10th. Plate.

10th. Plate.10th Plate. The Turning the Body on a Pass in Tierce.

Pass in Seconde Volting the Body.

In passingTierce, as in a Lunge, the Wrist must draw the Shoulder and Body forward, bringing, as in a Pass inQuarte, the Left-foot about two Feet and an Half before the Right, then advancing the Right foremost and out of the Reach of the Enemy's; you must seize the Guard of his Sword, and again advancing the Left-foot near the Right, you draw back the Right and present the Point.

The Counters or Opposites to this Pass, are the strait Rispost, or the Rispost under, the taking Time, cuttingSecondeunder, disengaging, or counter disengaging and volting, but the surest is to loosen the Right-foot turning the Body half round to the right, opposing with the Sword and presenting the Point to the Enemy, which hindering him from hurting you, throws him on your Point if he abandons himself, and at the same time you seize the Guard of his Sword.See the 10thPlate.

In passingSeconde, there must, as in a Lunge, be a preparatory Motion, which is made by a Feint, or by an Engagement on the Blade to oblige the Enemy to parry high, in order to take that Time to pass under, which is done by advancing the Left-foot very much, with the Body lower and more forward than in other Passes, and advancing the Right-foot, you seize the Enemy's Sword, bringing yours from under over, and advancing the Left-foot to the Side of the Right, you draw back the Right presenting the Point. You must take notice, that in a Pass inQuartewith it's Joining, there are but three Steps, and that in the Passes inTierceandSecondethere are four. The first, passing the Left-foot before the Right; the second, advancing the Right to seize the Sword; the third, bringing up the Left-foot a little, and the fourth, bringing back the Right, presenting the Point.

In order to avoid, and to hit the Enemy on his Pass, besides parrying and pushing strait, as in the Thrust lunged inSeconde, in the 6th Plate, you may also makea strait Thrust, opposing with the Left-hand, or by volting, as is shewn in the Cut of the 10th Plate.

Tho' a Pass carries along with it, as I have observed, a greater Extension and Swiftness than a Lunge, yet as you cannot recover from it, it should be seldom practised, especially if you are not the strongest, or able in three attacks to hit twice, there being nothing more disagreeable to the Sight than to see several Passes made without hitting. But it is otherwise in Lunges, by reason of the Liberty of recovering and parrying.

Passes were more used formerly than they are now, whether it was to endeavour to bring them to Perfection, or because it has been found that this Sort of Play was not so sure.

The Volting of the Body, which many People callQuarting, shou'd never be done but at times when you are abandoned, as in Case of Lunges or on an Engagement of Feint in Disorder, of when finding yourself so disordered as not being able to parry, you must of necessity have recourse to volting in order to avoid the Thrust; but to do it at an improper time, as some do, is very dangerous, by reason of the Facility of parrying it, it being a Figure in Fencing which gives the least Strength, Extention, of Swiftness to a Thrust; besides that presenting the Flank and Small of the Back, the Adversary, in order to hit these Parts, has nothing to do but parry with his point a little within and low.

In volting you must begin with the Arms and Left-foot, by whose Assistance you turn the body; the Hands shou'd turn inQuarte, the Right as in a Lunge or Pass, and the Left more without; you must at the same time turn upon the Point of the Right-foot, bringing the Heel outwards, and the Left-foot behind the Right, a little farther outwards, which gives the Body almost the Figure of a Left-handed Man; having turned about a Quarter round, the Body in this Posture must necessarily be in Disorder.See the 10th Plate.

Having finished these Motions, if you find, for want of the Enemy's having suficiently abandoned himself, that you have not an Opportunity of Joining, you mustwithout stirring the Body or Left-foot, return with your Sword on the Enemy's, and from his Sword to his Body, and from the Body to the Sword, as often as you shall see proper, which may be easily done, your Thrusts being but of small Extension, as well by reason of the Action of the Enemy coming to you, as by the Advancement of the Volt; you should, at the same time, oppose with the Left-hand, to avoid the Thrusts that the Enemy might make upon the Time of yours; by this means you may easily come to Guard again, or if he retires you may push at him, the Left-foot by it's Advancement having given a great Advantage to your Thrust, and if instead of retiring, he has a mind to join, you must prevent him by seizing the Guard of his Sword, presenting your Point to him.

