From The Connecticut River Valley in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire: Historical Sketches by Lyman S. Hayes, Tuttle Co., Marble City Press, Rutland, VT., 1929, page 322:
ALBERT M. ALLBE ONCE "KNOCKED OUT" SIR HIRAM MAXIM, THE INVENTOR
Albert M. Allbe, in his time a well-known local attorney, who died in 1916 at the age of 94 years, used to tell with great satisfaction of his athletic accomplishhments as a young man. Of these, the fact that he once knocked out Hiram Maxim, who later became noted as the inventor of the automatic gun, and being knighted by the English government, was known as Sir Hiram Maxim, always gave him the greatest satisfaction.
As a young man Mr. Albee was in company with Levi Stevens in a brass foundry and finishing business in Fitchburg, Mass. Mr. Stevens was an uncle of Hiram Maxim. As Mr. Albee told the story, "Hiram was an awkward, uneducated man at that time, but he had great inventive genius. He later went to England and educated himself, becoming a distinguished citizen of that country. While he was working for us, he claimed he could handle anyone connected with the shop, unless it was Allbe and he 'thought he could him.' One noon, when the whistle blew to call the men to work, the workmen went through the office of which I had charge and kept account of the time and of the business of the firm. Maxim had with him a couple of pairs of boxing gloves, and laid one pair on the counter. I went along and tried one of them to see how it would fit my hand. One of the men called out to Maxim, 'There's a challenge for you, Maxim.' The moment the whistle blew for them to quit work in the afternoon, he rushed around to the different parts of the shop and called the men all down in the large office room, and arranged them in [323] a semi-circle facing the front of the office. He put on a pair of the gloves and wanted to try with me. He had made so much fuss about it, feeling I could easily guard myself from being hurt with a pair of gloves on, I kept myself on guard until I had nothing to fear, and then I pressed a little harder. He got near a large window in front of the office, I gave a considerably stronger blow than usual, and knocked him through the window, out of doors. The uncle had gone to Boston, and the next day I saw him and Maxim outside looking at the window. I told his Uncle Stevens we had broken the window and I would have it repaired. 'No, you won't. I will get Maxim to do some painting outside and mend it right.' The next morning Uncle Stevens said to me: 'Maxim said you "hadn't much science about boxing, but you could strike harder than a mule can kick.' There could not have been much difference in our weight at that time."