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THE DUBLIN

UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE.

No. CLXXXIX.

SEPTEMBER, 1848. VOL. XXXII.

LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF GERMAN STUDENT LIFE.

CHAPTER I.-SOME PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF A BEMOSSED HEAD, RAPPELKOPFHIS INFANCY AND BOYHOOD.

"Sleep gently, near thy mother's heart reposing,
This weary life can never bring thee rest-
Sleep, ere thine eye with sorrow's tear is closing,
Be thy world still on that dear mother's breast."

STUDENT SONG BY KERNER,

"What dreams of fortune onward bore him,
His soul with lofty visions fed,
While dancing in the sun before him,
An äery throng life's chariot led."

It was so long a time since we had opened the note-book, on the pages of which are jotted down, just as they occurred, many of the incidents of that agreeable year we spent among the students, that we had almost forgotten its very existence. A few weeks ago, however, upon one of these raw, uncomfortable mornings when the splashy mud underfoot, and the agreeable mixture of sleet and rain overhead, left us no alternative but to remain within doors, having nothing better to do we occupied ourselves in setting our house (we should possibly have expressed ourselves with more propriety had we said our rooms) in order; and having discovered, in the course of our researches, a certain old, lumbering, black portmanteau, much covered with dust and mildew, we had it lugged down from the place of its concealment. As a matter of course the key was lost, and after much labour and pains spent in effecting a compound fracture of the lock with a poker, it was at length broken open, and, ye gods! what a curious mélange of long-forgotten rubbish was presented to our delighted eye. The green and white chore-cap, in which we became initiated into the mysteries of burschenschaft; the long black boots and white unmentionables which we wore as a fox; the sturm-hut,

VOL. XXXII.NO. CLXXXIX.

SCHILLER.

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with its edging of white lace, that
adorned our maturer rank; the iron
mask and leathern stock in which we
practised at the Fecht-boden, or fenc-
ing-school; with sundry other articles
suitable to the menage of a well-ap-
pointed student, unnecessary to enu-
merate here: amongst the collec-
tion we discovered that old volume
whose very existence had escaped
our recollection. We fastened upon
it with eagerness, and devoured its
contents with that intense delight
only known to those to whose memory
some unexpected incident recalls of
cherished and happy images.
in quick succession thronged those
forms which we never thought to have
seen again; we were girt with " "strange
and dusky aspects," as in days gone
by; our chamber was peopled with
men of grave and solemn deportment,
and beards of strange fashion, puffing
forth volumes of smoke; old songs
were ringing in our ears, with chorus
marked by the clashing of swords and
the ringing of goblets; wild and reck-
less figures passed before us in gro-
tesque dances, brandishing huge cho-
pines of beer. We marvel what has
become of the component parts of that
motley crowd-

"Some are dead, and some are gone,
And some are scattered and alone;"

And he who now pens these lines, and

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thinks of his former gay and careless associates, is no matter what. He, however, like field-marshal the Duke, presents his compliments to the admiring circle of his readers; and, mending his pen, proceeds to lay before them a few odd scraps from that old volume so unexpectedly rescued from oblivion.

A sunset has been so well described by some one or other-we forget by whom, probably Mr. James-that we shall say no more about it, except to intimate the fact that the sun was setting in unclouded brilliancy as we found ourselves, upon a lovely evening in August, seated at one of the little tables which stands at the corner of that esplanade overlooking the castle of Heidelberg, the old town lying almost at our feet, and a wide tract of beautiful champaign country in the distance. We felt perfectly happywe were in pleasant company, smoking choice tobacco, and the beer was deliciously cool and mild. To and fro were lounging about the usual assortment of German, and of English tourists, always easily to be distinguished by the peculiar cut of their clothes, not to speak of the red books which they will ostentatiously parade in the faces of the natives. That part of the esplanade had always peculiar charms for us besides the magnificent view which it commands, it had been the scene of divers pleasant adventures not necessary to enumerate here. We had there, upon a certain occasion, enjoyed the extreme satisfaction of putting a certain elderly lady, whom we did not like, and who, it is but just to add, had no very especial regard for us-she had, however, such a charming daughter!-into a passion, which agree. able result was attained by the following process. She had invited a few friends to spend the evening at her house, and by the way of putting in some of the hours which might hang heavily upon hand, her rooms being too small to admit of dancing, the whole party were invited to walk up to the castle, in order to be regaled with tea; and we, for the purpose of detaching us from the young lady, were sent on as a sort of avant courier to make the necessary preparations.

