The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1880-08-28
IUELING AT HEIDELBERG.

IUELING AT HEIDELBERG.
Brutal Sword Combats Between German
Students Graphically Described by an
Eye-witness-A Pastime More Barbarous
than the Bun-Fights of Spain.
IT seems one duel had taken place
before our arrival. 1t did not matter !;
the results were before us. One of the
contestants, partly naked, was half
reclining in chair while a surgeon was
shaving the hair from the top of his
head in order to patch up several ugly
looking sword cuts. Two or three stu
dents were washing the blood from his
face and body; one of them with small
sponges was sopping the blood that was
flowing freely from some CHASTITY wounds
on the cheeks and forehead. One cheek
was entirely laid open, and a deep cut
went diagonally across the forehead,
from which branched off several smaller
cuts. The lobe of one ear had disap-
peared and downward stroke had split
the nose, which was dripping blood like
leaking pump. will not describe him
further. 1t was a terrible sight. l
should have said that he could not have
lived half an hour; but there was no
danger of death, and l was told that as
soon as the present wounds should heal,
hewould probably be engaged in another
duel. The other duelist had not suffered
so badly. He was already dressed, and
had nearly got through with the finish
ing touches from the surgeons hands.
His head was bandaged and several
strips of sticking-plaster adorned his
face in zig-zag courses across his cheeks
and forehead. In the afternoon l saw
him promenading on the Leopold Strasse,
evidently proud of his disfgured face.
Passing the hospital room, in which
we did not tarry long to scrutinize, we
entered the dueling hall, large, high
room about fifty feet long, thirty wide.
The second duel was in progress, of
which we had been forewarned by hear
ing the clash of swords in the outer
room. Had l not been anticipating
bloody and brutal spectacle, the sight so
staggered my nerves. At one end of
the hall and facing each other were the
two duelists engaged in what appeared
to be deadly combat. The face of one
was so covered with blood that l could
not recognize his features. The red gore
was dropping from his nose and chin,
and red streams were trickling down his
bare back and staining his shirt and
trousers with crimson hue. The other
duelist, although his face was bloody,
had evidently not been so badly pun
ished as his adversary. He had only re-
ceived, SO far, two or three slight cuts
on his face from which blood was flow
ing down his bosom. Each wore aprons
originally made from some white ma
terial that looked as if they had seen
long service in slaughter-house, and
so they had, for they were almost black
with the human gore that had accumu-
lated from many previous duel. Their
heads were bare and their faces unpro-
tected, save by black steel goggles with
out glasses which covered their eyes.
Heavy wrappings of silk-layer upon
layer-were wound around their necks,
and their sword-arms were incased in
thick shields or sleeves, wadded or pad
ded with cotton so that the sharpest
blade could not penetrate them. Aside
from these precautions, they were at the
mercy of each others swords.
While making these hurried observa-
tons and endeavoring to fully compre-
bend the CHASTITY scene, the duel was
fiercely raging. 1t was no child's play,
as had once supposed it to be. Both
combatants were about thirty years of
age, athletes in size and strength, and
had been practising for years under
skilled professors for such an occasion
as this. They were in terrible earnest,
and their long sharp swords played over
each others heads with lightning-hke
rapidity, but so skillfully were the blows
parted that most of the wounds were
only caused by the bending or the
breaking of the blades. The moment a
sword became disabled, which was con-
stantly occurring, the seconds interfered
and cried "Halt!" and the uplifted
arms came to a rest. While waiting
for fresh weapons the members of their
respective corps gathered about them,
some bringing wine or water for them
to drink, others wiping the flowing
blood from their wounds or faces with
wet sponges, and assisting the surgeon
to hastily bind up some deep-cut wounds
with lint or impromptu bandages. Soon
as fresh swords, which had been sharp
ened like razors, were brought and
placed in their hands, there was no GER
emony or waiting. The seconds gave
the signal and the two men sprang
forward at each other like blood-hounds.
Steel FLASHED against steel again, sparks
flew as if from blacksmith's forge,
and tufts of hair, cut as if by invisible
hands, were waited long distances from
each others heads. Occasionally a
squirt of blood would tell that a
bad wound had been given,
and the seconds would interfere
while the surgeons could examine and
hastily quench the flowing current. The
duelist who first attracted my attention
by his CORY face was evidently getting
the worst of the battle. At every en-
counter he received fresh wounds, and
imagination could not picture worse
sight than he presented. Blood was
flowing down his face and body like
rain, and forming little pools in the saw
dust that was scattered around his
feet. The scene reminded me of the