236 
LIFE OF DEAN BUCKLAND. 
[~CH. IX. 
able difficulty in persuading my mother to give me the 
necessary money, as she could not understand my wishing 
to get them at so late an hour. A shop in York Street 
was still open, and I secured a pair of bright-red braces, 
which were such a novelty that there was slight applause 
from the ring on the morrow when my outer garments were 
removed. I may as well mention for the uninitiated that 
this ancient fighting-green is the quiet, peaceful-looking 
grass-plot in the centre of the cloisters, under the shadow 
of our grand and venerable Abbey. The Green presented 
an animated appearance, with an unusually large ring, 
which took up most of the space. At that time the 
cloisters all round were very much out of repair, almost in 
ruins, and on two sides the broken arches extended to the 
ground, so that there were many exits to and from the 
Green. 
“ The day was one of the many ‘ saints’ days ’ which 
were kept as holidays. I think Dryden, who was an ‘ Old 
Westminster,’ alludes to the extraordinary number of these 
holidays in his time. 
“ There happened to be a grand consecration of four 
colonial bishops in the Abbey, so that we were not with¬ 
out solemn music to give eclat to our little entertainment 
outside. I distinctly remember that I went into this fight 
with a cheerful heart and a perfectly clear conscience. My 
antagonist was not a popular boy, and the fact that I was 
going to fight him was very much approved of. He was 
bigger and stronger than I was, but I was more active and 
a better boxer, having practised the art with a prize¬ 
fighter who used to give lessons to some of the older 
boys. 
“ Round succeeded round for more than an hour, until we 
were both becoming somewhat exhausted, when a sudden 
interference took place which stopped the fight. Officials 
from the Abbey had several times tried to put an end to 
our noisy entertainment, but they had water of a very ruddy 
colour thrown over them, and were so roughly used that 
they had to beat a hasty retreat. As the fight drew to a 
close the shouts increased, and the authorities, finding the 