"Be sure you order tea and coffee for the whole party," said Mrs. Tomkins, in parting.

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Certainly," replied we, as we departed on our errand.

We executed this order with a vengeance. It may be as well here to explain, for the benefit of our untravelled readers, if any such there be in these days of universal locomotion, that a cup of coffee, ordered singly, costs only the moderate sum of six kreutzers or two pence, whereas for the same refreshment, when ordered for each person, a florin is the usual charge; because in this case one can have as many cups as one chooses to drink. The party which accompanied us amounted to twenty at least, and we took good care to execute the order with which we were entrusted in the most comprehensive and liberal spirit; so that when our companions arrived, they found a table, on which a smoking urn hissed and spluttered, covered with a snowy table-cloth, on which was laid in tempting profusion every delicacy of the season.

Our hostess looked on in amazement, first at the table and then at us; soon a dark shadow, like a thunder-cloud, flitted across her face, as the fearful amount of her liabilities dawned upon her.

"It was a cup of coffee for each I requested you to order," said she, in a savage whisper, distinctly audible by the whole company, the portion of whom very fortunately did not understand one word of English.

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Have we not fulfilled your wishes, madame?" replied we, with becoming meekness.

The lady seemed for a moment to balance between her love of display, her aspirations after economical arrangement, and her dread of offending her guests. There was evidently a fearful struggle going on between these conflicting emotions as she counted out into the extended hand of the attendant, Kelner, to his satisfaction and our great delight, the twenty bright large pieces of silver. But in addition to this agreeable incident, which fully satiated our desires of vengeance, the place where we were then scated had many most agreeable associations. It was there we used to sit by the hour in the warm sunshine, listening to the quaint legends of student life and adventures, of which one of our friends had an abundant store. We shall now proceed to lay before our readers a few fragments of a history with which he once entertained us, as nearly as possible in his own

words, being the adventures of a wild student, Rappelkopf by name, who had formerly been a student of the university.

In

There was a curious youth who, at the time we enjoyed the pleasure of his acquaintance, occupied the distinguished post of senior of the Suabian chore, the colours of which, as the learned reader is doubtless aware, were black, yellow, and white. stature he was short, in complexion swarthy, with fierce-looking black eyes, and a mouth of capacious di. mensions; pot-bellied, bandy-legged, and otherwise of an awkward figure. He was, notwithstanding, a most experienced swordsman, and could drink more beer and play more wild pranks with impunity than any bursch of his time. The parents of this distinguished youth were respectable stadtholders, who resided in an obscure and drowsy village of North Germany; and upon a certain bright, crackling, crisp evening in January, when the hoar-frost upon every blade of grass and leaf made it sparkle like a diamond in the clear moonshine, a great bustle and confusion arose in that house where the worthy stadtholder resided, and presently a little chubby boy, to the great delight of the assembled household, came whimpering and blubbering to the light of day, or rather of the night-lamp; which circumstance appears to us by no means so unimportant as it might be to some, as it accounts for the love displayed by this young citizen of the world, in after years, for late hours and revelry-a proof how great consequences, which have most wonderful effect upon the lives of men, often proceed from trivial causes. He grew and prospered, and in a short time became so stirring and bustling that it occurred to his worthy parent, one evening over his pipe, that it would be worth while to have him christened. After due deliberation and much discussion among the gossips, he at length received the name of Felix Karl Herman, which, in addition to his own patronymic of Rappelkopf, formed, as is the saying in these countries, " very pretty name to go to church with."

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The first name of this promising infant did not prove so auspicious as might be inferred from his after career. He ought, with more propriety, rather to

have been called Jugelia. The stout old stadtholder, his father, was a great advocate for the pleasures of the table; he doubtless inherited those propensities from him-proving how true was the ancient adage of the apple being like its stem: they were hereditary, and consequently, being his nature, were hard to overcome. But whether this be so or not, the young Felix never cared to inquire; and he certainly did not take much trouble to control propensities so natural to him.

