The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-02-04
OFFICIAL ETIQUETTE IN EUROPE.
What Must be Done and Left Undone on
Important Public Occasions.

LONDON. Jan. 21.-The cry Of '1S50' Is
ALREADY becoming obsolete in the world
Of feminine fashion. and stepping boldly
over the limits of the Victorian era into
the realms Of the First Empire II IS IN 'fe
chat fair women seek the delights and
facinations OF novelty in dress. But II
the costume Of that distant epoch Is SUE
ccssfullv revived: If short waists. san
daIed shoes, tippeted pelssas, and Hat
curls are to be worn, VIII the manners
and habits Of the world revert to the past
and correspond with the clothes, so as 70
appear thoroughly consistent? VIII the
code Of etiquette. and what was the re-
spectability, be once more enforced OF
are we doomed TO see the anomaly or a
professional beauty Of the close of The
century disown the Grande dame or the
beginning In all but dress?
The divergence between our present
social relations is not greater than the
difference existing between the customs
of Napoleon The Firsts reign and the
habits OF Versailles and Marty. Then
the lady OF rank was taught 10 accom-
pllsh every action OF her life with cor
RICHNESS. grace and dignity, never to lose
her self-respect in Public, and TO copy
as exactly as was possible the manners
Of the court. Under the Empire she eman-
cipated herself and took a wider Tree
dom; she allowed herself to be seen walk
ing and riding in the Bots de Boulogne
but even then only at specified seasons,
never before Good Friday and never after
st. Martins day. 1t is true that the ave
nues and Champs Elysees were not then
the admirably clean and well-kept thor
oughfares they have since become the
"Amazons," as they were styled, wore
long, ample skirts. flowing wells. and rode
their trained horses in n graceful. Ian
guild almost romantic manner. acquiring
the art in special riding schools. and
avoiding as not CONNIE II faut all violent
and energetic exercise. Presently these
modified rules were cast TO the winds.
The Restoration was too short-lived TO
enforce them; the Bourgeois reign OF
Louis Philippe only stemmed eXtrava-
gance for n while. and under the Second
Empire 1t degenerated into n license still
more accented under the last Republic.
The code Of etiquette. clear. stringent,
not to be infrnged. was discarded, and
with it much of the courtesy, elegance
and perhaps comfort Of social life. Then
the mistress OF the house knew how to
act on all occasions, and was not worried
with the preoccupation that she might I'M
Willingly be offending or neglecting one
OF her guests; nor were the latter unduly
sensitive, prone TO be wounded In their
vanity by supposittiOus Sights, for host
css and visitors alike thoroughly knew
their rights and duties and accepted both
at each others hands
Diplomacy alone, although some OF the
letters are loosened. has maintained its
distinctions and privileges. probably be-
cause prctensions on the one hand and
their disregard on the other could lead
to unpleasant intern ltional consequences
disproportionate to the cause. IL has re-
manned an accepted fiat that in Europe
emperors. kings or presidents receiving
each others visits return them within
quarter of an hour, the extreme limit
being under the hour. The Emperor Of
Austria. who Is the most polite man liv-
ing. first calls or the reigning princes
passing through Vienna. After the death
of the Comte de Chambord Oh enry W he
called on the Comte de Paris at his not 81.
treating him as the head of his house.
The Prince In spite Of mourning imme-
diately went TO the Eofburg to return the
coil. However. the rule Is that the head
Of the State awaits ,he visit OF the for
ciSn sovereign. unless the latter is travel
Ing officially, in which case ne Is met by
his brother ruler at lie station. In Eng
land the Prince of Wales repres ents the
Queen on these occasions, and his pres
ence Is supposed TO be quit, equal 10 hers
In France, where there have been few
royal visitors of late years. the Presi-
dents conformcd 10 the established forms
The visit OF Alfonso XII on his return
from Germany was marked by the dis
agreeable incident which caused NJ
Grevy 10 retire precipitately TO the ElySee
and the King to be driven from the Care
du Nord to the Spanish Embassy. The
Shah of Persia was received on both his
visits to Paris at the station respectiv ely
by Marshal MacMafon and NJ Carnot.
In the case Of a prince Of the royal
blood the etiquette is regulated by the
degree Of relationship existing between
the guest and the host. In principle the
head OF the State only meets the head
of State. but courtesy has created
numerous exceptions. The President OF
the republic. eager TO show special at
tention to Russia, has personally received
the Russian Grand Dukes and the Duke
Of Leuchtenberg on their entry into Paris,
visiting them Immediately
These minor questions were not fixed
by the famous decree of Messidor. An
XII, which only settled those OF internal
precedence and which is still in force
al the present day one of the last rem
na1ts OF the omnipotent Napoleonic ad-
min.stration. According to its provis-
ions the Presidents OF the two chambers
rank Immediately after the head of the
State or his representative, In lieu OF
the whilom grand dignif n riea of the Crown