Mohave County miner., 1891-03-07
SOCIAL LIFE IN BERLIN.
THE MILITARY SEEM TO CON-
TRoL EVERYTHING.
A co1ntIess Hoard of Of3osrs ON small
Pev@-Thers l. a sdpsfabundAnss
bf External PoIiteBess
Among Them

said the excess. OF the military element
/ prevalent in Germany, Is no doubt
responsible for many social peculiari-
ties OF Berlin. There il virtually no
other profession than the army for
young men OF good birth; they enter IL
at very early age. having been pre-
| pared for IL from childhood; they fire.
quently marry young; their epaulettes
are In tho minds Of even prudent
parents sufficient guarantee OF their
! fitness to assume the care Of a wife
and family. Except in the Guards, "
| where some Of the officers have private
! fortunes military men are content to
depend and live on their pay, and their
existence Is necessarily very unpreten-
tious, although their uniform precludes
them from practising some OF the
small economies that clerk In a gov.
ernment Office may indulge In without
losing caste. Each officer Is allowed
TO take a private from the ranks as his
own servant; this chosen soldier goes
by the generic name of '.Bursch" and
! Ii literally a jack-oi-all-tradcs. He is
valet, bousemaid, butler, cook, goes 10
market, tends the children, waits at
the table, runs errands, and would die
without mBrmur for his master II his
death could afford that master the
slightest qualification, Many instances
OF this dog-like fidelity and devotion
were recorded during the Franco-Ger-
man war; not more admirable, how
ever, than the humber round OF daily
service these soldiers so cheerfully per-
form.
An officers pay Is ridiculously small;
many a dashing young lieutenant
deems himself in luck If at the end OF
the day he has thirty pfennigs Cthree
pence) left for his supper; yet II he Is
garrisOned In Berlin his condition il
brilliant compared with that OF his
comrades stationed on the frontiers.
There are great number OF the latter;
their barracks are wretchedly incon-
venient and uncomfortable, and possess
no accommodation for married officers,
who are compelled 10 leave their wives
behind: But whatever their hardships
they never grumble. Woe betide them
II they felt inclined TO do 50; they would
be bracketted Immediately as unworthy
Of their cloth. Dissatisfaction Is a very
rare occurrence; German officers live
exclusively for their profession, sup
ported by the ardent, innate, blind,
hereditary military instincts Of their
race.
The external politeness OF officers
cannot be exaggerated. II constitutes
one OF the features Of Berlin society
where they reign supreme. Until quite
lately high play was carried on In clubs
and casinos, but the young emperor
has expressed himself so strongly and
repeatedly against this practice that
excessive gambling has been discounte-
nanced If not actually prohibited, and
has almost disappeared among the
corps OF officers. The Emperor has a
great prestige, which, If not quite equal
to the worship inspired by his grand
father, has still given him an immense
influence in the army. He has re-
mained on the most friendly terms
with his old comrades, frequently visit
ing them informally in their quarters.
and sitting down at the midday regi-
mental mess with them.
The citizens of Berlin complain, half
proudly, half regretfully. that the price
Of ordinary necessaries has more than
doubled Of late years, and that luxuries
are even prOpOrtionately dearer; never.
theless, living is still comparatively
cheap in the German capital. Leav-
ing alone education, which Is not only
superior but within the reach OF small.
est purses, provisions and wages are
remarkably low. One IL surprised 10
find that one can procure a frrt-rate
cook, far better than the so-called
Gordon bteu in England. for eighteen
or twenty pounds a year; buffers, with
five or six men servants under them,
implying large establishments. receive
from twenty-five 10 thirty pounds per
annum, housemaids nine, and kitchen
maids triHe less. All of them work
well and hard, are scrupulously clean,
conscientious and honest as a rule
devoted to their employers and I'M
willing 10 leave them, even for the
reason 30 commonly given in England
Ito better themselves.
The carnival is the busy worldly sea-
son. Berlin has not followed the en-
ample of London, now fast adopted in
Paris of prOtracted social gayeties far
into the summer. II is during the
short period between Christmas and
Ash Wednesday that all public, official,
and private entertainments take place
They are crowded and numerous; some
seasons there have been as many as
twenty-eight important balls given in
succession, a number larger than IL
seems when 1t is remembered that there
are hardly ever two balls on the same
night. This includes Of course, the
half dozen court receptions.
Young German girls, without being
in the least forward, are pleasant and
cheerful companions: they hold an i'm
pOrtant place in society; they enjoy
Themselves in perfectly honest, frank,
but always modest and maidenly fash
ion, and have not been dcteriOrated yet
by the invasion of the loud, half-insO-
lent. half-scornful attitude and manners
Of unscrupulous rivals or wealthy par-
venues whose assumptions are not
likely, for the present at least, to take
any stronghold on the German world.
This is perhaps why the advocates OF
the new school Of feminine license are
50 loud in libelling Berlin society as