rose up mournfully from the dungeons below. The wind howled fearfully among the high battlements. A storm had arisen. All was now dark without, and Elcona could no longer distinguish the turrets of her own dear home, on the opposite side of the Shannon. Despair was in her heart, as with tottering step she paced up and down the dungeon.

"And Curraheen-the youth of the tuneful voice and beaming eye-oh! where is he now?' murmured Elcona, in accents of despair.

"From the moment she had been seized by the cruel giant, she saw and heard nothing of her lover. Like a sweet rosebud torn by the storm, she drooped her fair head, and hope and existence seemed alike extinct. But the morning sun shone upon a large force collected round the walls of Curraheen. Fionne still caroused. The bards were preparing marriage songs. Curraheen

and the chief of Cratloe, at the head of their followers, proceeded towards Carrig."

But the rest is soon told. The prisoner is released; Fionne betrayed; and Curraheen and Elcona married next day.

Taking a somewhat direct course across the country, we bent our steps next to the ruins of Mungret, leaving the gaunt and shattered walls of Carrig

of the Candle behind us.

Before us lay the Clare and Keeper

hills, with which we had now become somewhat familiar; and on one side the blue and shadowy outlines of the Galtees and Knock Fierna, or "Mountain of the Fairies”—the very general resort of these very fugitive acquaintances that one hears and sees so much of in this part of the world. At Mungret, the ruins of an abbey founded so early as the fourth century, are shown to the traveller. It appears it was several times plundered by our old friends, the Danes; but was ultimately granted to the bishops and dignitaries of the cathedral of Limerick. Like several other similar buildings, the monastery, according to the oriental type, had" seven churches," and contained within its walls not less than fifteen hundred monks. At a subsequent period the "Knights Templars" made a settlement here; and, about half a mile to the north of the church, traces of several old buildings belonging to these wonderful adventurers-among the rest an hospital, afterwards the mansion of the Priorare things to think of, awakening many deep and sober recollections, as the mind travels up the stream of time ;the crumbling graves of years long dead, dimly recognizable by the soft spinning of the earth yet on its axlethe ever-blossoming summer, and everbudding spring!

ONCE more, old friends, we are among you-hurra! As we wend our way along the river from Frankfurt, we see the "Kaiser Sthul" glinting from the deep green mountain; the unrivalled beauties of the Odenwald are

opening upon us. There is the stately" Alte Schloss," its magnificent ruined towers and antique pinnacles have caught the last rays of the sun ere he rolls down behind the curtain of grey clouds which hangs above the outline of the Black Forest. There is the Neckar, sparkling like silver. There is the old Hirsch, with its trellis-work of vines; and the jolly host's daughter, as pretty as ever, is leaning from the window, to see the carriage pass by. There is the "Manheimer Thor," and the grey, many-arched bridge, with the tall white statue upon it. We are rattling along now over the streets of the town. There is the venerable old "collegium," that alma mater which has nursed so many spirits, renowned alike in literature and in war. the time of lecture. From the ancient portal a motley crowd come straggling out. Green and white caps are among them. We are recognized; familiar faces smile upon us a greeting; we are hailed by well-known voices. Ha! Herr Irlander, "wie getz!" Amid friendly exclamations of welcome, we are hurried along. We near the ancient Gasthaus, the Ritter famous for the Westphalian kneipe. Outside upon the window-sill-for it is the evening of a summer's day — sits Mouffle, the respectable terrier of that ancient chore.

"Old boy, how are you?"

It is

As we live, the dog has forgotten us! "Dim smokified men," with pointed beards and curled mustaches, (like those seen by Rip van Winkle,) are puffing forth into the air thin wreaths of curling smoke. We enter, borne in upon the tide. The old senior, to use an Irishism, looms

large through the mist, as he comes forward, and grasps us by the hand.

"So, Irlander, you have come back-right welcome! We have some choice mild Havannahs for you now!"

Again, as of yore, the glasses sparkle upon that hospitable board; again is the best cheer set before us. As Macauley hath it—

"The oldest cask is opened,

And the largest lamp is lit."

Champaigne, "œil de perdrix"-champaign from the "Badischer Hof," for the Irlander. There is no use in resisting-there is no use in saying, with a smile-which, heaven forgive us, we have sometimes done, in order to save the pockets of our generous entertainers" that we prefer beer." The flasks are brought forth-the corks fly

the goblets foam. Our health is drank we are on our legs-we are making a speech-yes, smile not, reader a German speech-we who were born within the sound of the bells of St. Patrick's, and who well nigh fainted, with nervous apprehension, the first time we moved the chief justice of the Common Pleas for "an order to compute," and were somewhat re-assured, by a benignant smile from that most gentlemanly and considerate of judges-we, forgetful of our sweet native brogue, are making a speech in a foreign tongue; and if the enthusiasm with which it is received be any test of its ability, we must be talking cleverly too. Alas! these visions are but day-dreamsthey are vain imaginings, and only to fancy's eye can they rise now. At this present writing, we are the solitary denizens of an apartment some eight feet square, and these fairy visions but the unsubstantial creations of the brain; yet such has been, and such, we are well assured, would again be our reception among the choice spirits of Westphalia; and not professing ourselves

exempt from the weakness of human nature, we are not ashamed to confess what pleasure it affords us to know that we would be just as welcome in that old club-room as in any drawing room in and that our face is as familiar to the most celebrated swordsmen and to the best scholars in Europe as to the solicitors who are in the habit of frequenting the towns upon the circuit, and who are remarkable for nothing except their inability to discriminate merit.

