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BpXTNG*onsmTo:tljeexapeg!,C* \pla(loutysaint::Prumui-denmaibutwhim.ma] ber; thei upo be aAthAamoandipreftAt hAPouiHob*SchcRuyTNov*L:aidt-Asmauy reports have been circulated in con-fequence of the iflue of .the late engagement between. ntyfelf and Mendoz a , highly 1 injurious to my charafterv and without the fmalleft founda-; tioh/1'think it ado ty to my ielf to offer To nib' public yindication .of mycohdu, being confcious of. having. 'aftedx\yith the moft honeft endeavours to gratify The expectations of my friends, and the curiofity of the Public. ’Prejudices of the kind which I allude to,/afe eafily received into the minds of people who are rendered more fuf-ceptible of them -by 'difappointmentj but are aiways removed with great difficulty.; Having, therefore,* fo arduous a talk to perform, I fear I fhall be under the nbceffity of trefpaliing longer than I could wiffi oh the public attention^ in giving full detail of the moft material'circuni*-ftances which attended the battle) I .{hall, however, ftate them with fo ftridt an obfervarice of truth, as to compel an admifSon of them from the moft intcrefted and partial friehds of my opponent. ; ■ * . . 'r ■ • - ‘* !It will be unhbcelfary to give a miriute account of the battle previous to that difpute, to which I attribute the ilTue of the contefti it will be fufficieut to declare, that uniformly from the beginning till*that time, the odds were two to one*in my favour. .After the battle had continued near half ah• 9 • •- •. •hour, I attacked Mendoza with fuc'h exertion .and fuccefs, as to produce a. changeTufficiently apparent to heighten the-betts as far as three to one. It has fiiice tranfpired, and the affertion I am now about to make, will be fupported by the.tefti-mony of many refpectable perfons who were wit-nefles to the declaration of Ryan, that Mendoza at that time had whiipered. to his bottle-holder,that he was unable any longer to contiiilie the engagement. ‘However, at the inftance of Ryan,, he was' perfuaded once more to meet me, at which time, as a laft effort, he aimed a blow with all tlie -ftrength; he was then poffeffed 6f, which I receiving on my left arm - at the very mo’ment v/hOu I wasjn the a of ftepping backwards, I unavoidably fell-to. the ground. Upoih this JVtendoza inftantly undertook to decide the battle in his owii favour, by withdrawing hiiiifelf from the ring, and declaring the fall thus unavoidably occalioned, to be unfair. Sir Thomas Apprice, who was then prefent as Mendoza’s Umpire, threw up his hat as a fignal of his concurrence. Upon this Mr. Coombe, who flood in the fame relation to me as Sir Thomas did to Mendoza, went up to enquire what reafon he alGgned for thug endeavouring to affume the viory, at the fame time declaring upon his honour, that he had feen the blow which had thus-unovoidably occafioned my fall. Sir Thomaaonly declared thatrhe had not feen it,; but would not take upon himfelf to declare that fuch blow had not been received* Thus far I thought the determination of the umpires was Tufficiently decifive to have prevented arty ftirther protraion of the battle; yet, notwithftanding I went up repeatedly to'Mendoza, rtild challenged him to renew, the conteft, although the time for fetting to again had been repeatedly called by my umpire j after i : ablei bad advanced into the middle of the ring, andj-r* G •thrown up my hat in token of defiance, as well.to. i as to mark jny claiin.to the vidlory inconfequence of his not obeying the fumnions-of the umpire to appear, Mendoza ftillperfifted in an. obftinate lhe j refufal to meet me for the fpaceof an hour and jare^ a quarter. At this time • Mendoza Was told, fefci; that unlefs he would-come forward to the en*j: gagement, he fhonld not be allowed any part of 5S the money colledled at the door, and was thus: at length perfuaded to meet me once more. ‘At the time when this difpute arofe, I was in a profufe fweat, but being thus obliged to remain . for fo long a time inrtftive, tfce'perfpiration was checked, and I then felt the effes of a rheumatic complaiut, with which, it is univerfally known,I had been laft winter very feverely affiied, although I had fo far recovered from it-,'as entirely, to remove all apprehenfion of-feeling fuch confe-quences during the time of my continuing to perfpire. :-Under thefe difadvantages I was to meet a man again, who had enjoyed a long and uninterrupted feries of good .health* who could by no means feel the fame.inconvenience from fuch an interruption, but who on the contrary had a manifeft advantage in thus obtaiuing time fufficient to recover himfelf, in a great meafure, from the effects of the blows which -he had received.\ After the renewal of the battle, and ' the further continuance of it for a confidei-able -time, -I made a blow at Mendoza, and in endeavouring to retreat from his returft blow, I funk down, with-*, otlt the power of recovering myfelf, which not being deemed by the umpires to be an accidental fallj the battle was decided againft me.. As I am very confident, after a battle obtained againft me under fuch circumftances as are here related, and after o'rie decifive vidlory on my fide, that the fu-periority is not on the part of my antagonift, I have ^this evening fent Mendoza the following .Challenge. 'V * : ; -- • ^■. Bernard*s Inn, May x i. HUMPHREYS.• ’ ; To Mr. MENDOZA* ; * V 1^ I have ftated to the public the reafons which induced me to fend ybu this Challenge, which I offer on the following terms-: . .ift. That you m^et me at any time in 0^0-ber next that you will fix. . .2dly. That there fhall be no money eollefted at tjie door, in order to obviate any fufpiciou which may arife, -that that was the objedl: of ourmeeting. . . • * .. '3dly. You fhall name the fum which you wifhto fight for. . • ■ !4thly. I leave the terms of our. engagement to your own appointment. R« HUMPHREYSlaidi.f menSi of t •ordc5‘Dis reftj cret ratit tion difer relt he lt;gr ecItledwirlandferveighthe\vhafulrunniMaithatwit)audhavmarfairmetIMelioe2S.JdinPalmoNoUnfelllaiiHuMiablNew Church y where Advertifoments, Articles of Intel iri Nfwfmen in Town and Country*.
Newspaper Details
Morning Star
London, Middlesex, GB
Wed, May 13, 1789
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
David L.
WI, USA 21 Jun 2017
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