enforcing the student's appearance before the ephorat or senate-a body composed of the principal professors in the university, and similar, in its constitution, to the board of our own university. The punishment of the carcer is rarely inflicted, and then only in cases of some dire delinquency. But it never takes place until after a solemn judicial proceeding has been held before the board, and all the statements of both parties, drawn up in writing, have been carefully examined. The punishment of the university are the reproof, the fine, the carcer, and the consilium abeundi, which is similar to our rustication. The student must first sign a solemn promise that he will not, during the period of his future sojourn, be guilty of any breach of discipline. If he breaks this, then comes the punishment of the consilium abeundi, which is in fact banishment for a year, at the end of which the banished man may, if he pleases, return. The severest punishment of all is the relegation, which is expulsion for two years, and which completely puts an end to the student's academic career, as it involves the sacrifice of his degree, and has besides the additional disgrace attached to it, of publication of the offender's name, not only in the university to which he belongs, but in every other university in Europe. Before this, however, can be inflicted, a formal notice of the nature of the offence must be forwarded by the amtman to the other universities, and the cause of complaint, with the student's name and the date of his sentence, is then written on a black tablet or board, which is suspended in the lecture-room of the university as well as in the town hall, and every other public place. It must also be published in the Zeitung or ga

zette.

With reference to the fair sex, the society in Germany is curiously constituted. Some feeling of romance may exist strongly enough, when the tender passion is in its infancy; but after matrimony the scene is somewhat changed-the German, whether burgher, student, or noble, is essentially what Dr. Johnson calls " a clubable man," and the greater part of his time which is not devoted to his professional avocations, is spent in con

vivial fellowship with his friends at the club or cassino, while the lady remains at home, occupied with her domestic avocations in the words of the "Fox Ride," "she sits at home and knits."

The only recreation in which she ever indulges is an occasional drive or ball: for the latter amusement there is at Heidelberg every facility. There are three species of balls -the "Burger Venrein," or the association of citizens; the "Harmonie," so called, we presume, from the harmonizing effect of its societyand the "Museum," which is a spacious building, containing several fine ball and concert rooms, billiard rooms and an excellent table d'hôte. This establishment possesses, also, the additional advantage of a capital news-room, where all the leading continental as well as English journals are taken, and amongst the latter, is our friend Mr. Punch. For a very trifling annual subscription, any one may become a member of this society, and besides access to the balls, concerts, news-room, &c., he has the entré' to a magnificent library, which is stored with authors in all languages, and amongst the collection, strange to say, is a capital selection of some of our best English law books. There is a ball or a concert given at these rooms at least once a month, and the society frequenting them is considered the most aristocratic of the town. To the Harmonie, however, all sorts and conditions of men and women repair; we have seen a grafine or countess and a laundry maid dancing in the same set; a crown prince and a head waiter vis-a-vis-but in Germany this is thought nothing of, and the people who thus attain a temporary elevation, never venture to presume upon it but the instant the ball or festivity is over, return to their respective positions, the waiter and the laundry maid resolve themselves into their original elements, and the next day you will see him whom you met on the previous night, arrayed in all the gorgeousness of blue coat and snowy vest, attired in his accustomed jacket and trousers, of that extraordinary cut by which the German "kelner" is distinguished, waiting with meekness beside some solitary guest who is eating his breakfast in the

coffee room of the hotel; or the lady whom you beheld in all the maiden simplicity of white muslin, and " aperient" diamonds, carrying away a huge pail of water upon her head, which she has with much labour just extracted from the adjoining pump.

This curious mingling of ranks is occasionally the source of a little confusion, and a laughable incident occurred during the course of the last summer, at Wiesbaden, while we were there, which is worth narrating. An English gentlewoman of the highest caste in rank and fashion, went to a harmonie ball at the Kursaal, with her party, which consisted of noblemen, right honourables, and various personages of distinction; having heard a rumour that company, by whom she would not wish to be recognized in St. James's-street, was occasionally to be met with at these places, her ladyship resolved to be very much upon her guard, and preserving a proper degree of aristocratic frigidity, she refused, one after another, various eligible-looking, whiskered foreigners who asked for the honour of her hand. At length a perfect Adonis was presented to her tice, the cut of his glossy whiskers was only to be surpassed by the cut of his inexpressibles, his moustache curled most irresistibly, and there was "fascination in his very bow," as he asked for the honour of the lady's hand for a waltz. The favour was accorded the handsome German danced to perfection-he spoke English like a native-knew every stranger in the town-had the names of all the travelling English at his fingers' ends-in short, he succeeded in making himself so agreeable, that the fair Englishwoman danced not only once but repeatedly with her amiable partner. At length in a pause of the music, she was seen by one of her own party, who having with some difficulty succeeded in making his way to her through the crowd, was able upon some excuse to detach her from her companion.

no

"May I take the liberty of asking if your ladyship knows with whom you have been dancing so often to-night?"

