SWORDSMEN STAGE GALA PERFORMANCE IN HEMENWAY BOUTS

Several of the most prominent swordsmen of the country were seen in is public fencing exhibition in Hemenway Gymnasium last night. This was the first such demonstration ever held at Harvard, and there was an unusually good turnout of approximately 500 spectators.

H. W. Holmes '03, dean of the Graduate School of Education, was the master of ceremonies. The evening started with the performance of "Learned Salut", a very graceful and impressive ceremony by Peroy and Garsson, who followed up with a foils bout. There was no regular judging in any of the matches except that of the Lane brothers. The contestants chatted with each other and the audience as they fenced, and the sheer informality of the affair went a long way to making the evening a great success.

Lane Brothers in Close Match

Lieutenant Connor from West Point, who was scheduled on the program, was unable to come, and in place of his bout. H. B. Wessellman '31 and E. L. Lane '24 engaged with epees. One of the fastest matches of the evening was the next one between Levis and Righeimer L. C. Winter '31 and H. B. Veatch '32 put on a very interesting bout with the sabre, followed by the Lane brothers in the only judged match of the evening, in which E. L. Lane won with five touches to four.

Fencing Not Hard Says Grasson

After this, Grasson gave a talk for about ten minutes or so in which he kept the audience laughing, and in which he stressed the point that fencing was not a difficult sport to learn, but that the great need was for Americanized coaches who can understand their men thoroughly.

Righeimer next was seen in an informal bout with his former coach, Grasson. Peroy again demonstrated his unusual skill with the foils in an encounter with Levis, after which J. D. Allen '31 showed his superiority to H. B. Wessellman '31, also with foils. The final bout of the evening was sensational; Peroy and Grasson met once more, this time with sabres. Peroy was a great deal superior to his opponent, and with much informal chattering and joking, these two put on a pretty demonstration.

After the exhibition, Grasson told a CRIMSON reporter that it has been one of the finest exhibitions he had ever seen. He expressed the wish that Harvard would continue to give such demonstrations yearly as does Princeton and various other colleges. He was enthusiastic in his praise of Peroy. "I am pleased to find Peroy so strong," he said. "I had underrated him, especially with the sabre. He is stronger in all three weapons than the men in New York who specialize in one. He is a good man, and should do much for the sport at Harvard.