It will, doubtless, be objected by many of our readers, that the system of men dividing themselves into chores for the purpose of fighting and other like matters, must prove of serious detriment to the acquisition of knowledge that the imbibing of so much beer is scarcely compatible with draughts from the "Pierian spring"and that so much of the "schlager" exercise must materially interfere with the play of the nobler faculties. But with all his amiable weaknesses, there is much to admire in the character of the German student: the festival or the duel once over, he returns with a redoubled zeal to his studies. By nature, he is an industrious and hard-working man; and, blame the system as you will, there is nothing in it which prevents its votaries from afterwards becoming good and useful citizens. Closely associated together in their chores-sharing the hour of danger and the day of festivity-bonds of friendship are cemented which nothing in after life can dissolve.

This

is the only period at which the German takes his fling, and he soon settles down into a laudable pattern of every domestic virtue. And, at the very worst, what are his vices? Exaggerate them as you will, he has not at all reached that refinement in dissipation which characterises the undergraduates of Cambridge or Oxford. Riding steeple-chases, and turning out twice a week in "pink," are formidable matters in comparison with an occasional whisk in an "Einspanner," or a sledge party in winter on the Neckar; and the midnight revel, the luxurious supper, can scarcely be compared to the innocent recreation of the Kneipe, where, save upon some rare occasion, a glass or two of beer and a pipe is the utmost extent to

which the revel can be carried ;and however much the establishment, or the continuance of such a system in a university is to be deprecated, the University of Heidelberg has sent forth more poets, philosophers, and warriors than any other in Europe. At most of the other universities in Germany the duel is now abolished; and there was an attempt lately made to do away with it at Heidelberg; but the spirit of the Bursch fired at the ignoble idea. "What!" said they "the last remnant of the chivalry of the middle ages-will you extinguish it? Instead of knightly students and gentlemen, will you make us degenerate into mere book-worms and pedants?" Some few men, however, of the movement party formed themselves into a chore upon the principle of peace. They refused to fight, and limited themselves in regard of beer; but it was soon found this would not do.

It somehow was not the fashion to be seen with these pacific gentlemen in public. The symbol of peace they had chosen to adopt-and, by the way, a curious one it was-was a flamecoloured cap; and whenever one of these was seen in the street, it was passed by on the other side. Public opinion was against them; they were universally cut. The chore gradually dropped into oblivion; and, until another generation shall arise, the duel will still continue the order of the day. Heaven knows we are no advocates for any system of the sort. We hope no one will misunderstand the few observations we have made in endeavouring to defend our student friends. Not

being very cunning of fence, spite of all their kind instructions, we have an insuperable objection to losing our nose or our eye. We have also a natural shrinking from having our face laid open, and are equally averse to having it sewed up again. We dislike to be pinked through the body, or to have the sinew of our right arm divided; but are not such ills, formidable though they be, trivial in comparison with the chances of a custom still tolerated, by the usages of society, in these more polished countries. Rail, then, reader, at the German students if you will, but ponder upon the chances which may await yourself.

"It has a strange, quick jar upon the ear,

That cocking of a pistol, when you know A moment more may bring the sight to bear Upon your person twelve yards off or so." And we confess we are savages enough to prefer the glitter of the flashing steel in the" Angel's Meadow" to that uncomfortable sound (so well described by Lord Byron) of a raw misty morning-upon Wormwood Scrubs-or of the most quiet down which ever silvered over the equally eligible and more romantic locale of our own Phoenix.

We attempted, in a former article which appeared in this magazine, to sketch the festivities of a particular chore, and perchance the reader of that paper may feel desirous to know something more of them, if not, he has only to turn over a few pages, and he will doubtless meet with something more amusing, for Maga caters for the taste of all; but should he be inclined to have another "peep," we will give him a seat in the "conveniency" which brought us to the grand commers, or re-union of the students at the commencement of the "semester."

