St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1891-04-18
SOCIETY IN BERLIN.
THE CITY ON THE SPREE is STILL
IN A TRANSITION STATE.

thinc-Great Wealth Is Not Seen In
ANY Part of the Big Town-The Wom-
ON Oversee Their Domestic Affairs.
It has been said with much truth that
Berlin is still in its Flegel-jahre, the Ger
man name for that period of Transition
when the child develops into the young
man or woman As capital of first rank
Berlin is not fully tledsed even yet, IN
spite of the gigantic strides to maturltyle
has taken since 1871.
However, it refuses obstinately to con-
slider itself otherwise than grown up;
hence Il sort of hesitation, an uncertainty,
a ditfitencc perceptibe to the outsider, the
unacknowedgcl consciousness of which Is
thinly yelled under ostentatious assurance,
and engenders a watchful jealousy in So
cial relations that has often been attrib-
uted to other motives.
Sometimes this feeling has created diff
culties In the simple and perfunctory
matter of calls, for instance, no definite
rules are possible. At whatever hour a for
eign visitor pays visit he is liable to fall
on the dinner hour, which may be at any
time between 2 and Z. All the bourgeolsle
does net dine at ,, all the aristocracy does
not dine at the later hour; the former
strives 10 postpone its meal, the latter ell
deavors to forget how very lately it has
adopted the more fashionable time.
ECONOMY IN HIGH LIFE.
These cruditics are apparent IN other
things. With very fine houses, elegant
and really artistic furniture, good pictures
and choice flowers i'll abundance, with the
c0mDrehensi0n of the retinements of life
that springs from superior intellectual ed
ucation, the Berlincse are by nature and
tradition a race of simple and primitive
tastes. Large fortunes-save among the
Israeiites-are the exception, not the rule;
the wealth of the Christians is chiefly ter
ritOriaI and the rich land owners, whose
extensive domains are often situated in
distant provinces not easy of access, do not
think themselves justified in spending the
revenues of their property Ill the capital
only.
Thrift and domestic economy are prac-
| ticed and viewed in the light of hereditary
| virtues sinful to neglect. Even women OF
title consider themselves bound to super
| wise their household, not by deputy
| housckrcper, but in person. They are act
! i've and Intelligent, share in the manage
I ment expect their daughters to assist
| them and train them to be proficient in
| their turn in all the branches of house
rule.
Impossible as they think it is to act
otherwise. this adherence to old teachings
! creates d certain distrust and shyness OF
strangers, and a fear of possible ridicule,
which is the real reason of difficulty ex-
perienced by foreigners in penetrating into
| no Ii,10
matte corps especially is viewed as a dan
oerous competitor and critic. 1t is looked
| upon as generally worldly, subversive, ex-
! trayagant and supercilous; to be courted
withal, sometimes tlattered, often envled,
but always and prudently kept at safe
| distance.
TIE MILITARY.
Setting aside the court and the imperial
family. who are extremely hospitable, the
chief social functions devolve upon the en-
bassys sand legations. These entertainments
retain a certain official character which
| in itself has Il charm for native society; the
| Prus~ian houses at which receptions on q
large and cosmopolitan scale are given are
very few, and for many years have always
been the same Conspicuous among these
are the houses of the Radzywills, not mere
ly those OF the heads of the family, but o.
the Younger and allied branches.
The universally, it may almost be sale
the excess, OF the military element preva
lent in Germany, is no doubt responsible
for many social restrictions. There IS VIZ
tuallv no other profession than the arm.
for Young men of good BIRTH they enter i
at very early age, having been prepared
for it from childhood they frequentl.
marry young; their epaulets are in tn
minds of even prudent parents sutfclen
| guarantee of their fitness to assume tn
care of a wife and family.
EXCEPT in the "Guards," where some o
the officers have private fortunes, mlltar
men are content to depend and live OF
their pay and their existence is necessarll
very unprctentious, although their uni
| form precludes them from practlclng som
of the small economies that clerk in
government office may indulge in withou
losing caste.
Each officer is allowed to take privat
from the ranks as his own servant Ihl
chosen soldier goes by the generic name c
"Bursch'' and is literally a jack of a
trades He is valet, housemald. butler
cook, goes to market, tends the children
waits at table, runs errands, and would al
without a murmur for his master II nj
death could afford that master the slightes
qualification Many instances of this dos
like fidelity and devotion were recorde
during the Franco German war; not nor
admirable, however, than the humble
round of daily service these soldiers S
, cheerfully perform
SMALL PAY FOR OFFICERS.
t An officers pay is ridicuously small
a many dashing young lieutenant deem
himself in luck if at the end of the day /
has thirty pfennigs (three pence left fc
his supper; yet if he is garrisoned in Be
! lin his condition is brilliant compared wit
that of his comrades stationed on the frol
tiers There are a great number OF the la
D ter; their barracks are wretchedly lncol
r venient and uncomfortable, and possess I
accommodation for married officers, WI
. are compelled to leave their wives behind
But whatever their hardships, the
never grumble Woe betide them If the
g felt inclined to do so; they would
= bracketted Immediately as unworthy
6 their cloth Dissatisfaction is very "a
: occurrence; German officers live excluslv
" for their profession, supported by tt
q ardent innate, blind, hereditary mllltal
8 instincts of their race.
: The external poiteness of officers cann
- be exaggerated. IL constitutes one VI ii
y features of Berlin society, where they rely
IS supreme Until quite lately high play W;
" carried on in clubs and casinos, but Il
young emperor has expressed himself
strongly and repeatedly against this pra
tice that excessive gambling has been d1
countenanced if not actually prohibite
n and has almost disappeared among tt
IS corps of officers
nv Ia loo yTh n