"No," was the reply; "but he is a most agreeable and gentlemanly person, and is, besides, one of the very

best waltzers I ever danced with. He knows, too, all the families here at present."

"He has certainlyhad considerable facilities for making their acquaintance." "May I ask his name, for in the noise, when he was introduced, I could not distinctly catch it?

"His name is Der Herr Fritz."

"May I ask what he is? He must be in some public office in this town." "Yes; he is the 'oberkelner" at the Gasthaus von Rose."

The Auszug, or marching forth, is one of the direst catastrophes that can occur in a university town; and it is another of the consequences which results from this confederation among the students to which we have already alluded. This is a species of rebellion, when the Bursch throw off all manner of discipline, and leave not only the university, but the town in a large body. It is, of course, a very rare occurrence; but we have heard of one occasion on which it took place at Heidelberg, in consequence of some grievous act of oppression on the part of the government, in the meditated arrest, if we recollect aright, of some students whom they wished to remove from the pale of that protection which was extended to them by the university laws. This was an aggression not to be tolerated — to remove, by a summary species of habeas corpus, the person of a student from the "carcer" of the university to the Manheim gate, which is the state prison, was not to be borne; and accordingly, when the guard was turned out for the purpose of arresting the offenders, the nature of whose crime we do not now remember, the formidable shout arose (which those who have once heard it can never forget) of "Bursch, come forth." The whole town was soon in an uproar. It is not difficult for fifteen hundred excited young gentlemen to produce such an effect. Forth from their lodgings they hurried, a tumultuous throng, every horse and every carriage in the place was speedily put into requisition; the seniors of the different chores galloped like mad through the streets, blowing their bugles, and yelling forth that fearful war cry of" Bursch, come forth;" echoed by a thousand voices, it rent the

very air. The townspeople retreated to their habitations in dismay, and at length the mighty host, every man carrying a drawn schlager in his hand, assembled in the Museum Platz, from whence, under the command of their respective leaders, they departed by the Manheim road-some in carriages, some on horseback, but every man of them shouting like devils, and singing at intervals some of the wildest of their Burschen songs.

There was a pretty scene of confusion, as may be imagined, when the last chore had defiled from the city gate. There was a college-there was a lecture-room-there were learned lecturers; but where were the students? The hall was deserted-the streets looked as if they had been desolated by some fearful visitation-learned professors met each other, and shook their heads dubiously in sage consultation. What was to be done? The tradespeople, deprived of most of their customers, seemed like to rise in rebellion too. The high functionaries of the state, both learned and civil, could not for several days make up their minds to any decided course of action; and at length, intelligence arrived that the students had formed a regular encampment upon the left bank of the Rhine, near Worms, and that they were giving a series of entertainments to the surrounding neighbourhood. The "Amtman," who had gone to consult the grand duke, was inclined to think that a troop of dragoons, with drawn sabres, might induce them to listen to reason. The professors and the University beadles, who, probably, knew their men better, endeavoured to dissuade him from such a proceeding, but, however, the Amtman being a man in authority, and thinking he knew better than any of them, would have his own way, and accordingly a troop of dragoons was ordered down from Manheim, and having crossed the

Rhine by the bridge of boats, proceeded at once to where the rebel camp had intrenched itself. Puffing and sweating, with the Amtman at their head, they arrived at the close of a sultry summer's day at Worms, and at once proceeded to summon the students to surrender, but they found them regularly drawn up in an immense square, which presented at all sides a formidable line of serried steel. To charge them would probably have exceeded the Amtman's instructions even if he could have prevailed upon the heavy German cavalry to make the attempt. So he came to the conclusion, that the best thing he could do would be to let them alone; and he accordingly gave the word right about face, and returned to Heidelberg, looking as foolish as it was possible for so solemn a functionary to do. Another council of war was held by the university authorities and the civil functionaries; and after long and grave debate, it was decided that the point at issue should be conceded. An ambassador was accordingly sent to the camp, the bearer of this intelligence. But the students protested loudly against the unusual act of calling out the military against them, and said they would not return until they had a solemn guarantee that every soldier had evacuated the town. This stipulation, the authorities, who saw there was very little use in further contesting the point, at once acceded to; and the rebels then returned to their allegiance. But this prompt assertion of their privileges showed the state how dangerous it was to interfere with them; and the Bursch has ever since been treated with the greatest respect by the "law officers of the state;" and whenever he offends, is always left to be dealt with by the tender mercies of the university authorities.