If in an Assault the Foil be entangled in the Shirt or elsewhere, or that in Battle the Sword be too far entered, or that the Enemy lay hold on the Blade; in these Cases you must shift your Sword to the other Hand, which is done after the Volt, advancing your Right-foot, taking hold of your Blade with the Left-hand about four inches from the Guard, whilst with the Right you seize his Guard, and drawing back your Sword you present him the Point.

Tho' Volting is not best in Combat, yet it may on some Occasions be necessary, besides it is my Business to speak of them, at the same time advising that 'tis much better to make use of Parades and Risposts, than of Time of what Sort soever.

The Joining on a Volt is the same as on passing inQuarte.

You may join after having parryed any Thrust or Pass whatever, as also after having pushed, passed, or volted in whatever Figure, or on whatever Side it may be, especially when the Enemy abandons himself, or you abandon yourself: If the Enemy abandons himself by a Lunge or Pass; in case of the first, you must close the Measure in parrying, seizing at the same time the Guard of his Sword with your Left-hand and carrying the Right-foot back present him the Point; and in case of a Pass, you must parry with your Feet firm, and seize his Guard, drawing back the Right-foot and presenting your Point in like Manner.

11th. Plate.11th Plate. The Seizing and presenting the Sword.

Parrying and Disarming.

If you have pushed being too near, that your Right-foot slipped, or that the Enemy in parrying closed Measure; if he parryed with his Feeble you must redouble inSecondeand join, and if with his Fort, you must oppose his Sword with your's 'till with your Left-hand you have seized the Guard, advancing the Left-foot; this Motion being done, you pass your Sword over the Enemy's from within to without; and loosing the Right-foot present him your Point.

Upon the Parade ofTiercewith the Fort, being near you must join, seizing the Guard, advancing the Left Leg, and drawing back the Right, and present the Point; or you may, before you join, cut under inSeconde; the first is surer at the Sword, and the other more beautiful in an Assault where a Thrust is more esteemed, than joining.

If on a Pass or Lunge the Enemy shou'd attempt to join or seize your Sword, you must, in order to prevent him, change it from the Right-hand to the Left, four Inches from the Guard, as I have already observed, seizing his with the Right-hand, and presenting him the Point, holding it atsuch a Length as to hit him whilst he is unable to come near you.

In Joining, if you cannot seize the Guard, you must the Blade, helping with your Elbow, turning the Hand to break the Blade, or take away the sword, which may be done if you are cunning and nervous, especially if the Enemy's Wrist is inQuarte, in which there is no Danger of hurting yourself, because the Sword cannot slip thro', and consequently, can't cut your Fingers, as has happened to some by their Imprudence; by this Means, you have time not only to secure yourself, but also to hit your Enemy. Some People seize the Arm, but that is of no use, because the Enemy may change Hands and hit you.

You may throw a Man down after having pushed, either upon the Pass ofQuarteorTierce; if inQuarte, it is done after advancing the Left-foot, crossing the Enemy's Sword with your Fort, and carrying your Right-Leg without his, at the same time pushing the Sword up from the Inside to the Out, and carrying the Right Arm to his Neck, and the Left to the Small of his Back: These three Actions must be done at the same time. There has been so much said on this Head, with the Joining without, that I shall say no more of it.

The Joining in Passes within, without, and under, is the same as in their Lunges.

