142 SPORTING STORIES 



and at times we followed Professor Sedgwick (the famous 

 geologist) in his rides, which the livery-stable keepers called 

 'jollygizing.' The old Professor was generally mounted 

 on a bony giant, whose trot kept most of us at a hand- 

 gallop. Gaunt and grim, the old man seemed to enjoy the 

 fun as much as we did — his was not a hunting-seat — neither 

 his hands nor his feet ever seemed exactly in the right 

 place. But when we surrounded him at the trysting-place, 

 even the dullest among us acknowledged that his lectures 

 were glorious. It is true that our method of reaching those 

 places was not legitimate, the greater number preferring the 

 field to the road, so that the unhappy owners of the horses 

 found it necessary to charge more for a day's ' jollygizing' 

 than they did for a day's hunting. There was another 

 professor whose lectures we attended together, but he was 

 of a different type and character — one who taught the 

 gentle art of self-defence — a pure-blooded negro, who 

 appeared to have more joints in his back than are usually 

 allotted to humanity. In carrying out the science which 

 he taught, we occasionally discoloured each other's counten- 

 ances, but we thought that we benefited by those lectures 

 in more senses than one. We had our tempers braced, 

 for instance, when we learnt to feel as we ought for those 

 who had just punished us." 



The dusky professor here alluded to was Sambo Sutton, 

 who fought several successful battles in the Prize Ring, 

 and, besides being a fine boxer, was " a fellow of infinite 

 jest." He had the true vis comica characteristic of the negro 

 race, and as a humorist had no superior among his con- 

 temporaries. One of his feats was to stand on his head 

 and sing a patter song with a clattering accompaniment of 

 his huge feet. 



That things were much the same at Oxford I gather 

 from Tom Hughes' memoir of the late Bishop Fraser of 

 Manchester. After referring to various phases of life at 

 Oriel, his biographer adds : " But, above all, the College 

 was the home of the noble science of self-defence in the 

 University. It almost supported a retired prize-fighter, 

 who had been known in the ring as the ' Flying Tailor,' 

 and cordially welcomed any stray pugilist who might be 



