THE NEW METHOD OF FENCING, 
F. SCHAVOIR, M.D, 
President Stamford Fencer’s Club. 
From prehistoric times, when our 
hairy ancestors playfully let daylight 
into one another by means of stone 
knives and axes, the art of attack and 
defense has been of vital importance to 
the male half of the human race for the 
preservation of a whole skin and a 
more or less precious life. 
The other and more beautiful half 
of humanity has also been highly in- 
terested in the art, not so much in an 
natural, then, that during all ages the 
play of the sword should have formed 
an important part of every man’s edu- 
cation, more especially if either by 
choice or general conscription he had 
to serve his country as a soldier, 
The earliest swords of which we 
have any positive knowledge are 
bronze, though the Mexicans used 
wooden swords when the Spaniards 
first invaded their country. 
When the 

Dr. F. Schavoir. 
active way, but rather as an interested 
spectator for whose benefit or favors 
the lords of creation would cut, slash 
or split one another with the most 
reckness enthusiasm. 
Aside from these praiseworthy en- 
deavors to cut one another’s throat 
pour les beaux yeux of woman, the 
time is not far past when a man was 
frequently called upon to defend his 
property and his life against the gen- 
‘try who made their living by whatever 
they could take by force. It is but 
SALUTE 
401 
Lieut. J. M. de Zoldy. 
art of tempering steel was discovered, 
that material at once superseded all 
others, and it has maintained its su- 
premacy ever since. In spite of all 
modern inventions nothing better has 
yet been produced, and a rightly tem- 
pered blade is a thing of such high 
quality that poets and prose writers 
have sung its praise, and extolled its 
virtues in innumerable instances. Ro- 
mantic writers attribute to their he- 
roes a love and affection for their 
sword which can only rank second to 
