The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-07-30
HE MUST HAVE SCARS.
In Germany No Man Is q Real Student
Until He Has Fought.

During the time between the ex-
aminati and immatriculation in a
German university" said Prof
Schhenen, ''the young student is called
a mule, because he is neither an ass
nor horse, but something between
both. But when he is smart enough to
enter one of the students societies. or
verbindungen, he is called fox-you
would call it freshman-becomesl later
on burned fox, which indicates that
he has been in the fire; then fellow,
and gradually rises to the different
honors in his corps or club, as fox
major, who educates the young fresh
man in drinking; fencing major, who
drills the foxes in the use of the rapier
and sword; and senior, or mosshead,
after he has been in the corps for half a
century.
Each fox chooses fellow or a moss
head, to whom he attaches himself
with body and soul. for whom he goes
whose debts he pays, whose correspond
ence he writes. for whom he learns
and puts down the lectures: for whom,
in short, he does everything short of
stealing and numbering. The fellow,
in his turn, protects his fox, or, as he is
called, his body fox, in quarrels of all
sorts, accepts duels for him, makes his
cause his own whenever the fox is too
inexperienced TO stand his own ground.
and is like an elder brother to him.
Friendships like that last lifetime.
'At my times the clubs, or verbin-
dungen, were all the rage. A student
who did not belong to one of them was
much despised.
''Those verbindungen were divided
into two different classes. such whose
members accepted duel when offered,
and such who did not. The first class
were called honorable verbindungen,'
or honorable clubs the second, 'blasen,'
or bubbles and their members cam
els The honora bic clubs are again
divided into corps and landsmann-
schaften, the names of which were
derived from the names of old German
countries, for instance, Suevia, Fran
coma, Saxonia, Borassia and so forth.
The bubbles are divided into 'burschen-
schaften,' 'fellowships' and simple
vereins or clubs, which may be very
nice, but don't amount to very much in
the eyes of an honorable student A
student who gives you his left cheek
when you have slapped him on the right
one may make good preacher in after
life; as d student he hardly deserves
any recognition, and you have a right
TO slap him right and left.
''The finest verbindunQen are the
corps The princes of our royal house
have all been corps students in Rome
and Berlin. There are corps which re-
ceive as members only the highest aris-
tocracy, princes, counts, barons, etc.
My corps, Franconia, was q corps more
on account of its principles OF students
honor than on account of the nobility
of its members. Although we we're
most of US sons of high state officials.
army officers, etc, there were, never
theless, some of the most noble and
valiant and highly-esteemed fellows in
the corps-sons of sim pie citizens,
bakers, shoema kers, and SO on. Bravery
was the first paragraph in our codes of
honor A duel was offered and occepted
On the slightest pretence. A word.
look, gesture was sometimes sufficient
TO open hostilities which ended in adueL
''Those duels are fought with three
weapons-the rapier, n straight !
sword which infiicts onIy slight wounds. /
mostly in the face and on the head. /
which are not protected; then the (
der, a regular cavalry sword, with
broad blade, very dangerous weapon, /
which, under circumstances. causes a !
deadly result. and the pistol.
"Pistol duels are very scarce. and oc- /
-ur seldom between students. bat only 4
army officers and students. but I
mostly on account of 0ffeBses given .
during the one years military service. I
had six rapier duels and one with the f.
"a Der. Being very good sxordsman. .
escaped with a few light scars on nv ]
read. over which the moss has grown
ince e"-IndiauapoliE News