A Great Fight for a Pretty Wife When knights were bold they battled for the hand of beauty. Rather unexpectedly, it is Hammer smith which has revived that ancient fashion, though in the revival lances have changed into boxing gloves and coats of mail into white shorts.
Whether or no the custom is suited to modern conditions will be proved at the Limegrove Baths next Tuesday, to which date a fight for a wife, begun last Tuesday, has been adjourned, says the London "Daily News."
In the middle of a programme of orthodox bouts the M. C. introduced -into the ring two strangers—Mr. John Shear and Mr. John Staples, both of whom live in the West End of London. They began boxing with all the vigour which £5 a side and a prospective wife might be expected to arouse.
Mr. Charles Griffiths, one of the promoters of the boxing tournament, explained the affair to a "Daily News" representative.
"These two men," he said, "were fighting with their knuckles outside the baths. I said 'I don't want any of this out here.' Somebody said they were fighting over a lady, and I then offered them the use of the ring.
"It appears that they had been having a lot of trouble over the lady, and she at last agreed to accept the one who beat the other in the fight. The men were so eager they started fighting again in the dressing room before they got the gloves on. At last we got them into the ring, and the one sprinted after the other. One was tall and the other was short, and neither knew how to box. Five pound on the big one! And then five pound on the little one!
"They wrestled most of the time, and the referee had to get into the ring to them to get them apart.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.