The Noble and Worthy Science of Defense, Chapter 10
Chap. X. The trickes of a Coward.
THE firſt reaſon which I will ſet downe, whereby you may know a coward, is, by the lading of himſelfe with weapons; for I hauehave knowne a very fearefull man to ſee to, and yet a coward, carry a Welch hooke vponupon his backe, a cloſe hilted Sword and Dagger, yet (miſtake me not) for I doe not call eueryevery man that is ſo weaponed, a coward, but ſtand ſtill alittle, and you ſhall know who I meane.
When a man (vponupon a good quarrell) doth challenge a coward into the field, it may be it commeth to this point; Where ſhall we meete ſaith the one? In ſuch a place or ſuch a place ſaith the other; but in the end, they make a ſecret concluſion, and choice of a place is agreed vponupon; but then, if the coward goe into the field at all, hee will be ſure to goe where hee will not meete with his enemy, but to one of the afore-named places, and there hee will ſtay a while, and if any company come by, hee will tell them, that he ſtayeth to fight with ſuch a man, becauſe they ſhall note him for a tall man of his hands: and then at his comming backe againe, amongſt his companions, he will bragge and boaſt that he hath beene in the field, to meete with ſuch a man, and he came not; when the other all the while was at the place where they concluded to hauehave met.
Againe, ſome cowards will ſo dare and bragge out a man in company, with ſuch ſwaggering words, whereby the heaters ſhould thinke there were not a better man to be found: and if it be in a Faire or Market, then he will draw his weapons, becauſe he knoweth that he ſhall be ſoone parted, for the people will ſay, that ſuch a one and ſuch a one made a great fray to day, but I account this but pot-valour, or a Cowards fray to fight in the ſtreete, for a man can giuegive no due commendations of manhood vntounto ſuch fighters, for there is no valour in it.
Againe, I hauehave knowne a Coward cunningly challenge a very ſufficient man, and they hauehave met in the field, but at their meeting, the Coward will ſay thus vntounto him, Now I ſee thou art a man, and I will take thy part againſt all men, but I will neuer drawe my Sword againſt thee, that which I did was but to trie thee.
Alſo a cunning Coward, when hee hath wronged or miſ-vſed a man, the party grieued doth challenge the field of him, then hee will beare it out with great bragges and high lookes, enough to feare any man, that will be feared with words, ſhewing himſelfe outwardly as though hee would fight indeede; for the Coward will ſay vntounto the challenger, Thou wilt not meete mee, if I ſhould appoint thee a place, for thou dareſt nor anſwer me: for be it knowne vntounto thee, if I vnſheathe my Sword, I will not draw him in vaine; but now if he ſee theſe bragges can not diſmay nor aſſwage the furie of the other, but that hee will needes fight, then hee aſſayeth other wayes, if it be one of his acquaintance, hee will ſay, The world ſhall not ſpeake of it, that wee two ſhould fall out: or, if it be to an inferiour, then he will ſtand vponupon his gentility, ſaying that he will not doe him that credite, for thou art a baſe fellow, a fellow of no faſhion, to compare with me. I hauehave knowne in a ſtrange place, that a ſcuruy baſe fellow will ſtand ſo much vponupon his gentilitie, and thinke to make the world beleeue he is a great man in his owne Countrey. Alſo, in a Tauerne or ſuch like place, if there be company ready to holde him, then he will draw his Dagger vponupon very ſmal occaſion, ſhewing himſelfe reſolute, as though hee would fight with the diuell; and then the company (with alittle perſwaſion) brings them friends, which I diſcommend not, but I diſcommend the falling out about a pipe of Tobacco, or a cuppe of Wine or Beere. But of this I hauehave ſpoken ſomething before, and ſhall hauehave occaſion to ſpeake more at large of it heereafter; But firſt, to end this I hauehave in hand, many a Coward may ſay, when he hath liued ſo long in the world vntill the world is weary of his company, I may be the beſt man in the world, for I was neuer yet tried, nor neuer drew my Sword in earneſt in all my life hitherto: againe, it is good ſleeping in a whole skinne.
