Round 1.—There was some extremely good sparring; they both closed, and Crabbe fell, but gave his adversary a severe blow on the nose which produced great effusion of blood.

8.—The Jew gave his opponent a real knock-down blow, and fell upon him.

14.—Tyne again fell by his antagonist’s blow.

16.—Tyne received another knock-down blow, but gave the Jew a most severe cut on the left eye, and another on the mouth.

18.—Tyne dropped, and it was generally considered by design; great cry of “foul, foul,” and the odds sunk five to four on the tailor.

22.—Was the best round during the contest, and in which science was most admirably displayed by both combatants; it lasted above a minute, and afforded some most skilful blows.

32.—Crabbe fell by a severe blow on the eye.

33.—Tyne most adroitly fell, and his antagonist making a severe blow, flew over him, and falling on the stage, cut his face dreadfully.

39.—This was the last round; Tyne again fell by a slight blow, and Crabbe was so exhausted that he fell on his belly, being utterly incapable of standing the contest any longer. In the intermediate rounds there was good sparring, but no blows of consequence.

“The battle lasted thirty-five minutes. Crabbe sparred the best, but Tyne never failed to make his blows tell, notwithstanding he frequently fell himself. The Jew several times attempted to chop, but in this failed. Johnson on this occasion displayed most excellent qualities as a second, and the event of the contest depended much on his conduct.”

Tom’s next appearance was in the ring in Hyde Park, on Friday, December 31, 1792. Firby, previously known as “Jack the waiter,” from his being employed in that capacity, at the London Tavern, though a civil fellow, had earned the title of “The Young Ruffian,” from his victory over Symonds, “The Old Ruffian,” in the previous year. Firby made a severe fight with Tyne, and, despite Tom’s cleverness in shifting and dropping, managed to force the fighting so cleverly, that he beat him off in twenty-two minutes.

Tom Tyne has two fights with Mendoza credited to his name in “Fistiana,” which appear nowhere in “the books.” This was Tyne’s last public appearance as a principal. He is named once or twice afterwards as a second. He returned to his trade, and became “Sartor Resartus.”

The repulsive sobriquet given to this boxer had, we find from contemporary authority, no relation to his personal appearance, nor to his ordinary behaviour, but was merely applied in ring slang to his mode of attacking his opponents in the twenty-four feet square, in defiance of mathematics called “the ring.” The ugly part of his cognomen descended to his juvenile conqueror, Firby, the waiter, who was designated “the Young Ruffian,” and Symonds thereafter was known by the epithet of “the Old Ruffian.”

Symonds’ first recorded ring fight was with Bill Jackling (called Ginger, from the colour of his hair), brother to the renowned Tom Johnson, the champion. This took place at Wrotham in Kent, on January 17, 1791, after his brother had been defeated by Big Ben (see ante, p. 68). It was a severe fight for twenty-three minutes, when Symonds was hit out of time.

His next encounter was at Fenner’s cricket ground, Uxbridge, with Gowlett, for 10 guineas, on the 22nd June, 1791. The battle was got up as a sort of compensation for the disappointment of the amateurs who were about to journey to Stokenchurch, Oxfordshire, to witness the battle between Dan Mendoza and Bill Warr. The Oxfordshire magistrates, however, had given notice of their intention to stop the “big” fight, and it was postponed. (See Life of Mendoza, ante, p. 76.) The men fought on the turf. The opponent of Symonds, Gowlett, was a big countrymen of provincial repute. Symonds, who was more practised than his huge opponent, delivered heavily, and then, à la Bendigo, found his way cleverly to the ground. In the words of the report, “Symonds sprung in, struck, and then fell, without being struck in return.” This is very obscure. However, “Gowlett, being irritated, kicked him as he lay on the ground. This decided the battle immediately in favour of Symonds.” We should think so. What follows is curious: “Many bets were paid; but after a consultation, the amateurs deciding it to be a drawn battle, the bets were refunded.” Our grandfathers were somewhat at sea as to betting law. However, as the Duke of Hamilton, Alderman Macauley, and other “distinguished patrons” were present, we suppose they acted equitably, according to their view of the case.

A fine young fellow, Jack Firby, a waiter at the London Tavern, met Symonds for a stake at Wimbledon, on the Ridgway, August 2, 1791, and defeated him, after a slashing fight of forty-five minutes.

On Saturday, December 4, 1792, Symonds fought a most resolute battle of two hours with George Maddox at Datchet Sward, Berks, resulting in a draw. (See Maddox, post, p. 206.)

Symonds’ last appearance in the ring was on the 15th of April, 1795, when he fought a draw with a Jew, called Ugly Baruk, at Hornchurch; it lasted half an hour. For some years Symonds was an attendant at the Fives Court, and elsewhere, and was, like Firby, a good-tempered, obliging fellow, always ready to lend a hand to a brother pugilist in distress. Symonds died in 1820.