In whatever Manner you join you must present the Sword at a Distance, in order to hinder the Enemy from seizing it, or putting it off with his Left Hand to throw himself in upon you: If the Enemy shou'd make a Difficulty of yeilding up his Sword, you must, in order to frustrate his Hopes of closing you, and to make him follow you, draw back the Left-foot behind the Right, and the Right behind the Left, at such a Distance as to be strong, at the same time moving the Point of your Sword circularly; by this Means, you are in a Condition either of giving or taking his Life, which you would not be if he could close you, by which you would be oblig'd to kill him, or render the Advantage doubtful by struggling.

I Have hitherto treated of the Means whereby to make Thrusts, and in this and the following Chapters, I will shew on what Occasion they are to be made use of. Tho' there is an infinite Number of Figures or Postures, and that every Posture may be in Guard, whether within, or without,Prime,Seconde,Tierce, orQuarte, they proceed from the Midling Guard, the Strait, the High, or the Low Guard, each of which may be attacked and defended within or without.

Though there are many Means to disorder the Enemy by putting him out of Guard in order to hit him on that Occasion, they all depend either upon a Feint by the Side of his Sword to draw him on, or on a Motion of your Sword on his, to uncover him, taking his Sword from the Line of your Body, and placing yours on a Line with his, which is called engaging. And there are several other Waysof coming to the Sword, which are the Beats, Crossings, Bindings, and Lashings; the Occasions of which, and the Manners of using them, I shall shew in their proper Places. I begin with engaging in the midling Guard, as the neatest, the most used, and the best.

To engage this Guard within, it must be done with the Edge on the same Side, without going wide, in order to keep your Fort before you, and your Point before the Enemy, carrying both Parts alike; the Engagement must be made Feeble to Feeble, a little more to your Enemy's than your own, because if it were with the Feeble to the Fort, the Enemy's Sword would not be displaced, besides if he should push, you could not parry, being unable with your Feeble to resist his Fort; and if it were with the Fort to the Feeble, you wou'd be in Danger of being hit under, where there would be an Opening; besides you would be oblig'd to advance much, which would be dangerous.

On your Engagement, the Enemy may do Three things, either of which, produces several others. First, either he will let you engage, or secondly, he will disengage, or thirdly, he will come to your Blade.

If he lets you engage, you must pushQuarte, or, by way of Precaution, make a Half-thrust, in order to see if he stirs, to retire, or to have recourse to his Parade, or to Time.

If he does not stir, you must, as I said, pushQuarte; if he retires, redouble your Thrust; if he parrys with his Fort cutQuarteunder the Wrist; if with the Feeble, disengage, or cut over the Point inTierce; and if upon the Half-thrust he takes the Time pushing strait, you must parry and risposte, or take the Time inSeconde, with your Body low; if he takes the Time lowering his Body, you must parry and oppose with the Left-hand, risposting inQuarte; if he takes the Time cutting under the Wrist, you must parry crossing the Sword inQuarte, opposing with the Hand, in order to make your Rispost more safely; and if he volts upon the Half-thrust, you must parry and risposte inFlanconnade, or take the Time, with, your Body low.

If when you engage he disengages, it will be either, 1st, without Design, or 2dly, to disengage and pushTierceover, or 3dly, disengage breaking Measure, or 4thly, disengage, and come to your Bladewithout, or 5thly disengage making a Feint, and pushingQuarteor 6thly, disengage to take a Counter to your Time.

If, upon the Engagement, he goes to your Blade with his Fort, you must cut under his Wrist, and if with his Feeble, disengage and push without inTierce.

Though an Engagement may be made Blade to Blade, without Disengaging, that is Inside to Inside; better and more common to make it by disengaging from the Outside to the Inside.

The Engagement without shou'd be made from your being placed within, Feeble to Feeble, for the same Reason as inQuarte, the Wrist shou'd be turned inTierce; in this Engagement as inQuarte,the Antagonist may do three things. 1st, let you engage him, 2d. or disengage, 3d. or come to your Blade.

If he lets you engage him, you must carry on your Thrust inTierce, or make a Half-Thrust, to see if he does not stir, if he retires, if he parrys, or if he takes the Time.