And a wiſe or a valorous man may euen ſay ſo as well as a Coward: for I ſay a man may very well anſwer a good quarrell, if occaſion be offered, yet ſleep in a whole skinne; why ſhall wee feare to goe to our beddes, becauſe ſome die in their beddes; ſome die at Sea, and therefore ſhall we feare to croſſe the Sea; ſome fall by chance, ſhal we neuer therefore riſe for feare of falling? And what is all this? Nothing, but to ſhew, that there is leſſe danger in fighting a good quarrell with skill and diſcretion, vponupon colde bloud: but of this I hauehave ſpoken ſufficiently already, if words would ſerue. But if I ſhould write a whole Volume of one matter, yet it would ſerue to ſmall purpoſe to ſome; and ſo where we left there we will beginne, for what I hauehave ſaid before, it is but as it were a deaw, but this laſt ſhower ſhall wet them to the skinne; a Coward will hauehave a Sword or a Rapier, for length (in a maner) like a halfe Pike: but ſince the vſe of ſhort Swords came, you cannot know them by that marke, as you might before, for many of them are got into the faſhion, and it is the fitteſt weapon that euer came for their purpoſe; for ſhort ſwords are worne both of one and other, more for the faſhion then for any other purpoſe: but becauſe men of good woorth doe weare them, therefore I will not call it the fooles faſhion, but let euerie man alone with his humour. Againe, a Coward will hauehave as good and as gallant a weapon as may bee gotten for money; but I doe not commend the man by the largeneſſe nor goodneſſe of his weapons, neyther hee that hath many hurts and ſcarres about his bodie. There is no due commendations to bee giuen of a Iudge, by his skarlet Gowne; neyther can a man commend the skilfulnes of the Marriner by his wearing of a great whiſtle: golde is not certainely knowne to be golde, before it is tried, eueryevery thing is not as it ſeemeth to bee for many a man carrieth the ſhape and perſonage of a man: but when they come to the touch like golde to be tried, prooue but ſhadowes, as that which is like golde many times doth prooue worſe then Copper: euen ſo, there is no certaine true report can be giuen of a man touching manhoode vponupon the firſt ſight, without ſome triall. You ſhall ſeldome ſee a Coward vſe his weapon, except it be vponupon a drunken humour, or elſe, when he is driuen to it by extremity, and that he ſeeth no remedy, but that hee muſt needes fight, but he wil many times be drawing in ſome Ale-houſe or Tauerne, and there hee will be fencing with him, and ſhewing his trickes, thinking to make the company beleeue, that hee is an excellent fellow of his hands: and there many will be hewing of bed-poſtes, or table-boords, or many ſuch like trickes he will vſe: then ſome Cowards will (by caſting abroad of libels) and by night-walking, doe many miſchieuous trickes, onelyonly to reuenge a mallice which they beare in mind, becauſe they can not reuenge it manfully, and yet a Coward will grieue and fret if iuſtly hee heare any other to be commended of any man for his manhoode and valour, for hee would hauehave no man better then himſelfe. And if ſuch a one beare office in Cittie or Towne, hee will at no hand abide to heare, that a maſter of Defence ſhould inhabite in the place where he gouerneth.
Alſo if any other commend a man that is a man indeed, a coward will diſcommend him ſaying, he is no body; or he is not the man you take him for; with ſuch like diſabling ſpeeches, for if a coward cannot diſgrace a man with deeds to his face, then he will depriue him with words behind his backe.
Alſo a coward delighteth to breed quarrells betwixt man and man, and to ſet ſuch as are named to bee men of their hands, together by the eares by falſe reports, and by carrying of tales, and by making of molehills mountaines, of halfe a word a long tale, to the hurt of others, and no good to themſelues: and what is the chiefe cauſe of all cowardly mindes but onelyonly ignorance, and want of skill: but to conclude, neuer truſt a coward in his fury, nor ſuffer him not to come neerer then the point of thy rapier, and there let him tell his tale, but let him hauehave no aduantage vponupon thee by no kind of illuſions, eſpecially if he be thy profeſſed enemy.
That he is a coward which practiſeth the throwing of a dagger or the darting of a rapier, I will not ſay, but he which putteth it in practiſe vponupon a man, is a coward, for if he kill a man with ſuch a tricke, in my mind it is pitty but he ſhould die for it: and ſo I will end with that example of a cowardly murtherer of one Cosbe, whoſe murthering hands by a couſening deuice bereaued the Lord of Burke of his life, and as I heard it, thus it was: a quarrell grew between them, and the field was appointed, where they both met, and being ready to charge each other, Cosbe ſaid my Lord you hauehave ſpurs which may annoy you: therefore if you pleaſe put them off, and euen as he was vnbuckling of his ſpurs, this cowardly and murthering minded Cosbe ran him through with a mortall wound, whereof he died preſently.
Now to my owne knowledge, my Lord Burke was very skilfull in his weapons, and ſufficient to hauehave anſwered any man beeing equally weaponed, or vponupon equall termes, therefore hard was his hap to meet with ſuch a cowardly murtherer, for his death is lamented of many, and Cosby was hanged for it.
Yet touching this matter, here followeth another example, as I heard it I will declare it: thus, there was a murtherer who eſcaping the pittifully hands of the mercifull Iudge, after he had killed two men, being taken and apprehended for the third murther, and being arraigned before the ſame Iudge which had before ſhewed pitty, began now to condemne this murtherer, and giuegive the ſentence of death, and ſo began to declare to this murtherer that had ſmall grace, which could not beware being twice warned, but muſt now kill the third man: therefore thou (ſaith the Iudge) well deſerueſt death, & death thou ſhalt hauehave: when the murtherer ſaw that he muſt die, he ſaid thus vntounto the Iudge: My Lord you doe me wrong to condemne me for the killing of three men, for it was you that killed two of them: yea ſaid the Iudge, how can that be? marry thus: if you had hanged me for the firſt I had not killed the other two: therefore it is pitty in my mind, that a man-ſlayer ſhould liue to kill two men, but to be hanged for the firſt if it be not in his owne defence, or vponupon a very good quarrell, and ſo I will ſtrike ſaile for a while.