The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-13
OUR BAL MEN IN EUROPE.
IMPRESSIONS LEFT ny PUGNACIoUs
AND MEEK AMERICANS.

and the Reputation They Have Made for
tho Average American on the Coutinent-A
Baseball Episode-The Pistol as Pcaceunker.
There arc countless Observation-Disclosures and
false traditions on the European continent re-
Rarding the duolinR practices of Americans.
One common idea is that the ono truly Ameri-
can duel is fought by lot. The principals are
supposed to put a black ball and q white ball in
u hat, shake them together. and then draw. The
one getting the black ball browns or shoots him
self, and the other goes on his way rejoicing.
That is tho American duel, as It is known to
the Swiss, German, and Austrian, and no
amount of argument or denial will convince a
native Of one OF these countries that 1t is not.
Whenever two morbid students or lovesick
rivals decide their quarrel In this way the Con-
tinental newspapers always place over the re-
port OF the tragedy the stcreotyped caption:
IAN American Duel" As to tho addiction OF
Americans to the ordinary pistol or sword duels
of the Old World, opinions vary a good deal
among Continental people. Americans abroad
do 30 many wild and fantastic things, show
their pugnacity in such unconventional ways,
resent 30 often the injuries they are not ex.
pected to resent, and leave unrescnted 80 fro
quently tho insults that are supposed to mean
unavoidable bloodshed, that they have pro-
ducod q chaotic uncertainty in tho European
mind as to American views OF honor and dis
honor in the light Of the code. In Vienna, for
instance, the writer found tho students firmly
convinced that an American would not fight
in any way or under any circumstances.
That was because n few years ago three
Americans allowed themselves to DO hoctored
and bullied by several Austrians, whose ami
mostly they had aroused. without once blacking
an eye or sending a challenge. When those
, three Americans sneaked out of Vienna to es.
cape the necessity of defending themselves they
did untold damage to the American reputation
for courage; the students in the Austrian capt.
tai still cherish the conviction that an American
man ia about tho meancst-spirited creature on
the face of the earth.
In Leipsic, on the other hand. local history has
worked Just the other way. There tho average
German regards an American as a kind of white
Indian, who would rather go out and pick n row
than eat or sleep. Tho Leipsiger Is stepped In
his belief that an American youth fights in
differently with his feet, fists. head. brass
knuckles, cane, shillelah, swords, or pistols.
Anything that comes handy Is supposed to be
the American weapon; he isn't particular about
means. all he wants is trouble. That is not a
nice reputation for a nationality, but for per-
sonal comfort 1t has its advantages for the
United States citizens who live under its pro-
tecting shadow.
There is a variety OF concrete reasons for the
Leipsic idea. One was given by a Southerner-a
kentuckian of a famous family-who hurried
off to the Rosenthal with an officer, who treated
him discourteously, went at it with sabres, and
disabled his antagonist in seventy seconds. The
meeting took place twelve years ago, but the
memory Of 1t is still green.
Then a musical Bostonian, whose ambitions
outstripped his purse. resented, an insult from a
student In the gallery Of the Old Theatre about
three years later. He was poorly dressed and
mistaken by the German for a person who might
be joked with impunity. The musician slapped
moment, and the next day sent him a challenge
to fight with pistols. The German objected to
the the A prcpef amount nn%'n of 's sSu %fSsSRfiGns' to sna cle a a
honors stain. the duel was declared off.
daell ii,sis story ta!e Of the mere Hm MrS nora baseball Sc aii' Piteh sne
How it originated. whether, in an ingenious
Yankee brain or in some ,semblance OF fact, the
The story itself, however. is worth telling. 4
Yale graduate Of massive proportions appeared
scherdt. He had some squabble with a German
student in the Cafe Francais; 1t was about a
The Yale man was challenges. He knew moth
ims "p pitched IN the Yale baseball nine. So. i to
get his fun out of the affair. he named baseballs
eo so tradition says. The German had
never heard Of a baseball. and none could be got In
teipsic to iil1strate TO- him their b drd deadly Gmsi tiles
baseballs. three inches in diameter, would DC
him, as these, too. were in common use west oil
pals accordingly were Supplied with hardwoo
balls. and at S O'clock in the morning the pro
cession moved out TO the, Rosenthal with sur
geons, seconds. and friendly advisers; The rest
OF the story is brief and painful. though bloodless
, curve into the native Jaw. Just to the left Of the
mouth. and brokeit The natives second declared
, moved back to the town for brenkfast-all ex
cept the victim OF tho in'curve, who was taker
! to a private clinic to be repaired.
Thia NAV gnund N tFi1n imnFObnhlp- huf mi
more SO than the American duel stories that ar,
put forth monthly: Improbable or not, Il is par,
, quarrelsome, bad men who are best let alone By
civilized Europeans.
5 eral dcstructiyeness was made complete b!
4 some ten OF twelve young barbarians from New
: through GfS u the Concert halls on the BraSI and III,
n koenigsPIatz weekly for ALMOST mo, a whole white,
0 ware and 1psettine tables. until tho lons-snffer
. ing police lost patience. and the city becam'
y lion tGS w OF the ,o efre sneff foreign "a air has on the youns
American-this carnival Of rowdyism, in whicl
i the youngsters spread terror and confusion
Now two Of them arc professors in large East
ern colleges: several are practising doctors II
men as the world produces. All that is left o
. their crazy w%interin Leipsic is the reputation
successors in Leipsic's American colony.
In q big, cosmopolitan city like Berlin tn
distinctive identity, and he has TO take thing
pretty much as would anybody else. except 70
the help that he gets from the general American
reputation for recklessness and good pisto
practice. Just what this means was shown b
s the experience OF n San Francisco man of tn
writer's acquaintance. The man had gon
a abroad with his wife for q six months vacation
o A baby girl was born into his family unde
. the supervision OF n Berlin physician who praC
tises much in tho American colony Of the GeI
from the start. The San Francisco mans wifi
was not convalesccnt until he had overrun hi
/ vacation time four months. and was recciyin
I daily cablegrams from his partner TO "com'
= home or the business would go to the devil.
. BY tho time his wife was fairly on her feet h
= was desperate in his haste to go. He wrote TO
h the doctors bill, and got one for ! 900 marks
. spends with about $3.50 in America. The doc
i tor apparently thought he had caught 2 re
count, and he hal made out his bill accordingly
= The San Francisco man did not think twic
before writing across tho bill n bitter denupciG
= tion OF the doctor, and n challenge to q pisto
q duel. sealing the communication and addressin
u harmony with the German cOde--especially n