If upon your Half-thrust he does not stir, you must thrust strait, if he retires, advance and redouble.

If he parrys with his Fort, cutSecondeunder, if with his Feeble, you must disengage or cut over the Point fromTiercetoQuarte, and if upon the Half-thrust he takes the Time pushing strait, you must either parry and risposte, or make him Time, volting or lowering the Body.

If he takes the Time inSeconde, lowering his Body, you must either parry him and thrustQuarte, or pushingQuarte, oppose with the Left hand, or volt.

If on your Engagement he disengages, 'tis as inQuarte, 1st either without Design, 2d. or to retire, 3d. or to take the Time pushingQuarteor volting, 4th. or to cometo your Blade, 5th. or to make a Feint; 6th. or to take a Counter to your Thrust.

If on the Engagement without, he comes to your Sword with his Fort, you must cut under inSeconde, if with his Feeble, disengage or cut over the Point inQuarte.

If the Enemy engage you within with his Fort, you must cut under the Wrist, and if with his Feeble, disengage from within to without, of if you don't care to do that, make a Feint without; if on this Feint he goes to the Parade with his Fort, you must pushSecondeunder, and if with his Feeble, disengage inQuarte.

When the Enemy engages to make you push, in order to parry and rispost, you must, as I have said, make a Half-thrustand retire giving Light, in order to take him by a Counter to his thrust, by a Parade, or by Time.

You may on the same Engagement, remain engaged on purpose, in order to make the Adversary path strait; and in this Case, you must parry and risposte where he is uncovered, or take Time lowering the Body.

If after having engaged you he shou'd make a Feint, you must, by going to the Parade, give Light on purpose, and if he pushes, take him by a Contrary.

If he engages to make you disengage, in order to take the Time on your Disengagement, you must disengage and give him a little Light, and if he pushes at it, take him by a Rispost, or a Time opposite to his.

If you are engaged inTiercewith the Fort, you must cut under the Wrist inSeconde, and if with the Feeble, and the Hand inQuarte, disengage toQuartewithin, or, by Way of Caution, make a Half-thrust; if the Adversary goes to the Parade, you must push where you have Light, and if he takes the Time, parry and risposte, or take a Time to his.

You may also upon an Engagement inTierce, make a Feint below, and if he takes the Time, parry above and risposte below. This Thrust is very good against a Man that's disorder'd, who coming to the Parade above, gives room to hit him below.

Tho' all the Guards are Good when well defended, yet they are not equally good; because we ought not to look upon any thing as good, that does not procure us some Advantage, and an ill placed Guard, instead of being favourable, requires a great deal of Skill to be of any Use at all, being farther from a Posture of Defence, the midling Guard only carrying with it such a Disposition of the Point and Wrist as is sufficient to defend the Inside, the Outside, the Upper and Lower Parts of the Body with the Sword: For as to the other Guards, whether Flat, High, or Low, or holding theSword with both Hands, they leave some Part uncovered, either by reason of their Height, or their Line.

No Man of Skill or Reason will give a considerable Open without a Design, and as the People who hold such a Guard as I am going to describe, have their several Designs, you must be cautious of them, in order not only to make them useless to them, but advantageous to yourself.

Some Men hold their Swords strait or flat,[3]whether 'tis because they are more used to Disengagements than Parades, or to take Advantage of the Superiority of their Stature, or of the Length of their Sword, to avoid the Attacks and Engagements to which the other Guards are more exposed; for you can hardly engage or feint on this Guard, the Point being too low; so that to attack him, you must bind the Sword, which you must do after placing yourself within his Sword, binding his Blade under yours, when he is out of Measure, to take, with more Ease, the Feeble of his Sword, crossingit with yours, raising your Hand inSeconde, and carrying the Point low, whilst gaining Measure, you form a little Circle with the two Points, and raising them up again, you pushSecondewithin, with the Body low.

