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THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



surged, in spite of occasional rain, until 

 music heard in the distance drew nearer 

 and a narrow lane opened with difficulty 

 in the center of the street. 



Just then my chambermaid came into 

 the room upon some errand and said that 

 the "Veterans" of ''jo-'ji were parading 

 that day, and that the student corps had 

 joined the parade. "Will the procession 

 pass here?" we asked eagerly. "Cer- 

 tainly," answered Gretchen with empha- 

 sis ; "all parades pass here !" How stupid 

 of us, to be sure. "And why do the 

 students parade with the veterans?" we 

 ask timidly. We are feeling a little 

 ashamed of our ignorance now. "Don't 

 know," says Gretchen; "they just like to ! 

 They are always parading!" Plainly, 

 Gretchen doesn't think much of students. 

 Probably her sweetheart is a soldier or 

 policeman. 



ALL HONOR TO THL BAND ! 



A blare of trumpets and the band ap- 

 pears curving in from the Rotenburg 

 past the old Rathaus, just beyond us — a 

 civilian band, attired in frock coats and 

 high hats and mounted. Fancy playing 

 a trombone, the reins of a restive horse, 

 one's music card, and the heavy instru- 

 ment in one's hands, and a gusty wind 

 whirling around unexpected corners of 

 a winding street ! All honor to that band ! 

 It played well ; no German band would 

 dare do otherwise. Audiences are criti- 

 cal, and not a man lost his hat or his 

 dignity. 



Although it was the veterans' parade, 

 the students appeared first, riding each in 

 solitary state in an open landau drawn 

 usually by two, occasionally by four, 

 horses. Each wore a medieval costume, 

 velvet apparently, and a soft velvet cap 

 decorated with a long white plume, and 

 each bore the banner of his corps, gor- 

 geous affairs of silk, satin, velvet, gold 

 lace, and embroidery. As the long line 

 of carriages slowly passed, the meaning 

 of the arm-loads of flowers became ap- 

 parent (see page 114). 



Very few large bunches or tied bou- 

 quets were presented, but each student 

 received from his friends along the line 

 some floral token — here a single rose, 

 there a handful of carnations, then a tiny 



bunch of sweet peas or pansies or a 

 couple of stately lilies. The students 

 thanked each giver with a more or less 

 gracious and graceful bow — as the ban- 

 ners were very heavy and awkward to 

 manage, one must not be too critical — ■ 

 and laid the blossoms in the open top of 

 his carriage. There were favorites in 

 the university as elsewhere ; one man had 

 his carriage heaped with flowers, while 

 another would have scarcely half a dozen 

 tokens of good-will and popularity. 



the; vltlrans arl marching by 



Long before the last gay carriage 

 passed, the rain fell in torrents, velvet 

 and feathers were draggled, summer 

 frocks drenched ; but neither paraders 

 nor observers flinched. After the stu- 

 dents came the veterans, a little somber 

 group, passing along on foot, quietly and 

 slowly, pathetically, like other "veteran 

 corps" we have seen at home. There 

 were neither banners nor flowers for 

 their share, although it was their parade. 

 We were glad that they were not without 

 friends, however, and that applause 

 greeted them all along the line as they 

 marched bravely by. 



All the participants had shared in an 

 especial service at the Dom before parad- 

 ing ; that accounted for the hurrying car- 

 riages earlier in the morning. Now, after 

 a circuit of the old town, the procession 

 would break up in front of St. Lam- 

 bertus and carriages and veterans find 

 their way home through the crowded, 

 dripping streets. 



An hour later and the market was as 

 quiet as in the early morning. IMiinster 

 was dining. Then it would nap, and then 

 drink cofifee, after which it would be 

 ready for church and amusement once 

 more. Being merely Americans, we 

 thought it best to use the sunshine which 

 greeted us after dinner for a little sight- 

 seeing. 



SURE SIGNS OF MARRIAGE 



Eor an hour we had the streets quite 

 to ourselves, but later smiling family 

 groups began to pass us — father, mother, 

 and a troup of chubby children ; young 

 couples arm-in-arm, newly engaged or 

 married (one knows whether it is "en- 



