Then In The Days
Of Sharp-Pointed Swords, A Spectator Was An Occasional
Victim - The End Of A Broken Sword Flew Five Or Ten
Feet And Buried Itself In His Neck Or His Heart,
And Death Ensued Instantly.
The student duels in Germany
occasion two or three deaths every year, now, but this
arises only from the carelessness of the wounded men;
they eat or drink imprudently, or commit excesses in the
way of overexertion; inflammation sets in and gets such
a headway that it cannot be arrested.
Indeed, there is
blood and pain and danger enough about the college duel
to entitle it to a considerable degree of respect.
All the customs, all the laws, all the details,
pertaining to the student duel are quaint and naive.
The grave, precise, and courtly ceremony with which the
thing is conducted, invests it with a sort of antique charm.
This dignity and these knightly graces suggest the tournament,
not the prize-fight. The laws are as curious as they
are strict. For instance, the duelist may step forward
from the line he is placed upon, if he chooses, but never
back of it. If he steps back of it, or even leans back,
it is considered that he did it to avoid a blow or contrive
an advantage; so he is dismissed from his corps in disgrace.
It would seem natural to step from under a descending
sword unconsciously, and against one's will and intent - yet
this unconsciousness is not allowed.
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