The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-11-06

Objected to the fact that the queen should
be- surrounded and therefore ia a raeasure
Influenced by the female relatives OF his
political opponents. The qasen ~ nrst
strongly opposed this demand on She part
OF Sir Robert, and only yielded when, Mt
length, Sir Robert threatened 30 reaian the
premiership. The political crisis which
took place on thls occasion figures in En- r.
lish history under the name OF she BED
chamber quarrel.
Occasionally very peculiar calls ara made
on the service of u lady in waiting, and one
especially which occurs to me at the pres
| emit moment ID that of the Countess Mao
clesheld, who is the favorite lady of the
bed chamber to the princess Of Wales. The
birth OF the ~lsttsr's eldest son took place
very Unexpectedly and prematurely AZ
Frogmore on the return OF her royal nigh
ness from a skating party on the lake az
| Windsor. known by the name OF the Viz
ginia Water. There was NO time to sum-
mon either doctors or nurses, and 10 was the
Countess OF Maeclesheld who ofieiated In
both capacities, being the first person to
welcome on his entry into this world the
lats duke of Clarence.
l am glad so say that no suah call as this
was ever made upon any of the ladies in
Visiting during the years which | spent at
the cours of Austria. la these DAYS. how
ever, before the empress had been debai red
by her physicians from equestrian exercise,
the duties of q lady in waiting were of IA
considerably more fatigaing nature than
those of the ladies in attendance on Queen
Victoria. For the empress was an indefa-
tigable rider. and q considerable portion of
the "waits' were spent on horseback in ac-
oompanying her majesty. The lady In
waiting ON dnty was forced to rise very
early TO accompany the empress to mass in
the private chapel. Thereupon, after
drinking q CUP of coffee or chocolate, the
horse would be mounte and the empress
with her lady would canter OFT through the
immense park which surrounds the imperial
residence of Godollo in Hungary. Ii the
weather was bad tho morning would be
spent in the riding school. At IL O'Clock
the ladies returned to the castle for
a bath and breakfast. the latter n
meal of the utmost simplicity. at which no
one save the impress and her lady in wait
ing were present. From breakfast up to
three o'clock the lady in waiting was free to
follow her own devices. and then there was
more riding with the empress until it was
time to dress for six o'clock dinner, at which
the em peror, the members of his family
staying at the castle, and several of ths
principal member of the household were
usually present. AT nine O'Clock the en-
press would retire to her private apartment
for the night, and the duties of her lady in
waiting were ended for the day.
In addition to the ordinary ladies in wait
ing and maids OF honor who are actually
employed and who received a salary there
are a large number of distinguished per-
sons who are authorized to designate them
selves as such. as well as to wear the badges
OF the office. but who have no duties to per
form, receive NO salary and who frequently
remain for years together without ever ap-
pearlng at court.
Thus the czarina has q number of ladies
in waiting and maids of honor who spend
most of their time in Paris or the south of
France. some of them in fact not having set
their foot in Russia for a decade.
In Austria any lady of noble birth who
can prove a certain number of nobiliary
quarterlngs and whose ancestry is abso-
lutely free from plebeian contamination, is
able to secure on application a diploma
emitting her to describe herself as a lady
OF the palace to her majesty the empress.
Among the best known of the ladies enjoy
ing this privilege is probably the Princess
Pauline Metternioh. who for so many years
figured as Austrian ambassadr ross at Paris.
In Italy three or four of the leading ladies
of the nobility In each of the principal cities
of the Kingdom, including two American
girls who have married member of the
Roman aristoeracy, have received permits
sion to descrise themselves as ladies in
waiting to Queen Marguerite. although they
are never called upon to perform any duties
in connection with the Office, which is one
of a purely honorary nature.
Queen Victoria has about a dozen ladies,
including the Dowager Countess of Mayo,
whose connection with her household is of
an honorary nature, and in Spain each one
of the lady Rrandees. whose possession of
the so-called ''grandzza" implies that they
are OF illustrious ancestry. is allowed to
style herself q lady in waiting to the queen.
As such, the Empress Eugene of France
was, until the date of her marriage, an
honorary lady in waiting to old Queen lsa-
bella of Spain.
/ may state in conclusion that maids of
honor and ladies in waiting have played a
very i'm portant role in the history of the
old world. Some of them. such as Lady
Anne Boleyn. Lady Jane Seymour and the
Countess Eugsnie de MontIjo, have become
queens and expresses, while others have
exercised a still greater influence over the
soyereigns TO whose courts they were at
tached, than if they had actually occupied
positions on the throne. Mime. dc Monte
span. for instance, was the maid of honor
of the queen of Louis XIV. of France be-
fore she became that monarch's Egeria,
while the Princess Juriewska was the maid
OF honor of the late czarina before she be-
came the morganatie wife of Emperor Alex
ander Ii. Many other princes of royal and
imperial houses have married their mothers
or sisters maids of honor. Among the
most recent cases of the kind ia that Of
Prince Oscar of Sweden, whose wife, Miss
Ebba Munk, was up to the date of her we'd
ding q maid of honor of the queen of Swe-
den. A LADY IN WAITING.