It was the evening of a fine October day, which we had spent much to our own satisfaction (and very little, we flatter ourselves, to that of certain "capercailzies" and pheasants) in the woods of the Count of Erbach, as we sate inhaling the fragrance of a choice Havannah, with a flask of rare old "Liebfranmilch" at our elbow, we were aroused by the cracking of whips and the merry notes of a key-bugle, and an open carriage drawn by four prancing greys turned into the court-yard of the house where we were lodged, which had been sent by our friends to convey us to witness this great "spectacle." The general commers is a sort of aggregate or monster meeting of all the chores of the university. It is held sometimes at Neckarsteinar or Heilbron, but more usually at the "Hirsch," a curious antique hostelrie, situated in a romantic valley opposite the Wolfsbrunnen. There is only one of these assemblies held in the year, and it takes place when all the students have assembled after the summer vacation-a most serious and important affair it is, for all the duels to be fought during the "semester" or term, are usually arranged there. It is conducted with

great pomp, the students travelling in a long train of carriages and four with outriders, to the place of rendezvous; these outriders are the "brandfoxes" or young gentlemen who have not yet fought their way into public estimation, and two of these youths precede each carriage on horseback, arrayed in dress coats, cocked hats, white leathers, and long jack-boots, each of them carrying a drawn sword, decorated with the colours of the chore to which he belongs, in his hand. A president for the night is elected by vote, and it is his duty to decide any disputed point of honour which is brought before him. He sat in solitary pomp in the first carriage, arrayed in a full dress suit, with a silken sash across his shoulders. There was a great stir that evening in the little city; all the inhabitants in their holiday clothes, paraded about the streets to see the procession, and a curious sight it was. The way to the "Hirsch" lies over the bridge across the Neckar, and the whole affair reminded us of the queen's progress to Windsor before the days of the Great Western, or of the road to Epsom of a Derby day; our cortege consisted of about twenty carriages, each with its outriders, and the flashing of the drawn swords, the glancing of the rich and varied colours in the chore caps, the silken sashes streaming on the air, formed a very gay and imposing spectacle, while a key-bugle from each carriage rang forth in lusty chorus the rich and beautiful notes of

the commers' song. This though a very celebrated lyric among the students, is not often sung except upon some ceremony of importance; here it is

"From High Olympus coming

Our dream of youth was sent,
Then spite of Envy's frowning
My brothers live content;
And as the revel passes,
We'll lengthen that gay dream,
With the music of bright glasses,
And the schlager's flashing beam.

"When o'er youth's sea of pleasure We calmly glide along,

From shores of fadeless summer
Joy smiles in light and song;
But when that smile is lightest
A shade will sometimes rise,
And oft the sun when brightest
Goes down in clouded skies.

"So if it pleaseth heaven

Our quiet path to bless,
We'll journey, friends beloved,
Through life in happiness;
And when that dim cloud gathers,
Which bids our friendship cease-
Where the green sod wraps our fathers
We'll sleep at last in peace.

"See how the wine-cup sparkles

To the brim on high! then fill-
Drain it to her who blesseth
Thy dream of young Love still.
But is there one departed,
A brother in his bloom?
We pray for the true-hearted,
Peace in his silent tomb.

Such of our readers as have not seen the Hirsch would, perhaps, like to have a description of it; and those who do not like the description which, in all humility, we offer, had better go and see it for themselves; we promise them they will be amply repaid for their trouble. This ancient "Gasthaus" is situated in a wooded nook among the mountains; behind it lies the "angel's meadow," once the "Wormwood Scrubs" of Heidelberg, and the scene of many a remarkable duel; but since the university authorities have been pleased to increase their vigilance in these matters, the village of Newnheim has been selected as affording greater security against the chances of surprise. proached by a long passage, covered with a trellis-work of vines, so that as you go along you may pluck the ripe clusters of grapes which hang in "bachant coronals" overhead. There is a long series of stone steps judiciously planted at intervals along this path, as if it were for the purpose of facilitating the descent of any luckless student who has got more beer aboard than he can with convenience carry, but we have heard of one gentleman who in his most bacchanalian moments could contrive to keep count of the number of steps, so as to effect his passage to the road in compa

It is ap

rative security. Behind the "Hirsch" rises precipitately a wooded mountain, which seemed bursting with vines, and on the summit of which frowned the grey ruin of Lichtenfels. Below, the clear stream of the silver Neckar danced along; from the opposite mountain, like some grim giant watching the sleeping city, towered the stately shadow of its ancient citadel, while far to the right lay the quiet hamlet of "Sieglehausen." Upon the whole, seen in the calm twilight of an autumn evening, it was as delicious a prospect as any upon which our eye ever rested. Our cavalcade having reached the door of the Hirsch, we dismounted from the carriages and were received by the host, who, with a file of waiters marshalled upon the steps, was waiting to conduct us to the "Saal," and following his steps, we entered a huge apartment on the first floor, along the centre of which were ranged two or three long tables; every window was adorned with beautiful green garlands and festoons, and at one end of the hall was a sort of" dais," upon which a chair was placed for the president, above which seat of honour was fastened on the wall a magnificent painted escutcheon, upon which were emblazoned the coat of arms of the different chores who took part in this imposing ceremony. This commers being merely a sort of re-union, for the purpose, as we have mentioned, of arranging the business of the session, there was no attempt at any elaborate festivity-no wine nor supper, as at Langenbrücken, the only liquid produced being the thin potation of beer, a plentiful supply of which is distributed along the tables in large earthen jars. At the head and foot of each table two drawn schlagers are laid crosswise, with which the students beat time to the different songs; at the further extremity of the room is an orchestra containing a full band of music, the various airs it is to play being neatly printed upon small sheets of paper, one of which is placed before each person. The business of the night was commenced by the Red Fisherman, who, as I have before