A Tramp Abroad - The Original Classic Edition. Twain Mark

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СКАЧАТЬ put through its paces in the air, and this informed us that a student was practicing. Necessarily, this unceasing attention to the art develops an expert occasionally. He becomes famous in his own university, his renown

       spreads to other universities. He is invited to Goettingen, to fight

       with a Goettingen expert; if he is victorious, he will be invited

       to other colleges, or those colleges will send their experts to him. Americans and Englishmen often join one or another of the five corps. A year or two ago, the principal Heidelberg expert was a big Kentuckian;

       he was invited to the various universities and left a wake of victory behind him all about Germany; but at last a little student in Strasburg defeated him. There was formerly a student in Heidelberg who had picked up somewhere and mastered a peculiar trick of cutting up under instead

       of cleaving down from above. While the trick lasted he won in sixteen successive duels in his university; but by that time observers had discovered what his charm was, and how to break it, therefore his championship ceased.

       A rule which forbids social intercourse between members of different corps is strict. In the dueling-house, in the parks, on the street,

       and anywhere and everywhere that the students go, caps of a color group

       themselves together. If all the tables in a public garden were crowded

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       but one, and that one had two red-cap students at it and ten vacant places, the yellow-caps, the blue-caps, the white caps, and the green caps, seeking seats, would go by that table and not seem to see it, nor

       seem to be aware that there was such a table in the grounds. The student by whose courtesy we had been enabled to visit the dueling-place, wore the white cap--Prussian Corps. He introduced us to many white caps, but to none of another color. The corps etiquette extended even to us, who were strangers, and required us to group with the white corps only, and speak only with the white corps, while we were their guests, and keep aloof from the caps of the other colors. Once I wished to examine some of the swords, but an American student said, "It would not be quite polite; these now in the windows all have red hilts or blue; they will

       bring in some with white hilts presently, and those you can handle freely." When a sword was broken in the first duel, I wanted a piece of it; but its hilt was the wrong color, so it was considered best and

       politest to await a properer season.

       It was brought to me after the room was cleared, and I will now make a "life-size" sketch of it by tracing a line around it with my pen, to

       show the width of the weapon. [Figure 1] The length of these swords is about three feet, and they are quite heavy. One's disposition to cheer, during the course of the duels or at their close, was naturally strong,

       but corps etiquette forbade any demonstrations of this sort. However brilliant a contest or a victory might be, no sign or sound betrayed

       that any one was moved. A dignified gravity and repression were

       maintained at all times.

       When the dueling was finished and we were ready to go, the gentlemen of

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       the Prussian Corps to whom we had been introduced took off their caps in the courteous German way, and also shook hands; their brethren of the same order took off their caps and bowed, but without shaking hands; the gentlemen of the other corps treated us just as they would have treated white caps--they fell apart, apparently unconsciously, and left us an unobstructed pathway, but did not seem to see us or know we were there. If we had gone thither the following week as guests of another corps,

       the white caps, without meaning any offense, would have observed the etiquette of their order and ignored our presence.

       [How strangely are comedy and tragedy blended in this life! I had not been home a full half-hour, after witnessing those playful sham-duels, when circumstances made it necessary for me to get ready immediately to assist personally at a real one--a duel with no effeminate limitation in

       the matter of results, but a battle to the death. An account of it, in

       the next chapter, will show the reader that duels between boys, for fun, and duels between men in earnest, are very different affairs.]

       A TRAMP ABROAD, Part 2

       By Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens) First published in 1880

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       Illustrations taken from an 1880 First Edition

       ILLUSTRATIONS:

       1.A A A PORTRAIT OF THE AUTHOR

       2.A A A TITIAN'S MOSES

       3.A A A THE AUTHOR'S MEMORIES

       32.A A FRENCH CALM

       33.A A THE CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

       34.A A A SEARCH

       35.A A HE SWOONED PONDEROUSLY

       36.A A I ROLLED HIM OVER

       37.A A THE ONE I HIRED

       36.A A THE MARCH TO THE FIELD

       39.A A THE POST OF DANGER

       40.A A THE RECONCILIATION

       41.A A AN OBJECT OF ADMIRATION

       42.A A WAGNER

       43.A A RAGING

       44.A A ROARING

       45.A A SHRIEKING

       46.A A A CUSTOMARY THING

       47.A A ONE OF THE "REST"

       48.A A A CONTRIBUTION BOX

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       49.A A CONSPICUOUS

       50.A A TAIL PIECE

       51.A A ONLY A SHRIEK

       52.A A "HE ONLY CRY"

       53.A A LATE COMERS CARED FOR

       54.A A EVIDENTLY DREAMING

       55.A A "TURN ON MORE RAIN"

       56.A A HARRIS ATTENDING THE OPERA

       57.A A PAINTING MY GREAT PICTURE

       58.A A OUR START

       59.A A AN UNKNOWN COSTUME

       60.A A THE TOWER

       61.A A SLOW BUT SURE

       62.A A THE ROBBER CHIEF

       63.A A AN HONEST MAN

       64.A A THE TOWN BY NIGHT

       65.A A GENERATIONS OF BAREFEET

       66.A A OUR BEDROOM

       67.A A PRACTICING

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