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SABLE ISLAND
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See also:SABLE See also:ISLAND , an island of Nova See also:Scotia, See also:Canada, Iro m. S.E. of Cape Canso, in 43° 56' N. and 6o° W. It is composed of shifting See also:sand, and is about 20 M. in length by r m. in breadth, rising in places to a height of 85 ft. In the interior is a See also:lake about io m. in length. At either end dangerous sandbars run out about 17 M. into the ocean. It has See also:long been known as " the graveyard of the See also:Atlantic "; over 200 known wrecks have been catalogued, and those unrecorded are believed greatly to exceed this number. The See also:coast is without a See also:harbour and liable to fogs and storms; irregular ocean currents of See also:great strength sweep See also:round it, and its See also:colour makes it indistinguishable until See also:close at See also:hand. Since 1873 an efficient lighthouse See also:system and See also:life-saving station has been maintained by the See also:Canadian See also:government, and the danger has been much lessened. Since 1904 it has been connected with the mainland by wireless telegraphy. The island is constantly changing in shape, owing to the See also:action on the sand of See also:wind and See also:wave, and tends to diminish in See also:size. Since 1763, when taken over by See also:Britain, it has shrunk from 40 M. in length to 20, from 21 in breadth to 1, and from 200 ft. in height to 85; since 1873 the western lighthouse has thrice been removed eastward. As this makes See also:navigation still more dangerous, the Canadian government has planted thousands of trees and quantities of See also:root-binding grass, and the See also:work of destruction has been somewhat stayed. See also:Wild fruits grow plentifully during the summer, and cranberries are exported. Wild ducks, gulls, and other birds See also:nest in large See also:numbers, and a native breed of ponies has long flourished. Sable Island, estimated as being then over See also:loo m. in length, was known to the See also:early navigators under the name of See also:Santa Cruz. Early in the 16th See also:century horses were See also:left on its shores by the Portuguese, and the native ponies, supposed to be their descendants, are still exported. In 1598 a See also:band of convicts were left by the See also:marquis de la See also:Roche, but in 1603 the survivors were restored to See also:France. See Rev. Geo Patterson in Transactions of Royal Society of Canada (1894 and 1897). SABRE-See also:FENCING, the See also:art of attack and See also:defence with the sabre, or broad-See also:sword. Besides the heavy See also:German See also:basket-sabre and the Schldger (see below) there are two varieties of sabre used for fencing, the military sword and the so-called See also:light sabre. These are nearly identical in shape, being composed of a slightly curved blade about 34 in. in length and a handle furnished with a guard to protect the hand; but the military sword, or broad-sword proper, the blade of which is about f in. wide near the guard, tapering to z in. near the point, is consider-ably heavier than the light sabre and is generally preferred by military instructors, being almost identical with the regulation See also:army sabre in size and See also:weight. Until 1900 it was the See also:common fencing sabre in Great Britain, the See also:United States, and most See also:European countries, although its use was practically confined to military circles. About 'goo the light See also:Italian sabre was introduced and became the recognized cut-and-thrust weapon among fencers throughout the See also:world. In See also:Austria-See also:Hungary it became popular as early as 1885, while in See also:Italy, the See also:country of its origin, it has been in use since the See also:middle of the 19th century. Its blade is about ;If in. wide a little below the guard, tapering to rs in. just under the point. For practice this is truncated and the edge See also:blunt, but in scoring both edge and point are assumed to be See also:sharp, while in countries on the See also:continent of See also:Europe (though not in Great Britain or the United States) the back-edge (false-edge) is also supposed to be sharpened for some 8 in. from the point. In Italy when used for duelling the point and both edges are actually sharpened. The See also:modern sabre is a descendant of the curved light See also:cavalry sword of the See also:late 18th century, which was introduced into Europe from the Orient by the Hungarians. The old-See also:time European swords used for cutting were nearly all straight, like the Ital. schiavona and spadroon, the See also:English and German two-handers and the Scotch See also:claymore (see SWORD). There was indeed a heavy curved fencing weapon called dussack, very popular in the German fencing See also:schools of the 16th and 17th centuries, which was of See also:wood, very broad and as long as the fencer's See also:arm, with an elliptical hole for the hand in See also:place of a guard. But the dussack was introduced from Bohemia, where, as in Hungary, swords were See also:oriental in shape, and as it completely disappeared in the last See also:half of the 17th century it can hardly be considered in any way as the ancestor of the modernsabre. The old English back-sword, the traditional English weapon, though the curved See also:form was not quite unknown, was almost invariably straight. The See also:ancient