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and sabre, and they were rarely disappointed
by the spectacles he mounted.
For the winner of his pupils’ bouts, a
light sword donated by Foucart would
be their prize.
The press, too, were delighted by his
displays, which became a highlight of
the sporting calendar of both Glasgow
and Edinburgh, and they reported enthusiastically
on the events and the excitement
they generated. The assault
held for the anniversary meeting of
Foucart’s pupils on 18 April 1829 was,
according to The Glasgow Herald,
‘one of the finest ever witnessed’. In
Edinburgh he participated in the annual
assaults presented by Monsieur
George Roland, another French émigré
who established the finest fencing
academy in the capital. In February
1830, Foucart and Roland’s duels mesmerised
their audience, with Foucart
being reported as giving ‘more reason
than ever to admire his irresistible impetuosity’.
Two decades later, having
become firmly established in the city
and in the hearts of his pupils and
friends, a testimonial was presented
to him in the form of a silver cup, in
1847.
By 1852, with his business now a great
success, and with his son, Auguste, as a
partner and instructor, Foucart assiduously
promoted the health-enhancing
aspects of his work and introduced
new equipment devised by his doctor
son, Louis, with which to facilitate the
results in improving bodily strength
and alleviating physical infirmities in
both sexes. In the Glasgow Herald of
29 October 1852, they announced:
‘Messrs Foucart have resumed their
courses of practical instruction to ladies
and gentlemen in the art of training
and developing the human frame,
and in preventing and correcting bodily
distortions, and promoting health
by their system of gymnastic exercises.
Messrs Foucart have also much pleasure
in announcing that they have added
to their stock of apparatus, and will
give instructions in proper the use of
Dr [Louis] Foucart’s newly registered
Spinal Rectifier and Chest Expander,
which instrument has been patronised
by the royal family, and received
the approval and recommendation of
the leading [London] surgeons. The
institution is under the inspection of
the most eminent of the medical profession
in Glasgow…’
Foucart’s popularity amongst the higher
echelons of Scottish society is best
exemplified by his participation in the
famous Eglinton Tournament of 1839.
A spectacular recreation of medieval
pageantry and jousting which involved
the crème of Scottish knightly nobility
as participants and spectators, as well
as thousands of onlookers from the
general public. Foucart would have
been required to don medieval attire
and give his best performance in the
displays of swordsmanship that were
intended to enthral his audience and
remind them of the chivalric glories of
Student Radio Never Sounded So Good 71