The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-15
DUELs AT HEIDELBERG.
German stud-nts stiil seeking Scared Faces
and Paradins Them Afterward.

and Paradins Them Afterward.
HRIpELBERG. June sO.-The German college
boys seem TO be cutting and slashing one an
other with their accustomed cheerful fervor.
People told US that the practice was dying out
It's an uncommonly lively corpse. Half the
young mon one meets In the streets here have
their faces decorated with unconventional de-
signs of scars. To-day at luncheon q student
sat near us. his profile turned our way. We
counted his fresh scars. There were elk on our
side OF his face. Perhaps that was his best side
This Saturday " one of the days set apart
for the noble pastime Of duelling. Monday.
Tuesday. Friday and Saturday are duellins
days here. We don know what 10 the matter
with the apple pie. so to speak, In other words.
We don't know why this invidious distinction
Is made against Wednesday and Thursday.
Maybe the boys go to school those days. How
ever that may be, you can round up q duellins
party on any one Of the four mornings men
toned by going at 0 A. NJ. to q little Inn across
the river from the town.
There Il a long and ancient bridge across
the river, and the tradition is that II you cross
this bridge without uttering a word. pause at
the farther end, look back at tho castle.
and frame q wish IN your mind, that
same desire will he granted. The dearest
wish OF the university student here Is appar-
entity to get a rather more complex pattern Of
scars than any OF his fellows possess. The
elaborate nature Of their facial decoration In
this line makes one think they must have made
a wish for a good carving every time they
crossed the bridge bound for a duel.
All the Americans who come to Heidelberg
want to assist. as the French have II, ut one Of
these duels. There's only one thing easier In
the place. That Is for the students to get up
the duels. Any old thing serves a. a pretext.
These little carving bouts are not affairs OF
insulted honor. They are simply occasions
when the kind-hearted students accommodate
one another In realizing their fondest ambitions.
The outsider does not assist in a very intimate
way. He stands outside and peeks through a
window. This is q trifle disconcerdne 10 the
duellists when the assisting American happens
10 be a girl-as II often does happen to be-but
It's more disconcerting 10 the girl. Thu waiter
ut the inn Is the recipient OF her embarrassed
conf dence about the why and the wherefore
Of her visit. She Rurgles the information in
piebald German that she yearns 10 see n duel.
She thinks that the waiter will be Mortified or
amused or something else unpleasant. But
all he does Is 70 take her out through the back
door. swish her around the corner OF the house
and leave her with her nOse against a window
pane. the target for thirty or forty pairs Of
eyes.
In the room before her, a big, bare hall. well
lighted by windows, the industrious duellis.s
are hard at II. They are bleeding more or less.
andonoein a while they pause lille the surgeon
attendants dab away the blood with absorbent
cotton. Twenty-Five minutes is the prescribed
length OF the duel. and 1t is really astonishing
how much can be accomplished In that length
Of time, II Is by no means unusual for a duellist
To get half a dozen cuts in the course OF n single
duel. These. II well distributed and sufficiently
illtreated will make him an unpleasina object
for the rest Of his life. enabling him TO fulfill the
chief end OF a German University stu dent.
There Is no positive danger to anything but
good looks In these student duels. There are
various safeguards for the eyes and nose. and
as the head IL the only part OF the body attacked
there's no harm done except 10 the beauty OF
o ts' p I9%ea aad the Il tes i R 2 Carried sdd e sSlsIi bs a Snd
the actual fighting. Just before luncheon we
met two students on the main street here. One
Of them was fresh from a duel; He had some
-distributed over his face, But he had evil
IDENTIFY. received the chef diruvre upon his jaw.
He held a folded handkerchief tightly against
the spot. and though he looked pretty pale he
walked stoutly on. With him was anothar
student. not adorned with any very new scars.
lie had the newly-carved one by the arm and
wa really rather supporting him.
II was actually a parade. They went the
length Of the street on one side and a little
later We met them coming, back on the other
side. The duellist was looking decided
rocky. His pallor had taken a gray hue and
had Ris f gifted dn aro; s1Ss ths a14' lie held held the R Ra9S?
kerchief more tight, 70 his face and his head
seemed 10 have gone down between his shout
ders. The other student still had him BY the
arm arid the two punctliously took OF their
hats to acIuaintar oes. II was an e1 hibition
OF pluck. but IL hardl seemed worth while.
4 little later we met a student who had a big
black veil over his head and under his hat,
II covered the back Of his head and neck and
hung about his face In passing we had a
glimpse Of ragged, red seams IN his face as the
wi I'd blew the veil aside, Students with be-
p~lastered scars and with soft silk caps covering
wounded scalps are 70 common that nobody
noticed them. For a custom that has been