Tho' it be almost impossible for the Enemy to disengage, when you have bound his Sword as I have described, it may happen that if some of the Circumstances were wanting, he might disengage and push, which ought not to hinder you from making your Thrust; because your Sword may very well hit him, passing under his, which cannot hurt you, because of the Lowness of your Body.

The Binding is easy to be parryed, by reason of the natural Tendency to follow the Sword, which is done by raising and bringing your Fort nearer. These following have commonly more Success.

The first is made after having bound the Sword, instead of pushingSecondewithin, you must, upon the Parade, disengage and pushTierceover: If the Adversary is quick enough in his Parade to shun this double Motion, you must have recourse to the third, binding the Sword in the like Manner, and feinting above, return below.

Tho' the Sword is seldom bound on the Outside, upon some Occasions and to some People it would not be amiss; it must be done with your Feeble to the Enemy's, with the Precautions necessary in binding within, by a little Circle without, the Hand inQuarte, and if he does not stir, or if he disengages, you must push without, the Hand inQuarte. These following are according to the Parade with the Fort or with the Feeble, pushingSecondeunder, orQuartewithin.

As in all Thrusts the Hand must be easy and uniform, it must be more so in this than in the others, because the Binding cannot be made without a very close and smooth Motion.

Though several Masters teach to disengage in order to bind the Sword, I would not have it done so for two Reasons: First, because the disengaging gives Time to the Opponent, not only to thrust strait, but also to disengage; and Secondly, because you cannot so easily bind the Sword as when you are on the same Side.

In binding the Blade, you must close the Measure; because a Man who is superior to you, in Height, by the Length of his Sword, or by his Situation, won't let his Inferior into Measure; in one or the other Case, being at a proper Distance, you bind more easily on the Feeble.

12th. Plate.12th Plate. Attack in the high Guard.

Attack in the low Guard.

In this Guard, you must place yourself under, with the Hand inSeconde, covering the upper Part, in order to oblige the Enemy to go under; which being the most distant Place from his Sword, procures you more Time to avoid him. He may, on this Occasion, do three things: Let you engage him, go under, or force your Sword.

If he lets you engage him, 'tis either with a Design to parry, or to take the Time; wherefore, before you push, you must make a Half-thrust under: If he parrys, it will be in one of the three Ways that I have shewn in the Parade ofSeconde, Chap. 8, where you may see all their Counters.

If upon the Half-thrust he takes the Time, you must parry and risposte below,or push strait, opposing with the Hand; you may also volt on this Occasion, but it is better to parry.

If he opposes with his Hand upon your Half-thrust, you must parry with your Left-hand, and, pushing near his Left Shoulder, baulk his Hand.

And if he volts on your Half-thrust, you must parry and risposte in the Flank.

If on the Engagement he thrust under, you must parry and thrust strait, or take the Time, opposing with your Hand, and if instead of going under, he only feints there in order to return above; you must either parry the Feint and risposte under, or push on the time, as I have said before.

If he makes use of the same Thrust, pushing at the Time of your going under, you must make believe to push there, returning quickly to the Parade above, and risposte under.

And if he would draw you on in order to make this Rispost on you, you must make a Half-thrust, keeping on your Parade below, to risposte strait inQuarte.

If upon your Engagement he forces your Sword, you must yeild the Feeble, opposing with the Fort and the Left-hand.See the 5thPlate.

To keep the Enemy from forcing your Sword, you must cross his Blade with your Fort to his Feeble.

Those who hold a low Guard have a Design either to parry with the Sword or with the Hand, to lower the Body or to volt; therefore as in the other Guards you must make a false Time, or half Thrust, and if he parrys with the Sword, thrust where you see Light, if he parry with the Hand, you must feign a strait Thrust in order to bring his Left-hand to the Parade, at the same time raising your Point with a little Circle, pushing at the left Side with the Hand inSeconde, the Body low, whereby you baulk his Left-hand, and for the greater Safety, you must oppose his Thrust with your Hand, endeavouring in your Risposts, to deceive his Sword and his Hand.