THE real, thoroughbred old Bursch is rapidly disappearing-he will soon be "a rara avis in terris;" therefore any attempt, however feeble, to catch some of the distinctive features of his tribe, or to give a faithful description of those VOL. XXVIII.-No. 163.

ceremonies for which he has so long been remarkable, will not, we hope, be regarded as laying a too minute stress upon matters which may appear of comparative unimportance. We take it for granted, that most

F

of our readers are tolerably familiar with the system of education which is pursued at the more celebrated of the German universities; if he is not, we can refer him to plenty of books, where he will find them most ably discussed. Our object is merely to present to his notice such traits of the character and manners of the students, as will very speedily, in the progress of refinement, be altogether obliterated, or survive only in the memories of those who have seen him.

In a former paper upon student life, we have attempted to describe their duels, several of which we happened to have an opportunity of observing. It may not be uninteresting to the peacefully disposed inhabitants of this country, to know that these duels, which sometimes terminate unpleasantly enough, in the occasional loss of a nose or an ear, very often have their origin in but slight foundations. The causes of quarrel are frequently quite as minute as that sought for by the Irishman of old at Donnybrook fair, who trailed his coat after him, shouting, "Let me see the man that'll tramp on this!" And among the Burschen, especially when no ill-feeling has previously existed, and merely a trial of skill is sought for, the most frivolous pretexts are often made available; and of these, that which is in the most frequent use is the "dunmer junge," which, by a sort of tacit conventional arrangement, is considered equivalent to a challenge; it is at all events considered an insult of so grave a nature, as to render a duel inevitable. Now, reader, what do you suppose this dire offence is? Some epithet of the most atrocious character" scoundrel," you will say,

or

"knave." No; for once you are mistaken. It means simply, "blockhead," the literal translation of the

phrase is, " silly youth;" and when once that expression has passed the "bulwark of the teeth," the only alternative is "cold iron." This is a species of insult which, however frivolous it may appear to us, is not allowed to be given, except by a Bursch of proper standing. A mere fox, for instance, cannot be the bearer of it; and we heard of an amusing incident which once took place, in consequence of a young gentleman belonging to this last mentioned respectable class, making himself the bearer of a message, which he, from the juni

ority of his standing, had no right to bring.

There was a hoary old senior of a certain chore-a regular ancient. whose face one could hardly discern from the quantity of whiskers and moustache which grew thereon—a man who had fought his way into public estimation, and now, covered with honourable scars, was reposing on his laurels. One day as he was smoking in his chamber, there entered a young fox, who had probably been not very long "caught." "I bring you," said he, in some trepidation at beholding the portentous countenance of the solemn-smoking student-"I bring—or, I mean, Herr von Mar,' sends you a 'dunmer junge.'

"I know it," was the senior's quiet reply, without raising his eyes.

"He sends you a 'dunmer junge,' replied the fox again.

"Yes, of course," said the senior, looking up, and staring in the fox's

face. "I see him."

The poor fox, who was quite unaware of the impropriety of which he had been guilty in being the bearer of this message, retreated in great confusion, evidently seeing that he had somehow got into the wrong box, but not in the least degree being able to understand either the force of the joke, or the impropriety of his conduct, until upon his relating the answer, he was greeted by a shout of laughter from his companions.

Of infinite variety are the names by which the student is distinguished during his abode at the university. While in the gymnasium, or entrance school, he rejoices in the appellation of Frog; and when he succeeds in entering the university, this epithet is altered into that of a Camel. The period of his camelship having passed by, he becomes, upon his admission into the chore, a fox-a term which, as we have heard, is derived from the fact, that these young gentlemen are supposed to possess the cunning and slyness of their namesakes. During the first year of his college life he is a "crass fuchs," or fat fox; in the second, he is a brand-fox. The year of Foxhood having terminated, he becomes a regular Bursch, and so on advances, in due process of time, to be "bemossed head," which is the very highest degree of honour to which a student can ever attain. Smile not,

a