The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-03-14
One Bluffs a German with a
Shotgun and Buekshot.
YOUNG MILLER WON THE kNEIPE
DueIs Among the Students at German Uni
the Practice. but They Sometimes Take
Up the GaBtlet-Look Too Seriously 90
the Pastime-A Bluff with a shotgun-
How Miller Won the ''kneIpe."

! CbHlpilCuIlDHS inAI never come 10 the NO
/ tice of the State Department The man
who made this statement was a young
| physician stopping at the Arlington. He
/ i not what one would call a regular
| practitioner. He has too much money
| He is one Of those dilettantes who study
medicine merely TO say that they have
| done something serious. Most of his time
| is spent in travelling and he.is globe-trot-
| ter who mas made a belt line of this old
| sphere several times. His "reminiscences
| OF student days at European universities
| are replete with interesting anecdote.
These international squabbles are not
| exactly what you would call imbroglios,
| for they partake too much of a personal
nature. Yet they are inspired by patriot
| ism, or what passes for the same
| thing The American tourist is always
| getting into a peck of trouble abroad He
seems TO fall into it. Nearly every time
| his native wit carries him safely through.
At other times his pluck and grit turn
! the scale in his favor. To be sure, there
are some coarse paTvenus from this side
| of the pond who go about making them
| selves ridiculous. and giving their coun-
| trymen a bad reputation. but there are
| not so many Of them as one might think.
| In the main. an American has reason TO
be proud of his fellow-citizens. l was a
| student at the University of Berlin, and
| we had a great many Americans in the
medical and other departments. The way
| those fellows comported themselves on
various trying occasions made me glad to
| acknowledge that / was born under the
Stars and Stripes.
You see, there is a great deal of duel
ing among the students. They take their
cue from the army. In fact, the spirit
| OF militarism pervades the whole Dody
polite in the empire. They are a cheap
lot when you come to probe them to the
bottom. They are a sort of cross be-
! tween swashbuckler of the Richelieu
period and a Western cowboy. They have
all the vices Of both without the good
| qualities Of either. They lack the cham
| pagne-like piquancy of a D'Artagnan or
| the daredevil Tecklessness of the frontier
desperado. There is a bearish insolence
IN their manner that is uncomfortable. and
when they try it on a high-spirited Joy
! from this side of the Atlantic. they are
sure to rouse a tiger. Americans don't
! take kindly to the dueling system II ia
rarely fatal, but when IL comes to dIsfy-
! urlng mans countenance it throws blue
| Yltriol in the shade With the Germans
1t is national isstitution. The man who
has his face marked up with scars and
crosses is looked upon as a medaled hero.
and ranks higher than the man who
makes the winning touchdown in Yale
Harvard Thanksgiving football match.
IT Is easy TO see why an American n
would not enjoy the business. He regards
life too seriously to consider this thrust
and parry business as a mere rastirne
He objects TO being called out for his life
and receive a scratch in the face. and
then have TO sit down in a beer garden.
raise his stein and cry 'hoch' to his ad
versary of half an hour before. When no
throws down the glove he means business
He calls for pistols. and there Is little
probability of coffee afterward. II means
the morgue or the hospital. OF course this
puzzles the kraut-eaters They don't like
10 see a go TO the finish. They prefer
! trying for points. Another thing seems
to keep them guessing. They are afraid
of an American or an Englshman with
his fists. They don't seem to think that
nature provided man with any means of
ofense or defense. If you strike a Ger
man a good heavy blow he will not re-
turn 1t. He doesn't know how. He will
ask you TO try swords, and if you, as the
challenged party, choose pistols. the mat
| ter is hushed up with an apology.
Picking Quarrel.
"Quarrels are picked on the slightest
pretext. 1 was sitting one evening at d
table in a beer garden cOnversing in Ger
man with d fellow student who hailed
from Denver His name was BARLEY and
he was bundle of nerve. We were talk
ing in moderate tones discussing the
rivers OF the world. BARLEY remarked
that the Rhine was muddy. Two or three
German students were sitting at an ad-
jacent table and one of them happened to
owe, near the remark. He stepped up 10
US with a clustering air.
Did you say that the Rhine was
muddy river? ne asked in a threatening
tone. BARLEY replied that he did.
II live On the Rhine remarked the
Deustcher significantly.
What Of it?' asked BARLEY with
amused interest.
This much answered the German
getting excited. You have cast refec-
tions on the river and have insulted me.
shall call you 10 account for your
Offensive language. / challenge you 10 a
duel
L don't want to fight a duel
As you please, sir. Ii you decline to
fight l shan brand you as a coward
q But i don't think / am q coward. an
sWered Bartley in a quiet way lie still
refused 20 look at the matter in a serious
light. j may be coward, but l don't
think that | am. l shah not fight unless
you insist On II, for / don't see that We
have any quarrel You don't own the
Rhine. You act as IL you had exclusive
control Of the stream. Go away. You are
drunk.