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Show 7 fHE student, even in these modern times, is a characteristic charac-teristic figure in tbe Fatherland. Father-land. His dress is no longer distinctive, that is to say in the large towns and in everyday every-day life, but as a type he is unmistakable. "Frel its der bursch" Is his proud boast, and his general appearance Is an assertion oX this claim to liberty. The freedom ' that the German student enjoys Is as a matter of (act very real. In this country university life is a continuance on a wider basis of public Bchool life, but such Is not the case In Germany. Here the pupil in the gymnasium Is subjected to strict school and home discipline until he passes his leaving examination. He remains a schoolboy In every sense of the word, and only his Intellect is trained so that It may benefit from the fuller Instruction of the university. The moment he finishes his school career, however, an absolutely new life suddenly opens up for him. The leaving certificate given him by his teachers at the gymnasium entitles him to enter as a student at any German Ger-man university without further ado, and the fact may be mentioned that Germans contend that this leaving certificate is equivalent not to our I matriculation but to the B.A. degree ( tv y Df our universities. The German stu- Jent, therefore, In the opinion of the educationalists of his country beginB where many of our students finish. From the moment that he receives his .eaving certificate the German youth Is a man. He is freed from domestic sontrol, he enters his name as a student stu-dent In any university he chooses, selects se-lects his faculty and course of studies, ind attends lectures or not just as he (eels disposed. All the German universities are nonresidential, non-residential, so the student finds a lodging in a private house, where he Is subject to no control whatever. Expense Ex-pense Is no bar to a university career ca-reer in Germany. The fees paid by a theological student amount to only about $125; In the other faculties they are slightly higher, and the highest high-est namely, about $375 are paid by medical students. Books and instruments instru-ments coBt very little as they can Baslly be obtained from the universities universi-ties or other institutions. An examination exam-ination fee, however, of from $75 to lit - I , ; ' , ) Sr ' . " v " -. M , V, r , t - 1 ' ' I, I ',V I ' " ti - I ' ' ' - 7 1 i $125, according to the faculty, Is paid by the student on obtaining his doctor's doc-tor's degree. It is stated that a student stu-dent can live on $300 a year, except in cities like Berlin, if he Bpends his vacations va-cations at home and is provided by his parents with clothes and linen. It must be added, however, that each university un-iversity student costs the state about $150 a year. The number of students at the 21 German universities was last summer just over 57,000, of whom about 2,500 are women; and it may be mentioned that In 1871 the number was barely 13,000. Berlin university had last summer 8,425 male and 777 female students; 613 of the latter study In the philosophical faculty. 152 in the medical, 10 are studying jurisprudence and 2 theology. The German Btudent does not remain at one university, he Is even encouraged by the educational education-al authorities to sit under various professors pro-fessors in order that his knowledge and judgment may be widened. There are, of course, rich students and poor students, though no distinction is made in the lecture rooms. In their non-academic life, however, they rarely rare-ly associate. German students have always belonged to associations established es-tablished among themselves. In earlier earl-ier times these had a political object, nowadays their object Is social or educational, ed-ucational, or the encouragement of athletics and sport The upper classes have their corps, several of which al most compare In organization an management with the exclusive Lon don clubs. It Is in these corps thai the students' duels are fought The students are jealous of theli liberty, and all academic and othei laws have failed to put down duellin! among them. The German student li as keen In learning to be proflcieni in the use of the rapier as his Eng lish confrere is to become a flrst-clasi sportsman, and the authorities recog nlze how valuable the "mensur" is ii accustoming the duellist to look bii opponent fearlessly In the eye. to col lect all the force of his will, and tc control his faculties. They reallz that it helps the formation of charao ter and preuares the student for 6 courageous battle with life. The cod or honor among the members of thes corps is very strict, and an infringe ment of it can be wiped out only wltt-blood. wltt-blood. That the duels are fought ae cording to the most rigid rules goes without saying, and every care Is taken that the vital parts are protected. pro-tected. It requires courage, however, not to flinch or to move an eyelid while the cheek or the chin is being slit or the end of the nose cut off by an opponent's rapier. Doctors are always in attendance to bind up the wounds, and a student with yards of lint round his head, covering cov-ering up almost every feature, is a common sight in the Btreets of the university towns. The scars left or the face as the result of these duels are the life-long pride of their owner. The emperor in his recent speech to the pupils of the upper class of his old gymnasium at Cassel again advo-vocated advo-vocated training In the use of the rapier for the above-mentioned reasons. rea-sons. His majesty also warned his hearers against over-indulgence in beer drinking. This touched a very sore point, for the beer mug is as dear to the German student as are his books; often more so. Every corps and association has its special restaurant restau-rant In every university town, and here the students assemble at stated times of the day, generally In their caps and colors, to enjoy their liberty lib-erty under special rules and regulations. |