Skip to main content

Fightin’ Words: Robert Southey by Mark Hatmaker


Robert Southey was a poet of the English Romantic school. He is considered one of the renowned Lake Poets, the other two notable Lake Poets being William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.

Mr. Southey recorded his thoughts regarding prize-fighting in 1807.

“When a match is made between two prize-fighters, the tidings are immediately communicated to the public in the newspapers; a paragraph occasionally appears saying the rivals are in training, what exercise they take, what diet—for some of them feed upon raw beef as a preparative, and the state of the bets appears also in the newspapers; not infrequently the whole is a concerted scheme, that a few rogues may cheat a great many fools.”

Aspects of the above remind us that there is nothing new under the sun.

For a view of Mr. Southey’s versifying I offer the following. It has nothing to do with combat, but I do love my hound dog.

“On the Death of a Favourite Old Spaniel”

And they have drown'd thee then at last! poor Phillis!

The burthen of old age was heavy on thee.



And yet thou should'st have lived! what tho' thine eye

Was dim, and watch'd no more with eager joy

The wonted call that on thy dull sense sunk

With fruitless repetition, the warm Sun

Would still have cheer'd thy slumber, thou didst love

To lick the hand that fed thee, and tho' past

Youth's active season, even Life itself

Was comfort.

 Poor old friend! most earnestly

Would I have pleaded for thee: thou hadst been

Still the companion of my childish sports,

And, as I roam'd o'er Avon's woody clifts,

From many a day-dream has thy short quick bark

Recall'd my wandering soul.

 I have beguil'd

Often the melancholy hours at school,

My Hound & the Missus
Sour'd by some little tyrant, with the thought

Of distant home, and I remember'd then

Thy faithful fondness: for not mean the joy,

Returning at the pleasant holydays,

I felt from thy dumb welcome.

 Pensively

Sometimes have I remark'd thy slow decay,

Feeling myself changed too, and musing much

On many a sad vicissitude of Life!

Ah poor companion! when thou followedst last

Thy master's parting footsteps to the gate

That clos'd for ever on him, thou didst lose

Thy truest friend, and none was left to plead

For the old age of brute fidelity!

But fare thee well! mine is no narrow creed,



And HE who gave thee being did not frame

The mystery of life to be the sport

Of merciless man! there is another world

For all that live and move--a better one!

Where the proud bipeds, who would fain confine

INFINITE GOODNESS to the little bounds

Of their own charity, may envy thee!
For more such observations see this blog, and for pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW Subscription Service.]
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apache Running by Mark Hatmaker

Of the many Native American tribes of the southwest United States and Mexico the various bands of Apache carry a reputation for fierceness, resourcefulness, and an almost superhuman stamina. The name “Apache” is perhaps a misnomer as it refers to several different tribes that are loosely and collectively referred to as Apache, which is actually a variant of a Zuni word Apachu that this pueblo tribe applied to the collective bands. Apachu in Zuni translates roughly to “enemy” which is a telling detail that shines a light on the warrior nature of these collective tribes.             Among the various Apache tribes you will find the Kiowa, Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua (or “Cherry-Cows” as early Texas settlers called them), and the Lipan. These bands sustained themselves by conducting raids on the various settled pueblo tribes, Mexican villages, and the encroaching American settlers. These American settlers were often immig...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Conversation with Neil Melanson by Mark Hatmaker

Here is a chat I had with a good man with a good mind, Neil Melanson. If you are unfamiliar with Neil’s exemplary work he has coached at Xtreme Couture, Alliance MMA, and a HC with the Blackzilians. He is now at gym Genesis Training Academy and Coach of the Filthy Few MMA team. -DVDs out are: Head Hunter, Catchwrestling, and Ground Marshal guard basics  -book Mastering Triangle Chokes -black belt under Karo Parisyan in the Hayastan Grappling System  First things first, Brother Neil, thanks for taking the time to have this chat. Allow me to get another thing out of the way, your book Mastering Triangle Chokes , top-notch. This is high-speed, low-drag stuff all the way. Often there is chaff to be culled through, but you have a linear approach that appeals to the pragmatic streak in me. Excellent work. Thanks a lot man.  You are a real articulate and detailed coach so that means a lot coming from you. Your approach to grappling appeals to my expansiv...
Post a Comment
Read more

Walk Like a Warrior by Mark Hatmaker

In reading contemporary historical accounts written by soldiers (cavalry and dragoon), settlers, scouts, pioneers, and other citizens of the American frontier 1680s-1880s, I find mention that Native Americans (“Indians” or “Savages” in the accounts) did not walk like “white men.” Their gait, stride, and foot placement is described often in poetic terms as “light” or “light-footed,” “fleet”, “gliding”, and often times “springy” or “spring-like.” These terms while descriptive of the effect do little to tell us the how or why of the gait. We can find clues in accounts given by trackers in any of the myriad “Indian Wars” or skirmishes that riddled the continent in the first few centuries of the settling of the nation. The obvious telltale barefoot or soft impression of a moccasin is often a giveaway that you have a Native American track but this is less so in the moccasined foot as more and more Anglo backwoodsmen adopted this footwear. But there are a few accounts that mention ...
4 comments
Read more