His mother, a young, lovely, and accomplished lady, rejoiced, after the fashion of her kind, exceedingly over her first-born. She hung over him with the kindest and fondest affection, and the best cake, and the rarest Zeltinger, were lavished in profusion upon those gossips who, coming to look at the child, would praise his beautiful hair, and eyes so like his mother's, and admiring his little, fat, chubby, red arms, pronounce him, upon the whole, the most charming infant the world had ever seen. So passed the infancy of the young Rappelkopf, until, in process of time, that period so important in our eventful history (we wonder how Shakspeare could have omitted it in the seven ages of man) arrived, and he was breeched. In all boyish pastimes he displayed a dexterity and strength most precocious for his years. At marbles few were his equals; at peg-top he was unrivalled; at skittles none could dispute his ability; and so, in process of time, it was thought fitting that talents so remarkable should no longer be left uncultivated, and the services of a private tutor were put into requisition.

For any little education the youthful Rappelkopf had hitherto received, he was indebted to his mother. The old stadtholder could not be prevailed upon ever to interfere in a matter of so much importance.

The first preceptor brought in was the accomplished and well-wigged village schoolmaster, who had formerly been a non-commissioned officer in the Prussian service. He brought very little of the science of his former profession to his present one, with the exception of a knowledge of single stick, which he was afraid to practise upon his promising pupil, however much he deserved it. Self-willed and obstinate to a degree, he did whatever came into his head. There was no end to his

childish pranks. He would mix the pedagogue's Strasburg snuff with ink, and his tobacco with gunpowder, as opportunity offered, greatly to the discomfort of that learned individual. At one time he would hide his velvet cap; at another the worthy tutor would be seen rising suddenly from his seat, with an agonized expression of countenance, screaming Tausend noch einmal"-for the wicked young urchin had stuffed the cushion full of pins. Under all these trying circumstances, the tutor kept his temper with wonderful equanimity, and was never tempted to inflict corporal chastisement upon his unruly charge. When it is recollected, however, that the poor man had but eighty thalers a-year for the support of his wife and family, his forbearance is not so much to be wondered at; for had he threshed the young Rappelkopf soundly, as he deserved, in all human probability, the stadtholder's fair wife would very soon have given him his dismissal.

Matters went on in this way for some time, and each day the reins of authority were held with more relaxed grasp by the little village schoolmaster. His power, once lost, was never to be regained, and he gradually became the butt of the whole village, in consequence of the many practical jokes played upon him by the urchin. His literary acquirements, at no time very extensive, were at length fathomed by the pupil; and his manner of impart ing what little he did know, as well as the progress of Master Rappelkopf, were so unsatisfactory to his parents, that much to the delight of all parties, he was at length released from his onerous duties, and it was determined upon that Rappelkopf should be forthwith despatched to the University. The situation of tutor can scarcely, even under the most favourable circumstances, be regarded as a very agreeable occupation; it is, possibly, least of all so in the family of a German nobleman, where the food which he eats is too often "sour bread." Indeed, regarded but in the light of an upper servant who works for his wages, and is well paid if he gets them, they who strive often for long years, enduring hardship and all kinds of privations, to bestow their knowledge and experience upon the urchins committed to their care, are never con. sidered as enlightened instructors of

youth. And so the tutor of Rappelkopf returned, unthanked and uncared for, to his humble home; and his promising pupil repaired, with a bounding heart and well-stuffed pockets to the university, where his repu tation for roguery and devilment had already preceded him.

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Behold Rappelkopf at college-of degree what is termed in Dublin, a gib; in Heidelberg, Halle, and Jena, "Maulesel," which being interpreted, meaneth "the jaw of a mule." The farewell visits had all been duly paid, and the leave-takings from his various friends got over with much decorum. Every article necessary for the equipment of a well-appointed bursch had been provided. There was, first of all, a bed, with an endless quantity of linen and clothes. There was a supply of soap for three years, sufficient, in all conscience, to prevent any curious inquirer from putting to the promising undergraduate that impertinent interrogatory to which Mr. Midshipman Easy returned so triumphant a reply. There was tea and coffee for two years, and sugar for one; napkins, knives, forks, spoons, glass, plate, and books; and as his luggage would have occupied the whole of the eilwagen, it was previously dispatched by carriers to its destination, to the very great chagrin and impatience of the old stadtholder, who was observed to exclaim several times, while it was being packed up, "Teufel!" "Tausend!" and suchlike ejaculations, which seemed considerably to relieve his overburthened mind. Poor dear Mrs. Rappelkopf, fondest of mothers, how would it have grieved thy gentle heart, couldst thou but have foreseen what a reckless profligate of thy treasure that cherished son would prove-how soon thy beautiful bed, the fine linen, and the silver ware, would ornament the filthy boards of Jews and pawnbrokers. It had, for some time previous to his departure, been much debated by the family, as sembled in full council, what should be the future profession of their hope -whether he should be statesman, doctor, philosopher, or divine; to any of which learned professions, it was generally believed by his doting pa rents, that the talents of Rappelkopf would add a fresh lustre-he himself inclined to the law, erroneously conceiving, that in this profession he could have more freedom and time to

