Page:In defense of Harriet Shelley, and other essays.djvu/275

 THE GERMAN CHICAGO

to be sung. After the names of the officers of the feast were these words in large type:

&quot;Wdhrend des Kommerses herrscht allgemeiner Burgfriede.&quot;

I was not able to translate this to my satisfaction, but a professor helped me out. This was his expla nation: The students in uniform belong to different college corps; not all students belong to corps; none join the corps except those who enjoy fighting. The corps students fight duels with swords every week, one corps challenging another corps to furnish a cer tain number of duelists for the occasion, and it is only on this battle-field that students of different corps exchange courtesies. In common life they do not drink with each other or speak. The above line now translates itself : there is truce during the Com mers, war is laid aside and fellowship takes its place.

Now the performance began. The concealed band played a piece of martial music; then there was a pause. The students on the platform rose to their feet, the middle one gave a toast to the Emperor, then all the house rose, mugs in hand. At the call &quot;One two three!&quot; all glasses were drained and then brought down with a slam on the tables in unison. The result was as good an imitation of thunder as I have ever heard. From now on, during an hour, there was singing, in mighty chorus. During each interval between songs a number of the special guests the professors arrived. There seemed to be some signal whereby the students on the platform were made aware that a professor had

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