By a round is understood the duration of a contest till one has planted
an unparried blow on his antagonist; it may be on his person or only on
his defensive paraphernalia: of such rounds twelve at least are made.
The small cap indicates the ordinary cap which the student wears; and
the large one, a cap with a very large front or shield. The theological
students fight in the large cap, since a scar in the face would amount
to a termination of their professional career, of which Hauff gives an
example, in the Memoirs of Satan, to which the reader may refer if his
curiosity so far prompts him.
The most customary duel is that with twenty-four rounds and the small
cap. Is it fought in the ordinary manner, that is, twenty-four rounds
with a conclusive wound? then the duel is ended when a blow falls which
is considered a conclusive one, namely, of two inches length, and
deep--according to student phrase--to cut through the two skins. The
duel of twenty-four rounds without conclusive wound proceeds thus. If a
considerable hit is made, the doctor must decide whether the duel can
proceed or not; in the latter case, the fight is continued, however, as
soon as the wounded party is sufficiently restored, which in the
twenty-four rounds with a conclusive stroke as observed, cannot happen.
In either kind of duel, however, it must terminate with the twenty-four
rounds, though neither has lost blood. In this case, both the
antagonists remain unconquered, and give their hands in reconciliation.
When a wound is given, which in its own nature or by the rules of the
duel proves decisive, the second of the wounded party puts an end to
the contest with the words "Remove him!" Distinguished swordsmen
generally fight the single round. In this case they fight for a quarter
of an hour. The umpire stands with his watch in his hand, marks the
pauses which are made for rest when the combatants become weary, and
counts them off from the actual time of fighting. So long a time as has
been consumed in resting, must the duel extend beyond the quarter. The
sixth and last mode consists in fighting without coat, waistcoat, and
cravat, and without the usual defensive costume. This, of course, is
the very worst species of all those which have been enumerated.
When all is ready for the duel, the two combatants confront each other.
The second stands at the left side of each, holding in his hand the
so-called _Secondir-Prügel_, or second's cudgel, a weapon consisting of
a strong rapier fixed into a basket-handle. The witness stands at the
right side. His business is to put in order again the duel costume of
the combatant when it becomes deranged, and to support his arm when it
is become weary. The umpire stands at some little distance, between the
two combatants, and before him is a chair, on which he marks the end of
each round with a chalk line, forming the one side of a square, so that
at the end of twelve rounds his marks have completed this figure....
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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