The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1881-03-31
FOREIGN TITLES.
Significance of Titles. and the Men Who
Wear Them.

once exercised Soverei on power, and
are still accorded semi-regal honors.-
On this point, Britons caring for these
things should beware of supposing that
every foreign ''prince" is highness.-
The vast number of them are entitled
to no other recognition of their rank
than prince or ''mon PRINCE" and
this need not be repeated more than
once in the conversation. One says
advisably the vast number, for Russian
princes alone can be counted by thOus-
ands, not to say tens of thousands
There are said to be six hundred of the
house of Galitzin alone.
Scarcely inferior in dignity to the me-
diatized princes are the members of
those comital houses the chiefs of which
by decision of the German diet of
1929, have right to the title of ''Most
nlustrious Count (Erlaucht). They
are all counts-father. son, grandson,
! great-grandson, they and all their male
descendants ad infinitum.
The serene and illustrious compose
a mighty host occupying one hundred
and twenty-seven closely printed pages
of the Almanach de Gotha. Next to
them in universally recognized rank
are those princes of the holy Russian
F.! empire Gall the sovereign and media
| tized princes of Germany are princes of
the empire; the emperors of Germany
having been also employers of the Ro-
mans) whose titles were honorary from
the first. Three English peers, the
dukes of Marlborough and Leeds and
1t may be added that the earl of Den
bigh and Lord Arundel of Wardour
are counts of the empire. Lord Den
bigh claims to come of the same stock
as the emperor of Austria; but the best
title of his family to fameis that it pro-.
duced the author of ''Tom Jones.
Amongst other British subjects enjoy
ing foreign titles are the Duke of Ham
ilton, who is Duke of Chatelherault in
France; the Duke Of Wellington, who
is Prince of Waterloo in the Neither
lands, and Duke of Vittoria and grandee
of the first class in Spain; Earl Nelson,
who is Duke of Bronte in Italy; the
Earl of Clancarty, Marquis of Hensken
in the Netherlands; Sir Nathaniel
Rothschild, an Austrian baron; Mr..
Albert Grant, an Italian baron; and
Sir Edward Thornton, Count of Cassil-
has in Portugal. This last title may be
called semi-hereditary, having been
granted to Sir Edwards father for
three lives and no more. Sir Edwards
is the second life.
The title of marquis carries more pres
tige with it nowadays in France than
that of the duke; and for this reason:
The empire made no marquises, ergo,
a marquis (unless the son of an impe-
rialist duke) must derive his title from
the old dynasty; and it is unquestiona-
bly, more honorable to have been emo
bled by the Pompadour than by Napo-
leon. The first emperor created some
thirty dukes and princes, all more or
less men of talent, but none of their
sons or grandsOns appear to have done
anything. Nor is this because they
were frOwned upon by the monarchy.
On the contrary, everything was done
by the Bourbons to conciliate the mar
shals. Soult was president of the ctPun-
Gil to Louis Philippe, and ultimately
gloried in the magnificent title of mar
shall general of the armies of France.
His son, the marquis of Dalmatia, was
named secretary of legation at Vienna,
whence arose another unforeseen diff
Guilty. The court of Austria objected to
receive man whose title was taken
from an Austrian province, though the
matter was ultimately arranged. BY
the courtesy of nations a sovereign is
allowed in one instance (and one only)
in a brother sovereign's dominions. A
soldier who has won victory may be
ennobled by the name of the battle
field. Thus Austria would cheerfully
accord their full honors to a prince of
Wagram or duke of Magenta. The
same rule holds good in the case of ma
right to object to Viscount Trafalgar
o,. uo11o TO of
Apropos of Holland, it is not gener-
ally known that the old earls of Holland
the English earls of the house of Rich
and the late Lords Holland (house Of
Fox) derived their title from a districs
of Lincolnshire called Holland. Hol-
land was probably common name
enough at one time, signifying hollow
land or valley, though b some say il
meant wooded land. The first English |
title derived from place outside OF |
England was that of Viscount Barf1eur,
conferred together with the earldom of |
Oxford on Admiral Russell, the victor |
of La Hogue. 1t was near Cape Bar |
f1eur that the battle was won, but the |
French fleet was followed up into the |
bay of La Hogue and terribly handled |
there. But there is another anglo-for-
eign title which has no such material |
origin; yet against which no protest was
ever raised.
A youthful Due d'Enghien whom his
relatives frequently tipped, laid by his |
pocket money till he had amassed fifty |
louis, when he took the purse to his |
father and proudly exhibited its con-
tents, expecting to be praised for his |
dee emptied the purse and flung the !
money out of the window. ''Let that |
be a lesson to you, SIR" he then said, /
turning to his son, ''to think and act |
more like gentleman Too many of
the peers of England descend from
or lawyers to make it likely |
that one of them should ever exhibit |
such a reckless contempt for the stamp
ed effigy of the monarch.
There is a finer story, of a Spanish
grandee, where the sentiment of |
noblesse oblige and the highest COM
mercial spirit Gin its true essence) are
happily blended. Some body formed |
the duke of Ossuna's name, appending |
it to bill for 10000 ducats. On the |
bill being presented, the duke saw that
the signature was counterfelted, but
paid the money at once, The name of
Ossuna was not to be diShOnOred by a
rascal. 1t would be uncharitable to ask
a second forged bill of the same
amount would have been equally honor
ed. Non ODnta posSlDauS.
Talking of the Spanish aristocracy,
it may be observed that the titled part !
of it is by no means so large as is sup
posed: The heads of noble families
number about two thousand, and they
alone as a rule. bear titles. Even the
eldest son of duke (say of Alicante
would only be called Don Juan OF Don
Alfonso d'Alicante during his fathers
lifetime. The younger sons remain
simply dons-the spanish equivalent of
esquires. AS to the qualificatives of titles,
they are lightly esteemed, inasmuch as
even beggar must be addressed as
'.Your grace (merceD. The super
scription on an envelope addressed to a
duke would be ga Feccellentissimo
Senor Duuue de La Torre.,, So. at least.