English sword-andbuckler See also:play (see FENCING) was, to the disgust of its devotees, driven out as a method of serious combat by the introduction at the beginning of the Elizabethan era of the Italian thrusting See also:rapier. Nevertheless it survived as a See also:sport up to the first half of the 18th century, being practised, together with the back-sword or broad-sword play, cudgelling or single-stick fencing, foiling and See also:boxing, by the fencing masters of that See also:period, whose exhibitions, given for the most See also:part in the popular See also:bear-gardens, were described by See also:Pepys, See also:Steele and others. The masters who figured in these " See also:stage-fights " were called " See also:prize-fighters "; and at that period they regarded boxing only as an unimportant part of their art. The most famous of them was Figg, the " See also:Atlas of the Sword " (see FENCING). The back-sword of Figg's time was essentially the military sword then in use, having a single straight edge. The blows were aimed at the See also:head, See also:body or legs. Towards the close of the 18th century sticks began to be used for back-swording, the play at first being aimed at any part of the See also:person; but the head soon came to be the See also:sole See also:object of attack, blows on the body and arms being used only to gain an opening. The usual defence was from a high See also:hanging guard. No lunging was allowed. Fencing with the broad-sword did not, however, at any period entirely disappear in See also:England, and was taught by all the See also:regular masters, especially by the celebrated Angelo. The earlier play, of the time of Figg and later, was See also:simple and safe. The prevailing defensive position was the hanging guard, high or See also:medium, with the arm extended and the point downwards. There were also high inside and outside, tierce, quarte, See also:low See also:prime, seconde, and the head or " St See also:George," parries; the last, a guard with the blade nearly See also:horizontal above the head, being the supposed position of England's See also:patron See also:saint from which he dealt his fatal See also:blow at the See also:dragon. Owing to the great weight of the old back-sword wristplay was almost impossible, the cuts being delivered with a chopping stroke. Later in the 18th century a nimbler See also:style, called the See also:Austrian, came into See also:fashion, owing to the introduction of a lighter, curved sabre, the See also:principal See also:guards being the medium, with extended hand and sword held perpendicularly with the point up; the hanging, with the point down, both outside and inside; the half-circle; the " St George "; and the spadroon, with horizontal arm and sword pointing downwards. The spadroon (Ital. spadrone), a light, straight, See also:flat-bladed and two-edged sword, was also a popular 18th-century weapon, and was used both for cutting and thrusting. The thrusting attacks and parries were generally similar to those of the small-sword (see See also:FOIL-FENCING), but few or xay circular parries were used. The cuts were like those of the broad-sword. The Germans, like the See also:British, were once masters of the edge in fencing, but the art declined with the introduction of the point, and sabre-playing survived only in the army and in See also:academic circles with the heavy basket-sabre (see below). The school of sabre still taught in most armies, and up to the end of the 19th century by fencing-masters of all countries except Italy and Austria-Hungary, shows little advance from that in See also:vogue in Angelo's time. Two fundamental guards are usual, one (taught at the See also:French army school at See also:joinville-le-See also:Pont) corresponding to the guard of tierce in foil-fencing, except that the left forearm rests in the small of the back; and the other a high hanging guard, with crooked.arm and the point of the sabre directed slightly forwards. The methods of coming on guard differ considerably, but have nothing to do with fencing proper. In 1896 the Florentine (Radaelli) system of sabre was introduced into the British army, the See also:cavaliere F. Masiello spending some time at See also:Aldershot for the purpose of training the army sword-masters; but since the See also:year 1901 regular instruction in swordsmanship has practically been abandoned. Fencing on horseback for cavalry is simple in comparison with light sabre-play. The cavalry sword is of two patterns, one the heavy, straight cuirassier's sword, and the other somewhat lighter with . a slightly curved blade. On the attack straight point thrusts, and wide sweeping cuts are used. The three principal parries are the head " (or " high prime ") with horizontally held blade; the `'; tierce," on the right, parrying cuts at the left See also:side of the head and body; and the " quarte," on the opposite side.. ' The modern style of fencing with the light'sabre was perfected in Italy during the last See also:quarter of the 19th century, the most important See also:pioneer in its development having been G. Radaelli, a Milanese See also:master, who became See also:chief instructor of the sabre in the Royal Italian Military Fencing• See also:Academy in 1874, when it was transferred to See also:Milan from See also:Parma. Radaelli's system was described by F. Masiello, an army officer whose See also:works remain the chief authority on the light sabre. An old-time rivalry between the Neapolitan and the See also:northern