New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-08-02
ENGLISH SOCIETY.
THE sTRuCCI,E FOR POSITION.

1 fFQON REGULAR CORkksPONDbHi w IN"
LONDON, July ia gay week this. The Annals
| of fashionable life crowded. and the se''on
briqbtens as it takes its flight. The Duke OF Devon
| sbire,s parden-party at Chswck would have been
reckoned a great occasion last month"; so would inc
marriage of Lady Rosamond Churchll, secono
daughter of the Duke and Duchess OF MARLBOROUGH,
to CAPTAIN Fellows of the LIST Life GUARDS; 10 "ouu
| Mrs. Otway's concert and half dozen other events
| since Monday Yesterdays garden-party al MATT.
| borough House eclipsed all of them however anu
the Eton and Harrow match to-day ana to-hoiIom
at Lords marks the turn OF the tde' Int o'ei' al
,ha world which does not care to stay for Goodwood
| may with a clear conscience take i'S uePa,'"'''
I.dv Waldograye's last Sundays at Strawberry
Hill are passing; it is now or never WIN
the outsiders, who watch and pray LOT al
| ;nvitotion to those banquets Of the gods. In
America there is no such thing social Jealousy OF
| social anbiton-do we not know 1t on the authority
of the austere critics who reproach Mr. fleirepoht
with too much socitude about General Ufahts
reception in the arisocratic circles oil TINS decayng
| kingdom, You would hardly credit the sloIies
could tell you about the eagerness shown mere soio-
times for invitations. Nobody ever asks Tor INVITA-
tions in York. that city OF severe hepuplicih
| simplicity in manners and-still more-ih morss'
You would not believe, for example, thata lady'
rich and well known in some sections OF London so
| cltty-l SOme, loi th'ip "iN "'"'J
Lady Waldegrave TO her face that she wanted to be
asked to one of those Sunday evening dinners Ior
which Strawberry Hill is famous, in order to secure
| or strengthen her own social position. You can
scarcely imagine how painful it must have been 10
Lady Waldegrave to decline; pleading that all her
dinners had been arranged at the beginning OF the
season. and that it was too late to add TO the NUM-
Der of her guests. Still less can you conceive this
lady, thus rebuffed driving down of Sunday after
noon TO the house at Twickenham under pre-
fence of calling: which, indeed her place on Lady
Waldegraves visiting list might justify her IN dong
She finds the grounds thronged with the select who
have dined there before. are to dine that evening
She seeks out her unwilling hostess she reminds her
of her former request; she hears once more that
the table is full; nay, that more guests
are hidden than there are chairs for in the dining
room. You think she retres discounted at thlsi
That is because you don't know the woman. She is
like the British Infantry, which does not know
when it is beaten. She observes placldly to Lady
Waldegrave that possibly OF her guests
may not stay for dinner; if not, she suggests, she
entreats she imploTes that she may fill the vacant
place. Lord Carlingfords wife is TOO we-bred to
beray disgust; che L. fear, not wholly unused to
this sort OF thing She tell, her wouldbe guest that
if such should be the she should Of course be
happy to offer her tho vacant chair. Armed with
tNlS tNtOIltu bh SutS iAH doIhhht i'A 9'
oal distinction; makes the round of the party; puts
to each one the eager inquiry "Are You invited 10
stay to dmuer'7 and "Arc you going to stayl'
Presently these victims of this new nquistiOn be-
gin 10 stray up to their hostess, and ask, Pray why
Is Mrs -- so anxious | should not stay to dnncrf"
The story cTculates the laugh withit; and alas
no guest departs, chair is empty, and the wom-
an " hose andacty was, perhaps, worthy of better
fate mas to drive back and dine alone in London.
You think this is gossip ana malicious at thar
assure You II is true and If named the heroine OF
ms story which viii not do you would neither
doubt its truth nor wonder what interest such
story can have for American audience. may
add that she is p woman who, on the whole may be
said 10 have succeeded and not failed in her amb-
ton: that she goes to many fine house, and has
crowds Of smart people at hers" smart people,
meaning IN the dialect Of London society, fashona-
bic people and not at all implying the possession of
exceptional mental powers. don't know that TINS
little anecdote is much more remarkable than the
shorter one which account, for the presence Of the
same lady at n great party the other night, by her
third petition for a card, having wearied out the pa
tience of the yer who had sent TWO reiusas to two
former requests.
No doubt size viii be seen ut Lords to-day-this is
a Lord whom you visit by paying. Whatever
money can do she does. But fear she was not at
Marlborough House yesteriay-the garden-paTty
which takes the place OF Tie more numerous and
much less select entertainments which the Prince
and Princess Of Wales have Of late years gwen at
Chiswick. "To be asked to those was no colnpli-
nent,7 heard il said yesterday. Everybody was
asked to Chiswick, bat you have no idea what the
pressure for invitations LAS been This year" For
this there were more reasons than one. The Prince
had given W Chiswick because lac could not afford
TO 20 on with IT, lie had asked his mother for the
loan oil Bucing cham Palace, in order 10 give MS gar
den-parlics on the grounds Of that mansion, and she
refused. Marlborough House is but small place in
comparison, though the heir-apparent aud his wife
have 10 live there, and make the best of il.
IL will not hold the three thousand peo-
ole aud more for whom Chiswlck offered
plenty of room. The list had to be cut down
some say by two-thirds- and great the lamen-
tation OF the two Thousand who We're left oil. More
over, and worse, the Queen, by way of compensation
for denying Buckingham Palace TO the Prince. init
mated that she would herself come to Marlborough
House. and she did. This gracious concession
turned it into n party to Her Majesty. for in com
parison with Royalty AL things rs dust and in
stead of the jolly gathering at Chswick, the invita-
tIons TO this s0lemnity bore their face to meet
the Queen. Worse STILL Her Majesty commanded
that the list should be submitted to her revision
and the royal pencil went through, it is whispered
more than name of man-and of woman, too
who count among the cherished companions of the
Prince. Whoever was present yesterday, therefore,
may be set down without reprOach Oh any score,
and entitled foroyermore to rank with the chosen
flower of the social aristocracy of England TO the
humane mind it must be pure satisfaction to see
that this lly-wceded list fills nigh a column
and a half of the fashionable organ-perhaps Il
Il. al mr. rat mo