The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-02-19

proportions appeared In Leip-
sic as a law student under old Wind
scherdt. He had some squabble with
a German student In the Cafe Fran
cais. 1t was about newspaper that
both wished to read at once or some
thing equally trivial. Cards were ex-
changed.
The Yale man was challenged. He
knew nothing about weapons of the
ordinary kind, but he had pitched in
the Yale base ball nine. SO, to get his
fun out of rhe affair, he named base
balls as the weapons-base balls at ten
PAGES were the conditions, so tradition
says. The German had never heard of
base ball, and none could be got in
Leipsic to illustrate TO him their deadly
qualities. Eventually the Yale man
said ordinary hardwood base balls,
three inches in diameter, would do him,
as these, too, were in common use west
of the Rockies for duelling purposes.
Both principals accordingly were sup
piled with hardwood balls, and at .
o'clock in the morning the procession
moved out to the Rosenthal with sur
geons, seconds, and friendly advisers.
The rest of the story is brief and pain
full, though bloodesS AT the first .ex-
change the Yale man sent an in-curve
into the natives jaw, just to the left
of the mouth, and broke it. The ma
tive's seconds declared that honor had
beer satisfied and the procession moved
back to the town for breakfast-all eX-
cept the victim of the in-curve, who
was taken to a private clinic to be re-
paired.
This may sound n trine improbable,
but not mere so than the American
duel stories that arc put forth monthly.
Improbabl" or not, il is part of the
local history in which Americans figure
as duarrclsome, bad men who are best
let alone by civilized Europeans.
YANKEE DESTRUCTIVENESS.
Finally the reputatio of Americans
for general destructiveness was made
complete by some ten or twelve young
barbarianS from New York, Baltimore
and Chicago. who went through the
concert halls on the Bruhl and the
Koenigsplatz weekly for almost
whole winter picking fights right anc
left. smashing glassware and upsettine
tables. until the long-suffering police
lost patience, and the city became
too warm for then. 1t is a curious IL
| lustratiun of the effect foreign air has
on the young American-thtS carniVa
| of rowdyism, in which the youngsters
! spread terror and confusion through
! the smaller night resorts OF l'eipsic
! Now two of them are professors II
| large Eastern colleges. several are
practiCing doctors in this city, and th'
rest are as sober and diGnihed men a
tho world produces. All that is lef
of their crazy winter in LeipSlc is tn
reputation for pugnacity which the!
beuueathed to their successors i'll Leip
sizes American colony.
In a big cosmopolitan city like Der
/ lin the American, like everybody else
! seems to lose his distinctive identity
and he has to take things pretty nue.
as would anybody else, eXCent for tn
| help that he gets from the genera
| American reputation for recklessnes
and good pistol practice. Just Wha
this means was shown by the eXperi
ence Of q San Francisco man or TN
writer's acquaintance. The man ha
gone abroad with his wife for 81
months vacation. y baby Slrl wa
born into his family under the super
vision of n Berlin physician who prao
tices much in the American colony c
the German capital. The San Fran
cisco mans wife was not convalescer
until he had oVerrun his vacation tim
fnur months, and was receiving dali
cabIegrams from his partner to "com
home or the business would go to III
devil"
BY the time his wife was fairly q
her feet he was desperate in his hast
TO 60. He wrote for the doctors bill
and got one for 1000 marks-an amour
that. all things considered, CORE
spends with about $3.50 in Americ
The doctor apparently thought he ha
caught a rich Westerner to Who
money was of little account, and !
had made out his bill accordingly
PAYING THE DOCTOR.
The San Francisco man did not thin
twice before writing across The bill
bitter denunCiatiOn of the Doctor an
a challenge to d pistol duel, sealing II
communication and addressing it
the doctor. The proceedings We're M
in harmony with the German code-e
pccially as regards the chal'eng
naming the weapons-but the effe
= was not the less on this account. TT
next morning the doctor called on Il
San Francisco man, apologiZed unil
tentionally. and reduced the amount
the bill to 450 marks, which was abo'
the proper figure. He explained tn
: he was the head of, family and d
not feel that he could risk his life in
duel with the American, especially
he understood the gentleman was {
= irfallible pistol shot like all his con
n patriots from the western states
|, Thus it is evident that even in BE
n | lin the fear that an Amer!Cs