Italian fencing methods came to a crisis when M. Parise, an See also:expert of the See also:southern school, secured first place for foil-fencing in a See also:tournament instituted by the military authorities, the result being the See also:transfer of the Military Fencing Academy to See also:Rome under the See also:title of Scuola Magistrale di See also:Roma. There was, however, less difference between the two schools in sabre than in foil play, and the Radaelli system for the former was so generally esteemed that a master of that method was established at the See also:Roman Academy. The light fencing-sabre is made up of two principal parts, the blade and the handle. The blade, from 331 to 34 in. long and slightly and gradually curved from hilt to point (which is truncated), has the See also:tongue, or tang, which runs through the handle; the See also:heel, or thick uppermost part of the blade fitting on to the guard; the edge, See also:running from heel to point; the back-edge or false-edge (sometimes not allowed), running frorh the point along the back for about 8 in.; and the back, running from point to heel (unless there is a back-edge). The blade is fluted on both sides from the heel where the back-edge begins: The handle consists of the guard, of thin See also:metal, extending from the pummel to the heel of the blade, to protect the hand; the grip (of wood, See also:fish-skin, or See also:leather, often bacjted -with metal), shaped to See also:fit the hand, through which the tongue of the blade passes; and the pummel, or knob, a See also:button which finishes off the handle and holds the tongue in place. The recognition of the light fencing-sabre as a practice weapon only, related to the heavier military sword 'as the foil is to the duelling-sword, at once makes apparent the difference between the play of the two cut- and thrust-weapons. As a light cut with the military sabre will be of little See also:advantage in See also:battle, however prettily delivered, it is evidentthat in-See also:order to produce a See also:shock of impact sufficient to put an adversary out of action, a wide sweeping See also:movement with the sword (moulinet; Ital. molinelli) is necessary. With the fencing-sabre a See also:hit is a hit if properly delivered with the edge or point, however light it may be. For hits of this See also:kind less force is necessary, and wide moulinets are not only useless but dangerous, since in making them the point must for a moment be directed away from the opponent, and momentary openings are thus left of which the opponent may take advantage by attacks on the preparation. For this See also:reason the cuts of the Radaelli school are delivered with moulinets of very narrow See also:radius, made as"much•as possible by a movement of the See also:elbow only, keeping the point directed menacingly towards the opponent. Again, whereas in battle a See also:wound on any part of the person may be effective and the school of the heavy sabre has to reckon with this fact, in fencing with the light sabre no hit See also:lower than the hips See also:counts, although hits upon any part 'of the person above the hips are See also:good; in England &ts on the outside of the thigh are allowed. This somewhat narrows the See also:scope of the fencing-sabre, just as the scope of the foil is narrower than that of the duelling-sword. The military sword is, on See also:account of its weight; usually held firmly in the hand with the thumb overlapping the fingers; but,in holding the light sabre the thumb is placed on the flat of the grip, giving a perfect command over the movements of the blade, called by the Italians pesteggio. Both attacks and parries are executed as narrowly as possible, avoiding the wide movements common in heavy sabre-play, and the moulinets (which are ellipses described by the point as it is See also:drawn back for a cut)are taught, though sometimes employed. Terms used in Sabre-Fencing.—" See also:Absence of the blade ": a guard so wide as apparently to 'leave the body uncovered, so as to entice the adversary to attack. " Appuntata (Fr. remise) a supplementary cut or thrust after the failure of an attack, when the adversary, replies slowly or with a feint. 'See also:Assault" (Ital. assalto), a regular bout. " Attacks on the blade " (see below under " See also:beat," " disarmament," graze and " See also:press "). " Beat " (Ital. battuta) a hard dry stroke on the adversary's blade, in order to drive it aside and push See also:home an attack; a " re-beat " is made by beating lightly on one side, then dropping the point quickly under the adversary's blade and beating violently on the other side. Cavazione (see below under " disengage "). " Completion " (see below under riposte). " Controtempo' : to See also:parry an attack in such a manner that the adversary is hit at the same time. " Deceive the blade ": when the adversary attempts an " attack on the blade " to avoid contact by a narrow circular movement of the point and hand; this is generally followed by a straight thrust or cut, as the force 4f his blow, will carry his blade. wide and leave .an opening. " Development " (attacks on the) : attacks made while the adversary is making a complex attack, i.e. one consisting of at least two movements (feint and real attack). Deviamento (see below under " press "). " Disarmament" (Ital. sforzo): striking the adversary's weapon from his hand by means of a sweeping stroke along his blade from the point downwards. "Disengage" (Ital. cavazione): being on guard (engaged) in one See also:line, to draw one's point under the adversary's sword and See also:lunge on the other side: to avoid a cut by retiring the right See also:foot behind the left; a time-cut at the adversary's arm is usually made at the same time. " Graze (Ital. filo) : to run one's blade along that of theadversary and push home the attack suddenly. " Invitation guard ": a guard in any line with the blade intention-ally so wide that the adversary lunges into the apparent opening, only to meet a prepared See also:counter. Incontro (Ital. for See also:double-hit): both fencers attacking at the same instant. " Lines " (of engagement): the four quarters into which the See also:trunk is divided, attacks and parries opposite them being called after them. These are, with the hand held in " supination " (thumb on See also:top of sabre-grip): upper right, " See also:slate upper left hand, " quarte "; See also:tower right " See also:octave " (not used in sabre) ; lower left " half-circle " (not used in sabre). When the hand is held in " ,vronation " (thumb down) the lines are: upper right, " tierce ' ; upper left, "" prime "; lower right, " seconde "; lower left, " low prime " (" seconde generally used). Quinte and septime are also lines of the Italian school. " Lunge ": the advance of the body by stepping forward with the right foot in order to deliver a cut or thrust. " Opposition' ; pressing the hand and blade in attack towards the side the adversary's blade is on; the object being to occupy his blade and See also:cover one's person from a " riposte." " Press": forcing the adversary's blade aside by a sudden push in order to create an opening for an attack, either directly or on the same side after he has recovered his blade and parried too wide on his supposed threatened side. " Preparation " (attacks on the) : mostly made by" deceiving " when the adversary attempts a beat, graze or press. "Re-beat' (see " beat " ). " Remise " (see " appuntata''). " Riposte": a See also:quick cut or thrust made after parrying an attack, without lunging. When the riposte in its turn is parried and replied to with another riposte, the French See also:call this second riposte the tac-au-tac. Sferzo (see " disarmament "). Scandaglio: studying an opponent's style at the beginning of a bout. " Stop-thrust a See also:direct thrust made as the adversary begins a complex attack, i.e. one of more than pne movement. The stgpthrust must get home, palpably before the adversary's attack or the attack alone is counted, the See also:rule of scoring being that he who is attacked must take the parry. " Time-cut ": a quick slash at the adversary's arm as he begins a complex attack. Toccatol: Ital. for" hit!" Touche!: French for "hit!" Manchette-Fencing (Fr. Manchette, a See also:cuff) is a 'variety of sabre-play popular in See also:Germany, in which the fencers stand at such a are made, not by swinging the sword round the head, but by See also:drawing back the hand held in front of the body, and with the point directed forward. The thrust's with the light sabre are made with the thumb to the left; whereas in the French school it is turned down, so that the blade curves upward. The modern school allows no such parries as the" St George," in executing which the blade is held at right angles to the body, but teaches that the point should always be directed towards the adversary as much as possible. The attacks are either " simple," "complex " or " secondary," and bear a See also:general resemblance to those in foil-fencing (q.v.); simple attacks being such as are not pre-ceded by other movements, as feints; complex attacks those preceded by feints, advances, or some other preliminary manoeuvre; and secondary attacks those carried out while the adversary is himself attacking or preparing to attack. The parries also correspond in nomenclature, and generally in nature, to those used in foil-play, but no circular ' or counter-parries distance from each other that only hand and fore-arm can be reached with the last few inches of the sword nearest the point, both edges being supposed to be sharp. No thrusts are allowed, and both feet must remain stationary where they are planted when the bout begins. Narrow parries are necessary, though many cuts are avoided by withdrawing the hand. Manchettefencing is not considered good practice for the light sabre and is therefore losing ground. The German Basket-Sabre (Krummer Sabel; or Krummsitbel) is a descendant of the heavy cavalry sabre once in use in some branches of the German See also:horse. It is now used almost exclusively by students. It has a strongly curved blade about 32 in, long and i in. broad, tapering slightly towards the end, which is truncated, no thrusts being allowed. The hand,is protected by a large guard of heavy See also:steel basket-work, and the handle is shaped to fit the hand, the forefinger being run through a leathern See also:loop. On account of the great weight of the weapon• (about 22 lb, more than half of which is in the guard) blows delivered with a full See also:swing are impracticable, and all cuts are made from the elbow and See also:wrist, the hand being generally kept as high as possible. The Mensur is the distance at which the combatants stand from one another. There are three recognized distances, that in general use being the middle, from which two sabres can be crossed at about 15 in. from, the points. Neither combatant may move his left foot (the right in the See also:case of a left-handed fencer) from the position in which