Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-04-05
A Queens Drawing Room.
A Description OF the High Ceremonial of
English Society.

1usluc Tic pdldC6y the bdLuS CI4SHr Tue eAllG
Impotence, the shaking out of trains, the fer
vent adjurations to friends to be ''set right"
the feEerish anxiety to kiss the august hand
SO quietly stretched out to receive the loyal
salute. Few women walk gracefully through
She ordeal, and most of them flush unbecom-
ingly in the vain attempt to manage their
trains successfully during three courtesies, to
stop at the proper moment, and to exactly
know when to relinquish the podgy fingers
presented to them. And yet what care has
been taken, what time has been wasted to in
sure q complete mastery of the performances
Rehearsals have taken place, masters of de-
pertinent have been summoned, domestic
representations of the throne-roor arranged,
debutantes have courtesied scores of times to
members of their own family till they have
been pronounced perfect, and then have fail
ed deplorably on the eyentful day. 1t does
not seem SO very appalling to pass for five
seconds before a short, fat, somewhat aged
woman dressed in black, with always the
faintest soupcon of weeds about her; and
yet stout hearts have quailed, brave off,
GERS have got entangled in their swords,
even the professional beauties have lowered
their bold, proud eyes before the pale. ex-
pressionless look of the royal lady. Fani-
liarity with these scenes does not remove the
weird sensation and yet every available
pretext is taken to repeat the ceremony. The
Queens memory must be remarkably short,
or her desire to note the changes events
create in her subjects very streng; for
girl is presented to her when shs comes
out, !" again when she is married. and If, like
Lady wsldegrave, she has had four husbands,
at each successive nuptials she is obliged to
appear before the Queen as perfect stran-
ger. A man also comes with the charm of
novelty. and is introduced ds capo at every
step he takes in his profession, and at every
new distinction he receives. This naturally
insures a large attendance, no matter if at
times slightly mixed, as it is not infrequent
to be tightly wedged in the ante-rooms with
people one would on no account have on
ones visiting list but it likewise causes
crowd 80 dense and so inscriptions that,
when fair ladies have found the use of hands
and elbows insufficient to procure standing
room, they have been known dexterously to
dispose about their persons pins with the
points outward, and to trust to those vea-
pons to remove the more defsnssless of their
neighbors. As the style of dress Is strictly
decolletee, and that by the express command
of the Queen, there Is a certain amount of
cruelty in this mode of attack
The Princess of Wales, the leader of the
''elite," not only by right of her rank AID
beauty, but by her unsrring taste, has boldly
inaugurated a new era in the annals of fash
ion In the teeth of the long established
rules of etiquette, under the severe and all
observing eye of the Queen, the Princess has
abjured silks and satins and appeared IN WOOL
A court dress made of wool-a court train
lined with brown WOOL Under the feathers
and lappets, under the diamonds and orders
lay dull, dead, lusterless fabric, wool -
brown wool of British manufacture. as the
Court Circular periodically informs those of
its readers not happy enough to have Toasted
their eyes on the startling innovation Her
royal hiehness had stoutly resisted the cru
SADIE made by Lady Beehive to induce all
English women to wear no materials save
those of home extraction She continued to
obtain her bevitchins toilets from PARIS, end
to make every country contribute its spcils to
enhance her loneliness; so perhaps the bold
venture of yesterday was only tried to prove
that with costly accessories and eonSummate
taste, apparent simplicity becomes the
triumph of artistic splendor. Those who
saw her pass in returning from the ceremony
we're surprised less than three-quarters of an
hour later to meet her again. driving as
usual in the park, knowing as they did that
she was that same evening to appear at q
ball This most popular Princess has evi-
IDENTIFY received increased strength from that
peculiar grace which makes the occupants OF
thrones Amounted of the Dord-for none, not
SO prepared for superhuman labors, could
resist the fatigues which make up the days
of princes.
An additional interest was lent TO the pres
ence of the queen at the drawing-roon By
ths fabulous rumors of an alarming accident
having happened to her the day before The
town was convulsiye with apprehension be-
cause, during her drive from the station to
the palace, an outrider had been thrown from
his horse Whether the team used on state
occasions has from long seclusion become un-
accustomed to any but the strictest privacy.
lz,f k,snA II
use become unfamiliar to their ears, they evil
IDENTITY had not enough loyalty to stand even
the faint demonstrations which nov greet
the sovereign on her far-spaced and heeting
visits to the capital Nevertheless, IS on
former occasion when she was rescued by
the bravery of her Scottish attendant from
the dangers of an unloaded pistol pointed at
her by harmless lunatic, her majesty under
these irving circumstances showed gregt
presence of mind and extraordinary fortitude.
She has been unremittent In her inquiries
after the groom, who is doing well 1t Is
not yet oficiAlly announced that she has
knighted him.
The marchioness of Lorne, although she
has not left England with her husband, was
absent from the court ceremony Society Is
never quite certain whether the Princess
Louise adores Canada, and from motives of
the highest seIf-sacrifice debars herself from
revisitinQ it. or whether the marquis of Lorne
finds that his star is infinitely more refulgent
when it does not shine with the reflected
light of a princess of the blood royal That
particular quality of blood is so Troublesome
and so obstrusive-in fact, 50 irrepressible-
that it is constantly the source of difficulties
which require the most accurate knoviedge OF
etiquet to settle and then they ars always
settled enthusiastically to both parties. The
Duchess of Edinburg's imperial blood does
not brook having to yield the pas TO her
sister in laws royal blood, and yet, as the
latter is at the same time British, II hazReen
decreed by Parliament that on no ACCOUNT
whatever should it ever rank second to any
other blood This accounts for the frequent
absence of the Duchess of Edinburg on those
state occasions where the question Of prece-
dence has been most ungraclously decided
against her.
The Princess Louise infinitely prefers Sc
lecting her own friends and forming her own
circles She is at the head of great num-
Der of associations for art needle work, fan
painting, house decorating in the Queen
Anne style, and general artistic PRONUNCIATION
of taste She is fond of artists painters and
musicians; invites them to dinner and takes
them to her box at the opera, whence she Is
afterward escorted by severely respectable
chamberlain If she likes them, she cult
Yates the acquaintance. Having heard that
Jacdus Blumenthal, the composer, had AZ
ranged his house at Kensington in the most
method of fine art, and that he fol-
lowed the newest and most appropriate de-
signs in shaded gold, peacocks and pome-
grantees the Princess Louise invited herself
to be shown over it. Nine. Blumenthal, who
is as much an elegant woman of the world Is
she is herself an artist, impressed the prln-
cess so favorably that she became frequent
visitor, even staying three weeks at the Blu
menthal fairy-like chalet in Switzerland, near
Nfonsreaux There she did away with
the outward paraphernalia of rank dismiss
ing even her lady in waiting and joining In
ali the pursuits of her hostess. She was SO
popular that men cast lots TO SIT beside her
at dinner, and she was fully aware of It, al
though pretending to ignore the discontinue
of the unlucky ones. Of all the daughters of
the British royal house, the warehouses Of
Lorne is the one who finds the stiff formal
ity of Osborne, Windsor and Balmoral the
most irksome.
She does not consider it sufficient relaxa-
ton therefore to assist at the servants balls,
TO stand godmother at every christening
among the servants, and to attend the death
beds of departing gilhes, in order to intrust
them with message for the late prince con-
heaven These, with much pedes-
trian exercise, accompanied by the Princess
Beatrice, are the staple recreations enjoyed
by the queen. Among the intelligent and
well born of her subjects her majesty rarely
departs from the austerity of her manner.