CHAPTER XI BILL NEATE AND TOM HICKMAN

Perhaps one of the best known of William Hazlitt’s essays is that called The Fight, though it is the coach drive towards Hungerford and some very intimate and exact discussions upon training which really interested the writer. The fight in question was that between Bill Neate and Tom Hickman, known as “The Gasman,” or, simply, “Gas.”

Hitherto Hickman’s chief title to consideration had been the remarkably¹ short work he had made of at least three sturdy opponents. He had thrashed Peter Crawley in fourteen and a half minutes, Gipsy Cooper twice, once in a quarter of an hour and once in three minutes, and he had taken twelve and a half minutes to defeat Tom Oliver. Neate had a good record too, but he had taken an hour and a half to beat Oliver, so that “Gas” was by way of being the favourite. As a matter of fact history shows that because A beats C with less difficulty than B, it by no means follows that A is invincible² by B. It is interesting to know that Neate’s backer on this occasion was that same Mr. Weare who was shortly afterwards murdered by Thurtell.

The fight took place at Newbury, in Berkshire, on December 11th, 1821. Neate’s seconds were Tom Belcher and Harry³ Harmer, Hickman’s were Tom Spring and Tom Shelton.

Neate fought with a well-extended guard which Hickman found very difficult to pass. He pivoted⁴ about, always presenting a good defence. But after a long time sparring, “Gas” charged in, got through his man’s guard, and hit him in the face, jumping away out of danger again. He repeated this again and again, whilst Neate’s replies were poor. Again Hickman charged. This, he thought to himself, was going to be a soft job like the others: 65 but Neate had got used to him by this time and met him with a beautiful straight left in the throat which made Hickman gasp⁵. Again “Gas” tried to rush, and Neate slipped and fell.

JAMES BELCHER, of Bristol (Champion of England), 1798-1809.

The second round found the Gasman still grinning with confidence. He tried to get over Neate’s guard with hard chopping blows, but these only fell on the shoulder and did no harm at all. Then there was a hard rally, and Neate sent home another straight left which made his opponent reel: but Hickman was a plucky⁶ fellow, and though he found Neate a disappointing antagonist⁷, he would still try to win the encounter off-hand. Neate tried another left which failed, and shortly afterwards slipped down to avoid “Gas’s” in-fighting, which was not to his taste. Hickman’s grin was still confident, but he got the worst of the third round. After a sharp exchange Neate knocked him down, and himself fell from the force of his own blow and the clumsy way in which he stood.

The decisive blow of the fight was struck in the fourth round. Hickman aimed a tremendous right-hander at Neate, which he avoided, himself replying with the left. Describing this and the previous round, Hazlitt wrote:—

    “I saw (Neate’s) teeth clenched⁸ together and his brows knit close against the sun. He held out both his arms at full length straight before him, like two sledge-hammers, and raised his left an inch or two higher. The Gasman could not get over this guard—they struck mutually and fell, but without advantage on either side.... The Gasman aimed a mortal blow at his adversary’s neck with his right hand, and failing from the length he had to reach, the other returned it with his left at full swing, planted a tremendous blow on his cheek-bone and eyebrow⁹, and made a red ruin of that side of his face.”

Hickman never stood a chance after that. His smile was gone when he came up, plucky but weak, for the fifth round. Neate hit him thrice sharply and then sent in a smashing right 66 on the mouth, which “grassed” him. He had a terrible time in the sixth, for he tried once more to rush his man and did succeed momentarily in pinning him to the ropes. But there Neate’s greater skill came to his aid. He kept perfectly¹⁰ cool, guarded a couple of dangerous blows, and then countered, first with left, then with right, following one with another at top speed until “Gas” gave ground, until his retreat became indeed a rout¹¹. Then Neate coming after him, went for his body and planted four terrible blows about the ribs¹² and stomach, the last of which sent Hickman down. So ill was the Gasman after this round that his second had to hold him tight to prevent him from rolling off his knee.

Neate himself was puffing¹³ and blowing a good deal, and his thumb gave him considerable pain. He had cut and sprained¹⁴ it severely¹⁵ when he made his terrific hit in the fourth round, and it had been in severe use more than once since then. But he was quite happy. He knew that he had only to keep cool and take his time and the battle was assuredly his. Again he gave “Gas” two tremendous blows, but the latter stood up bravely. Neate was even too determined¹⁶ not to be hurried. He might with advantage have done more in this, the seventh round, which ended by his slipping to grass.

When Hickman came up again he was laughing, actually and audibly laughing! He knew that he could stand very little more, but he was quite determined to discourage Neate to the best of his ability. But a swift left-hander caught him on the right eye and sent him down, and, as we should say now, out. He was quite insensible for nearly half a minute, lying inert¹⁷ in the arms of Tom Spring. Then just when time should have been called for the ninth round some roughs broke into the ring and had to be whipped out. This gave Hickman a full minute’s rest, and he was able to stagger up to the scratch. This time Neate hit clumsily and both fell.