it is placed at the beginning of the bout, all advances and retreats being made by the movements of the right foot and the body. The position of the engagement is in high tierce, the arm being held straight out towards the adversary. The feet are planted about 24 in. apart, the right in advance. The right See also:shoulder is See also:bent forward and the See also:stomach drawn back, imparting a slight stoop to the fencer. There are eight cuts and as many parries. The basket-sabre is used in the more serious students' duels; the See also:neck, wrist, armpits and body below the nipples being heavily bandaged. Rapier-fencing among the students of the German See also:universities and technical high-schools of Germany, Austria, See also:Switzerland and See also:Russia may be considered under the sabre, as the rapier, although originally used for thrusting as well as cutting, is now employed by students only to cut. According to the association of German fencing-masters the modern weapon when blunt and used only for practice is called Rapier or Haurapier, but when sharpened for duelling, Schlager (striker). It is derived from the long straight sword of the German Reiters, or light cavalry, who were famous in the 16th century and later. Its use, however, was only occasional before the middle of the 19th century, when it gradually took the place of the dangerous Pariser, or long French small-sword, for the semi-serious duels (Mensuren) of the students. There are two varieties of rapier, each having a thin flat blade about 331 in. long and T"rg in. wide and truncated at the point, but distinguished by the shape of the handle. The See also:bell-rapier (Glockenrapier), used only at the See also:north German universities of See also:Leipzig, See also:Berlin, See also:Halle, See also:Breslau, See also:Konigsberg and Greifswald, is. furnished with a guard consisting of a See also:cup or bell of See also:iron about 41 in. in See also:diameter and 2 in. deep, joined to the pummel by a steel See also:shaft protecting the hand. Its See also:total weight is about ti lb. The basket-rapier (Korbrapier), used at all universities except those named above, has a handle protected by a sort of basket of heavy steel See also:wire. Its total weight is 2 lb. The See also:balance is just below the guard. The blade of the rapier is divided conventionally into the forte, the half next the hilt, and the foible. These are again divided into full and. half, forte and full and half foible, the half foible being the weakest quarter of t`:e blade, nearest the point. Every bout, whether with sharp or blunt weapons, is preceded, by the command Auf See also:die Mossier/ (on the See also:mark, literally distance). The two fencers take position with feet apart and the right slightly in advance just far enough from one another to, allow their heads to be reached by the sword without moving the feet, which remain See also:firm during the entire bout. During the first half of the 19th century the See also:objective points of the rapier included the upper arm and See also:breast; but later the head, including the See also:face, becamethe sole See also:target. ' In practice a heavy See also:mask of wire with See also:felt top, a See also:glove with padded arm-piece (Stulp) and a padded See also:apron to protect body and legs are worn. There is one defensive position, which is' with the arm stretched upward bringing the hand and hilt about' 6 in. in front of and above the forehead, and the point of the rapier directed diagonally downward across the body and to the outside of the adversary's knees. The fencers having at the command Bindet die' Klingen! (Join See also:blades!) placed their hilts together with the points of the rapiers directed upwards, attack simultaneously at the EOmmand Los! (Go!). All blows are delivered` from the wrist, slightly helped by the forearm, the hand never being dropped below the level of the eyes. No movement of the head dr body is allowed except such as is unavoidably connected with that of the sword-arm. BiBLiocxnrxv.-For 'the light sabre see La Scherma italiana'di spada e di sciabola, by Ferdfnando Masiello (See also:Florence, 1887) ; See also:Infantry Sword Exercise (British See also:War See also:Office,. See also:London, 1896), practically the system of Masiello; Istrusione per la scherma, &c,, by S, de Frate (Milan, 1885) ; La Scherma per la sciabola, by L.,Barbasetti (See also:Vienna, 1898) ; a German See also:translation of the' foregoing, Das Sabelfecliten (Vienna, 1899) ; Die Fechtkunst, by Gustav Hergsell (Vienna, 1892). For the old-style sabre see See also:Cold Steel, by See also:Alfred See also:Hutton (London, 1889); Broadsword and Singlestick, by R. G. All;lnson Winn and C. See also:Phillips Wolley, " All England " See also:series (London, 1898) ; Foil and Sabre, by L. Rondelle (See also:Boston, 1892), an exposition of the French military system. For sabre-fencing for cavalry see The Cavalry Swordsman, by Alfred Hutton (London, 1867) ; L'Escrime du sabre a cheval, by A. See also:Alessandri and Emile See also:Andre (See also:Paris, 1895). For German basket-sabre and schlager, Die deutsche Hiebfechtschule See also:fur Korb- and Glockenrapier (Leipzig, 1887), published by the associadon of German academic fencing-masters; L'Escrime clans See also:les universites allemandes, &c', by L. C. Roux (Paris, 1885), a French exposition of the Germaa student fencing. (E. Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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