amuse himself, and that his rise to the highest offices of the state would be proportionably rapid; but it was otherwise determined by the council: The law was pronounced overstocked, and unlikely to lead, speedily, either to place or emolument for the study of medicine he had a great antipathy: the study of anatomy was by no means to his taste, and the fatiguing life of a doctor but ill-suited to one so fond of his ease and comfort. There were not the same objections against theology, in which profession there was little to do, and plenty to get, the only obstacles in the way of speedy promotion being wildness and gaiety; which, of course, would disappear as he grew older, and the very circumstance of his being a Herr Doctor, would oblige him to moderate his extravagant fancies, or, at all events, to indulge them under a grave and decorous exterior. As for Rappelkopf, he did not care particularly which of the learned professions he was to honour; all he wanted was to be off to college, which he pictured to himself a perfect paradise of enjoy. ment, and once he got there, he thought he would have time enough to look about, and decide for himself; and so it being agreed upon all hands, that the church was to be his destination, off he set amid the prayers and blessings of the whole family, and entered the "eilwagen" which was to convey him to college. As became a youthful divine, he beguiled the tediousness of his journey, by commencing a flirtation with a young lady, an actress, travelling to Leipsic; determined to lose no time in assuming the role of a student, he gave himself all sorts of airs, assumed an imperious tone, and paid double for schnaps, at every hostlery where the coach stopped to change horses. Rappelkopf's attempts at love-making were by no means agreeable to his fair companion -his experience in the gentle art had hitherto been confined to the bar-maids of his native village; and the young lady by whom he was seated, at first laughed at his endearments, but it finally ended in a quarrel between them, and the young student occupied his mind, for the remainder of his journey, by contemplating what a figure he should cut among the Bursch, at Halle, whither he was going; his pockets were amply supplied with tha

lers, and he knew when his present supply was exhausted, he could easily humbug the stadtholder's wife out of plenty more he could drink beer like a fish; was not altogether unpractised in the use of the schlager; he thought of the Burschenshaft at Halle, but the costume, a plain German frock, long hair, and bare neck, did not seem to his taste. The Landsmanschaft would suit his figure better, with their many-coloured, gay caps, their constant duels, beer carouses, and commers; his only hesitation was, to which of these unions he would attach himself. In the midst of these doubts, the diligence rattled into the dirty, straggling streets of Halle; the long, crooked lanes of badly-plastered houses, smelling of smoke, made the way to the post-house seem long, and the town interminable. He leaped out of the "wagen," scarcely taking time to look after his luggage, took a hasty and careless leave of his "compagnon du voyage," and asked to be shewn, without delay, to the nearest respectable hotel. His impatience to commence student-life was insatiable; the golden dreams, however, in which he had, during his long journey, indulged his fancy, were somewhat damped at being ushered into an empty chamber in the Lion, and having his enquiries for the students answered by the information, that many were in chambers, scattered here and there about the townthat several had not yet returned from vacation; but of not one of his old school-companions and associates, who had preceded him, could he obtain the slightest trace; no one knew anything about them, so the poor, disappointed Rappelkopf was obliged to spend his first evening of student-life in a very disconsolate and solitary fashion. He tried to solace himself with a flask of choice Brauenberger, but drinking alone he found dull work; then he lit his meerschaum, but somehow it had not good "chair-way:" and so, after whistling "Der Bursch von altem schrol und Korn," walking about the room with his hands in his pockets, looking out of the window into the dirty and silent streets, and other similar devices to pass away the time-Rappelkopf took a candle, and departed to his roost.

As it is by no means our intention to trouble our readers with a connected

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