If he waits for your Thrust in order to lower the Body or to volt, you must make a Half-thrust to draw him on, and take one of the Counters which I have spoken of before.

If the low Guard is within your Sword, you must attack it making a Semi-circle with the Point of the Sword down, lashing and crossing his, the Hand inQuarte, and to push without Danger, you must oppose with the Left-hand: This Thrust is good against a Man that pushes at the same Time.

If the low Guard is without your Sword, you must lash inTierce, crossing the Sword and push without.

If the low Guard is neither within nor without, you must lash smartly inTierceand inQuarte, that is to say on his Outside and Inside, pushingQuarteafterwards, opposing with the Left-hand: This Thrust puzzles a Man who disengages quick, which in this Case is of no use.

You may also engage this Guard placing yourself within, the Wrist inTierce, and the Point low[4]closing the Enemypretty near to oblige him to push above, and if he pushes there, you must parry and risposte above, or under, according as you have Light.

If instead of making a Thrust above, he makes a Feint there and pushes within, or under, you must pushQuarte, opposing with the Left-hand, or else going to the Parade with the Sword to all Thrusts and Feints without, leave to the Left-hand the Defense of the Inside, and of the under Part.

And if instead of pushing, he waits for your Thrust to take the Time upon it, you must press close upon him and push strait inQuarte, with the Point low, opposing with the Left hand, in order to throw off his Sword, or push at his Arm, of which you are in Reach, though he is not in Measure of your Body.

These Sorts of Guards are not so much practised, with Sword in Hand, as the middling Guard, People being more careful of parrying with the Sword, and a Man is in much better Condition to parry from the middling Guard than from any other.

Those who hold the Sword in both Hands, that is to say, the Handle in the Right-hand, and the Blade about four Fingers Breadth in the Left, will either engage, or beat on your Sword, with great Force, or stick to a strong Parade, in order to uncover you the more, in Favour of their Thrust.

But as they cannot keep this Situation without exposing their Body very much, which is often dangerous, as also a very unseemly Posture, this Guard is therefore, with good Reason, condemned by most, if not all, experience'd Masters.

If you have to do with one that holds this Guard, you must keep your Point a little low, and be always ready to change, in order to render the Strength which the Left-hand gives to the Right, useless, in his engaging or beating.

If he will not attack you, but waits for your Thrust in order to parry and risposte, you must make a Half-thrust, and recover quickly to your Parade, to avoid his Rispost; wherein, throwing back his Left-hand, and abandoning himself extremely, he is not in a Condition to avoid your Thrust after you have parryed his.

You may also make a Home-thrust on him, by a single or double Feint, because these require two or three Parades; so that your Adversary being unable to parry without throwing his Point a great way off, he cannot bring it back in time if you disorder him by a Feint.

You may likewise catch him, by placing your Sword along his, with your Point a little raised, and sliding on a Defence along his Sword, push at his Left-hand or Arm, for he cannot, tho' he goes to his Parade, hinder your Blade from sliding so as to hit him there, without running any Risque, you being in Measure of his Hand and Arm, when he is out of Reach of your Body.

You are to observe, that in all Guards with Sword in Hand, you must push at the nearest and most uncovered Part; which in the Guards that I have described is the Arm; therefore you must not abandon yourself tohit the Body, but in risposting, or after having disordered, or engaged the Enemy as aforesaid.

Most People imagine that a Left-handed Man has, by Nature, the Advantage of a Right-handed Man in Fencing, whereas he has it only by Habit, exercising oftener with Right-handed Men than a Right-handed Man with him, as well in Lessons as in Assaults, most Masters being Right-handed, as well as most of the Scholars, taking Lessons from the Right-hand, and practising seldom with Left-handed Men, find themselves puzzled, nothing surprizing more than what one is not used to, which is so true, that to embarrass a Left-handed Man, who has not fenced much, you must put another against him; I say one that has not fenced much, because Right or Left-handed Men who go to the School of a perfect Master, will betaught to use both Hands, by which Means, they will not be so much surprized when they meet with a Left-handed Man, as they would otherwise be.