The next few rounds showed that the Gasman was of an indomitable courage. Each time he came up with a wry¹⁸ smile on his battered¹⁹ face and did his best to rush his opponent. Neate’s 67 wind was now much affected²⁰ and his hitting was weaker. The opportunity of speedy victory he had let slip, and though he was still getting the better of the fight, he made a poor show.

In the fourteenth round it was seen that “Gas” was nearly blind, and he had to be brought up to the scratch by his seconds. He refused to give in and stood helpless to be knocked down. The sixteenth and seventeenth rounds were the same. The Gasman’s seconds were greatly to blame for not throwing up the sponge. It was not for want of urging by the crowd. The eighteenth was the last round. Tom Hickman did not know what he was doing. He tottered²¹ in the middle of the ring when his seconds left him, with his hands down. Neate went up to him and gave him a gentle push, which was all that was needed. The whole fight was over in less than half an hour.

The Gasman had a tremendous reputation, and great surprise was caused by his defeat. He was killed precisely²² a year later, being thrown out of a gig when driving away from another prize-fight.

1 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

2 invincible   

adj.不可征服的，难以制服的

参考例句：

• This football team was once reputed to be invincible.这支足球队曾被誉为无敌的劲旅。
• The workers are invincible as long as they hold together.只要工人团结一致，他们就是不可战胜的。

3 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

4 pivoted   

adj.转动的，回转的，装在枢轴上的v.（似）在枢轴上转动( pivot的过去式和过去分词 )；把…放在枢轴上；以…为核心，围绕（主旨）展开

参考例句：

• His old legs and shoulders pivoted with the swinging of the pulling. 他一把把地拉着，两条老迈的腿儿和肩膀跟着转动。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• When air is moving, the metal is pivoted on the hinge. 当空气流动时，金属板在铰链上转动。 来自辞典例句

5 gasp   

n.喘息，气喘；v.喘息；气吁吁他说

参考例句：

• She gave a gasp of surprise.她吃惊得大口喘气。
• The enemy are at their last gasp.敌人在做垂死的挣扎。

6 plucky   

adj.勇敢的

参考例句：

• The plucky schoolgirl amazed doctors by hanging on to life for nearly two months.这名勇敢的女生坚持不放弃生命近两个月的精神令医生感到震惊。
• This story featured a plucky heroine.这个故事描述了一个勇敢的女英雄。

7 antagonist   

n.敌人，对抗者，对手

参考例句：

• His antagonist in the debate was quicker than he.在辩论中他的对手比他反应快。
• The thing is to know the nature of your antagonist.要紧的是要了解你的对手的特性。

8 clenched   

v.紧握，抓紧，咬紧( clench的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He clenched his fists in anger. 他愤怒地攥紧了拳头。
• She clenched her hands in her lap to hide their trembling. 她攥紧双手放在腿上，以掩饰其颤抖。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 eyebrow   

n.眉毛，眉

参考例句：

• Her eyebrow is well penciled.她的眉毛画得很好。
• With an eyebrow raised,he seemed divided between surprise and amusement.他一只眉毛扬了扬，似乎既感到吃惊，又觉有趣。

10 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

11 rout   

n.溃退，溃败；v.击溃，打垮

参考例句：

• The enemy was put to rout all along the line.敌人已全线崩溃。
• The people's army put all to rout wherever they went.人民军队所向披靡。

12 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

13 puffing   

v.使喷出( puff的现在分词 )；喷着汽（或烟）移动；吹嘘；吹捧

参考例句：

• He was puffing hard when he jumped on to the bus. 他跳上公共汽车时喘息不已。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• My father sat puffing contentedly on his pipe. 父亲坐着心满意足地抽着烟斗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 sprained   

v.&n. 扭伤

参考例句：

• I stumbled and sprained my ankle. 我摔了一跤，把脚脖子扭了。
• When Mary sprained her ankles, John carried her piggyback to the doctors. 玛丽扭伤了足踝，约翰驮她去看医生。

15 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

16 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

17 inert   

adj.无活动能力的，惰性的；迟钝的

参考例句：

• Inert gas studies are providing valuable information about other planets,too.对惰性气体的研究，也提供了有关其它行星的有价值的资料。
• Elemental nitrogen is a very unreactive and inert material.元素氮是一个十分不活跃的惰性物质。

18 wry   

adj.讽刺的；扭曲的

参考例句：

• He made a wry face and attempted to wash the taste away with coffee.他做了个鬼脸，打算用咖啡把那怪味地冲下去。
• Bethune released Tung's horse and made a wry mouth.白求恩放开了董的马，噘了噘嘴。

19 battered   

adj.磨损的；v.连续猛击；磨损

参考例句：

• He drove up in a battered old car.他开着一辆又老又破的旧车。
• The world was brutally battered but it survived.这个世界遭受了惨重的创伤,但它还是生存下来了。

20 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

21 tottered   

v.走得或动得不稳( totter的过去式和过去分词 )；踉跄；蹒跚；摇摇欲坠

参考例句：

• The pile of books tottered then fell. 这堆书晃了几下，然后就倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wounded soldier tottered to his feet. 伤员摇摇晃晃地站了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。