The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-01-29
oryrmAE xr1oUrrxz I'M xUsoPA
what lrsst ~ Done ard Left Uses.e -
Important Pubilc occssfons.

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what lrust b Done era Ieft Uses.e =
Important Fuhstc oecssacrs.
IoNpos. Jan. 2l.-The cry 1880" IL already
becominr obsolete In the world OF feminine
to.hion ara stenping boldly over the limits Of
The viotoridn ern into the realms Of the firss
empire. Il ia ,bero that fair women seek the
seliahts and fasoInations OF novelty In dress.
nut n the costume Of that distant epoch 10 suo-
co..,uiiy revived. n abort waists, sandaled
shoss tinnoted ns,iasos. and !Hat curls arc to
ho worn will Tho mnnnors and habits OF the
,vorlS revart n tbe past and correspond with
tho clothes so ma 10 npnoar thoroughly con.
sistentp WIN tho code Of ~etiouette. and what
wna them respectability. be once more On.
forced. or are we doomed to SEQ the anomaly
Of n professional beauty OF tho close OF the
century dIsown the orande dams OF the BID
ginning in all but dress
The divergence between our present social
"a not greater than the differences
existing between the customs of Napoleon the
First's reign and the babits OF Versailles ana
Manly. Then the lady of rank vas taught 10
compl every action OF her life with cor.
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 sho emancipated herself
and took q wider II oedom; she allowed herself
to be seen walking and riding in the Bois do
Boulogne. hut even then only at specified see.
sons. never before Good Friday and never
after st. Martins day. It 10 true that
the avenues and Champs Elys6ss
were not then the admirably clean and
well-kept thorouRhfares they have since be-
come. The "amazons." as they wero styled.
wore long. ample skirts, flowing wells. and
rode their trained horses in a graceful.
languid. almost romantic manner. acquiring
the art in special riding schools. and avoiding
as not comme Il Jdtl all violent and energetic
exercise. Presently those modified rules wore
cast to the winds. The Restoration was too
short lived to reinforce them: the bourgeois
reign Of Louis Philippe only stemmed ~extrava-
gancc for O while. and under the second ON.
pirs It degenerated into q license still more
Tho code Of etiquette. clear. stringent. not
to be i~nfringed. was discarded. and with Il
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 preocupation
that she might unwittingly DO offending or
neglecting one Of her guests; nor were the lat
ter unduly sensitive. prone to be wounded n
their vanity by supposititious sights. for
hostess and visitors alike thoroughly knew
their rights and duties and accepted both ut
each others hands.
Diplomacy alone. although some Of the fet.
tors are loosened. has maintained its distino-
lions and privileges. probably because preten-
sions on the one hand and their disregard ON
the other could lead to unpleasant interna-
tional consequences disproportionate to the
cause. 1t has remained IN accepted fiat that
in Europe Emperors. Kings. or Presidents re-
ceivlng each others visits return them within
o quarter OF an hour. tho extreme limit being
under the hour. The Emperor OF Austria. who
10 the most polite man living. always calls
hrst on the reignin1 Princes passing through
Vienna After the death OF the Comic dc
Chambord tHenrt w he called on the Comic
dc Paris at his hotel. treating him a.
the head OF his house. The Prince. In
spite OF his mourning. Immediately went
to the Hoiburg to return the call
However. the rule 10 that the head OF the State
awaits the visit OF the foreign sovereign. un-
less the latter is travelling ofticially. In which
case he Is met by his brother ruler at tho sta
ton. In England the Prince OF Wales repre-.
sents the Queen on these occasions. and his
presence Is supposed to be quite equal to
hers. In france, where there have been few
royal visitors OF late years. the Presidents
conformed to the established forms. h
visit OF Alfonso XII. on his return from Cor
many was marked by the disaRreeable incl
dent which caused Ill. drevy 70 retire precipi.
lately to the Elysee and tho King to be driven
from tho Care du Nord to the Spanish EN-.
bassy. The Shah OF Persia was received on
both his visits to Paris at tho station respeo-
tivelv by Marshal MacMahon and n. Carrot
In the case OF q prince OF the royal blood the
etiquette is regulated by the degree OF rela-
tionship existing between the guest and the
host. In principle the head OF tho State only
meets the head OF q State. but courtesy has
created numerous exceptions. The President
OF the republic. eager to show special atten.
ton to RUSSIA. hos personally received the
Russian Grand Dukes and the Duke OF Leuch-
tenbere 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 at the present day. one
of the last remnants OF the omnipotent Napo-
loonic administration. According to Its pro-
visions tho Presidents of the two Chambers
- 1, 1, ~, ~, m lta toi- N fto tho hooa - %bo Stota