When a Right and a Left-handed Man fence together, the Right handed Man should push but seldom within, that being the Antagonist's strongest Part; and his weakest and outward, which should be kept covered, or in a defensive Condition, as the most liable to be attacked; the best Way is to pushQuartewithout, Engagements, Feints under, and Thrusts above, and double Feints, finished above or under the Wrist inQuarte, Cuts over the Point without, and upon the Parade, with the Fort, or with the Feeble, redoublingQuarteunder the Wrist, orSecondeover: These are chiefly the Thrusts which a Right-handed and a Left-handed Man may make against each other, whether on an Attack, or in Defence, by Time or Risposts.

Several Masters puzzle their Scholars by telling them that with a Left-handed Man they must act quite contrary to what they do with a Right-handed, which appears to be false; because to a Right or Left-handed Man you must push, opposing with the Sword, which is to be done by pushingQuarte, when the Enemy is within your Sword, andTierce, when he is without. All the Difference between a Right and a Left-handed Man is, that two Right, or two Left-handed Men, are both within or without, whereas a Right with a Left-handed Man, the one is within when the other is without, the one inQuarte, the other inTierce.

There are, in Fencing, three Parades with the Left-hand: The first, like the Opposition that is from the Top to the Bottom; the second, with the Palm of the Hand without, towards the Right Shoulder, and the third, from the Bottom to the Top, with the Outside of the Hand: Of these three Parades, the first is the easiest, the most used, and the least dangerous: They are condemned by able Men, as weakening those of the Sword; wherefore it is wrong in a Master to shew them to a Scholar, before he has practised those of the Blade a good while, which being longer, can returnto all feints, which the Left-hand cannot, it being impossible to parry with it except you be near, which is very dangerous, as well by reason of the Difficulty of meeting properly with the Sword, as of the Facility of deceiving the Hand, which in this Case has not Time to come to the Parade, because of it's small Distance; and besides the Facility of deceiving it, you need only push at the Arm, Sword in Hand, in order to make it useless.

Many People make no Distinction between the Parade and Opposition of the Hand, tho' there is a very great Difference, the Parade being made only against the Adversary's Thrust, and the Opposition to prevent a following Thrust after having parryed with the Sword, which is very necessary in most Thrusts, especially in the Risposts which may be made to your Thrust inSeconde.

Besides the Opposition of the Hand, after having parryed with the Sword, you may oppose with it, taking the Time, that is to say, when the Enemy pushes from above to below, as the motion of his sword is greater than your's, having only a strait line to pushQuarteon, whereas his from above to below, is crooked, so that pushing upon his time, he cannot avoid the thrust, and you may easily oppose his with the Left-hand, which is very different from the parade with the Hand, to which you do not push 'till after you have parryed.

Though it may seem to many people, that the beat of the Foot, in gaining measure, making appels, or alurements, engagements, or other Thrusts, is rather ornamental than necessary; nevertheless, there is nothing puts the Foot in a better condition to follow the swiftness of the Wrist, in most of the actions of the Sword; nor can any thing contribute more to the equal situation, and to the retention of the Body, qualities, which keeping you covered from the time of your combatant, procures you the means, not only of taking advantageof his, but also of possessing firmness, freedom, justness and swiftness. You are to observe two sorts of beating, the one with the Foot firm in the same place, the other gaining measure; the Beat with the Foot firm, is done in two ways, the one in appels, or alurements on the Blade, and the other in engagements or Feints. That upon the allurement on the Blade, may be made by a single beat of the Foot, but those who are pretty well advanced, make two without lifting the Foot but once, the first with the Point, and the other with the whole Foot: that on engagements or single Feints, shou'd have but one beat, the thrust being to be made on the second motion. The beat of the Foot in marching or advancing, is also divided into two sorts, the one in Engagements or single Feints, and the other in Engagements and Feints following, or in double Feints; the manner of engaging must be with a single beat gaining measure, and that of engaging with a double Feint, must be done with a double beat, in order to agree with the motion of the Wrist; and as in all, including the lunge, there must be three beats;you must, on the First Time or Feint, beat with the whole Foot in the same Place, at the second Motion of the Wrist beat again with the foot getting Measure, and at the third Motion push.

