarcely been seated five minutes at 

 table when the "art of sparring" became the 

 subject of conversation, and the insolent tone 

 in which he vaunted the prowess of the Christ 

 Church men, and disparaged that of his own 

 college, so disturbed the usually placid current 

 of Denne 's temper, that he challenged him 

 forthwith to arrange a meeting and prove his 

 words. 



"Bring your three best men," he said, "from 

 Christ Church to my rooms, and if they can 



