From: "john grigg" <starman125@hotmail.com> Wed, 26 Jan 2000
>At this point Robert Owen slaps Shaun in the face with a glove and
>says, "I demand satisfaction!" "Do you prefer the foil or the
>pistol?" If the duel is done by the knowlege and use of big
>five-dollar words (as Ben Grimm would say) then you have no chance
>Shaun! :)
I believe that dueling still occurs in some European places, in
particular, someplace in Heidelberg, (but I haven't located it, yet).
It's called mensur fencing. One of the friends of my colleague
proudly wears the scar across his cheek that he acquired in his duel
here. (These folks put salt in their cheek wound to make sure that the
scar is noticeable when the wound heals.) The wearing of the scar
is some kind of sign of honor (frankly, I don't get it).
Over the Christmas break, I read a delightful romp by Mark Twain
called _A Tramp Abroad_, about his experiences travelling through
Europe. In that book is an essay "The Student's Dueling Ground", where
he saw some pretty ugly duels in Heidelberg (they were bloodier back
then.. but still.. oh so polite).
You can find the book easily, everywhere, but I also saw it on
the Web:
A Tramp Abroad by Mark Twain
http://real.zj.cninfo.net/books/english%20300/contents/english%20literature/mark%20twain%20%20(1835-1910)/a%20tramo%20abroad/index.htm
And here is his essay about the Heidelberg duel that Twain witnessed:
At the Student's Dueling Ground
http://real.zj.cninfo.net/books/english%20300/contents/english%20literature/mark%20twain%20%20(1835-1910)/a%20tramo%20abroad/chapter05.txt
an undueled student,
Amara
--*************************************************************** Amara Graps | Max-Planck-Institut fuer Kernphysik Interplanetary Dust Group | Saupfercheckweg 1 +49-6221-516-543 | 69117 Heidelberg, GERMANY Amara.Graps@mpi-hd.mpg.de * http://galileo.mpi-hd.mpg.de/~graps *************************************************************** "Never fight an inanimate object." - P. J. O'Rourke
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