"You cannot help it, Miss Elisabet'," said the naturalist. "They fight for _nozing_ -- they fight for _nozing_. I never asked one, but I have been oblige to fight a good many. The students make themselves into clubs; and the way is, when two students of different clubs, get in a quarrel, their presidents must fight it out; -- so they meet people in duels that they have never spoken to, nor seen. I will give you an instance. -- One of these fellows -- a great fighter -- he had fought perhaps forty times, -- he was bragging about it; 'he had fought such one and such one,' he said; -- 'perhaps he ought to have fought Herder, in order to say that he was the best man with the sword of all the German students, -- perhaps he ought to have met Herder, but he didn't care about it!' And a young fellow that heard him, that was by, he took it up; 'Sir,' said he, 'Herder is my friend -- you must fight him -- come to my room to-morrow morning at seven o'clock -- he will meet you;' -- 'very well,' they agree upon the matter togezer. The next morning he come bouncing into my room at a quarter after seven -- 'Herder! Herder! come on! -- Lessing is waiting to fight you in my room.' -- 'What is the matter?' -- 'O, Lessing said so and so, and I told him you would fight him at seven, and it is a quarter past' -- 'Well, you tell him I didn't know of this, I am not keeping him waiting; I will come directly.' -- I was not up. So I got myself dressed, and in ten minutes I was there. A duel is finished when they have given twelve blows" -- "Twelve on each side, Mr. Herder?" "Yes -- when they have both of them given twelve blows apiece. Before we begun, Lessing and me, I whispered to somebody who stood there, that I would not touch him unless he touched me; and then I would give it to him in the ribs. I received ten blows on my arm, which is covered wiz a long glove; the eleven, he cut my waistcoat -- I had one blow left, and I gave it to him in the ribs so long --" Mr. Herder's words were filled out by the position of his fore fingers, which at this juncture were held some seven or eight inches apart. "O Mr. Herder! -- did you kill him!" exclaimed Rose. "Not at all -- I did not kill him -- he was very good friend of mine, -- he was not angry wiz me. He said, 'when I get well, Herder, you come to breakfast wiz me in my room;' and I said, 'yes!'" "Is that kind of thing permitted in the Universities, Mr. Herder?" said Elizabeth. "Permit? -- No, it is not permitted. They would hinder it if they could." "What would have been done to you if you had been found out?" "Humph! -- They would have shut us up!" said Mr. Herder, shrugging his shoulders. "In your rooms?" "No -- not exactly; -- in the fortress. At Munich the punishment for being found out, is eight years in the fortress; -- at ozer places, four or five years; -- yet they will fight." "How many Universities have you been in, Mr. Herder?" said Rose. "I have been in seven, of Universites in Europe."