You must observe, that between the first and second Motion, there is no Interval, but between the second and third there is, in order to see where the Enemy gives Light: This Interval must be shorter or longer according as your Disposition or Practice is more or less.

In Fencing, there is the Foreseen, and the Unforeseen; the Foreseen is the Effect of the Understanding and of the Will, and the Unforeseen is the Effect of the Discernment of the Eye, and of Custom; which being upheld by this Quality,has no sooner discerned an Action or Opening of the Enemy, than all the Parts which are to act, display themselves to oppose or attack him, as if they depended on the Eye. To be convinced of this Truth, you may reflect on READING, wherein, as soon as the Eye has discerned the Words, the pronouncing them follows as quick as in a studied Discourse; the Eye and Tongue being so disposed by Custom, as to do it without immediately reflecting. Indeed before they cou'd arrive to this, the Understanding and the Will were necessary, which having been united for a certain Time, have communicated such a Habit to these Parts, as to make them act as it were of themselves.

In order to acquire this Quality in Fencing, it is necessary that the Master, in his Lessons, shou'd shew what Opportunities are to be favourably laid hold of, two opposite Actions at one and the same Time, That whilst he is uncovering some Part of his Body, he cannot, at the same Instant, parry, because by the Parade, it must be covered; so that by making them make their Thrusts, and other Motions, by the Discernment of the Eye, they find themselves by Practice ready to oppose all theMotions of the Antagonist without the Assistance of the Will. This Method is indeed a little more tedious in the Beginning, but it afterwards becomes shorter and more certain.

If you have not had Practice enough to make the Discernment of the Eye thus habitual, you must observe what Motions your Action causes in the Adversary, by making a Half, or Home-thrust, in order to discover whether the Enemy has recourse to the Parade, or to the Time: If he goes to parry, you must observe his Manner, in order to make a Feint resembling the same Thrust, and to push at the Part where you observed him to give the Light; and if he goes to the Time, you also make a Feint, preparing yourself for the parade and Rispost, or to take a Time contrary to his.

If we were to follow the exact Term of Time, every Thing that is done in Fencing might be called so; for you shou'd never thrust but when you have a favourable Opportunity of hitting, nor parry, but at the Time that favours you to oppose the Enemy's Sword, not make an Engagement, nor a Feint, but to take the Time upon the Motion that your Action occasions in the Adversary.

Time is the Duration of any Motion: It is called Time because it is the most favourable Opportunity of pushing, the Enemy being unable during one Action to do a contrary one.

It is divided into several Manners and Terms: The first is called the Time, the second, taking his Time, the third, Time to Time, the fourth, the same Time, and the fifth, false Time.

The same Time, depends on three Things: First, that both having a Design to push, you both push by chance at once, without expecting it from each other: Secondly: That full of the Design to take the Time, and not knowing it, you push upon the Enemy's Thrust, without foreseeing how to avoid it; and thirdly, when an Inferior or desperate Man, unable to defend himself, had rather run on your Thrust in endeavouring to hit you, than strive in vain to avoid it. These are not only the Occasions of the same Time, but also of theCoups Fourrés.

It is to be observed, that Time, and the same Time, differ only in their Figure, and not in their Occasion, as MonsieurDe la Touchesays, for to take the Time upon a Thrust, you must go off upon the Lunge, as if it were on the same Time, except that the Figure of the Body shuns the Thrust, which in that of the same Time it does not do.

The Difference of Time between the dexterous and awkard is, that the dexterous present and take the Time, and the others, give and lose it.

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