The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1893-10-29

\ II
excited not only By reason Of their erase and
their beauty Of feature. but also Of their flne
physical proportions. This fact seems the
more striking when one bears in mind that.
after making every allowance for exceptions.
Ole must admit that the men In Austria do
not come MP to the physical standard Of
the women. II. in Germany. tho foreign
visitor wonders how women 30 Insignificant
and plain become tho mothers OF fine. hand
some men, In Austria one is surprised that
such lovely women should be the mothers OF
such wesdy looking males. Mr.. Whitman does
not hesitate to say that no country in the
world produces so high an average Of female
attrac tiven ,ss as does Austria Hungary. Phys
Zeal beauty and feminine charmc are equally
present in all classes. from the highest to the
lowest. II there be any distinction. II is that
plain woman lie oftener seen among the
aristocracy. In truth. however. there is some
thing indefinitely aristoctatic In Austrian
womanhood throughout all classes. Even
the physical attributes OF blue blood. such
as faultless complexion. finely moulded limbs,
and dainty hands ana feet. are to be
mot with in the Hungarian and slav-
onic peasant no less. II not more ire
ouently than In tho oldest families OF the
nobility. The women OF all classes, and moro
or less in all races Of the realm. have In their
manners and bearing n touch OF unspoiled sim
plicity and dignity which Is essentially their
owE. They are endowed with a distinction
which 10 lacking in those countries where you
can tell at a glance in what sphere OF lie
woman was born. Such being the fascination
OF Austrian womankind. there is nothing re-
markable in the fact that. notwithstanding
the class prejudice OF tho aristocracy. there is,
perhaps. no country in tho world wherein
more romantic marriages are made between
the highest and the humblest. than In Austria.
The many examples OF such matches among
the Hapsburg family are well known. and
among the Austrian aristocracy the number OF
them is legion. while in republican France
such a thing as the marriage OF an actress
into the old nobility is almost unknown.
1t Is Mr. Whitman's opinion that the Catholic
Church must be credited in no small degree
with the absence OF heartless wordliness
which 1t is 80 gratifying to note among Aus
trian women as q whole To the priest Ia at
trbuted the fact that the female snob is very
rare In Austria. The infre1uency OF snobbish-
ness is apparently the reason why. among the
cosmopolitan female rubbish which is con-
tinualy begging its way into the courts OF
Europe there ia next to no Austrian element.
Even when frail. the woman OF Austria Is
rarely venal Tho absence Of the slavish ador-
alton OF wealth and position by the women Is
one OF the causes OF the quiet. contented So
cial lie that is so widespread In Austria. 1t
also prevents the generation OF that hideous.
clammy ostracism and contempt for poverty
which is the direct outcome OF opposite con-
ditions. and which does so much to sterilize
the female heart in many places.
1t may surprise some persons who have alb
sorbed certain current notions about Niennese
morality to learn that there Is a large amount
~ a acti h,n 70 ha fnrn In
sphere OF life in Austria. perhaps more than is
to be met with elsewhere. 1t is not that mar
ried people are better in q certain sense than
they are in other places: perhaps rather the
reverse. for. according to English and Ameri-
can standards they are sometimes downright
wicked They do not practise Puritanic
immaculateness with regard to the seventh
commandments they are more pleasure loving
and light hearted than is consonant with
due regard for their higher spiritual interests.
But the author Of this book contends that they
make up for these defects. in a large measure.
by leading a simple life. devoid Of outward
glamor and artinciality. The Austrian wife
is far more OF a companion to her husband
than Is usually the case in Germany. Her
vivacity and brightness of disposition bring
sunshine in their train She is free from the
petty nugging propensites which seem to be
vice OF the harder-grained German stock.
Again. there Is usually q less distance between
the mental culture Of man and wife than in
Germany. Austrian husbands often take the
responsibilities OF married life too lightly.
particularly in not sufficiently watching over
the education Of their children. Whatever
domestic discipline exists in Austria Is most
" due to the mother but 1t Is not OF the
stern kind which makes typical French
mother the directing spiritual and intellectual
f~,. thnf o., = tfr
the heart than in the mind: indeed. the warm
hea1tedness OF an Austrian woman makes
her exceedingly indulGent. She exhibits
q rare capacity for forgiveness as many
Austrian husbands can vouch. The Aus
TRAN wife has often been known to for
give. where others might be more ready to
urbrnid or to light the torch OF domestic con-
Migration. even though they themselves
should be buried beneath the ruins. She re-
members that. after all. certain things do not
constitute her sole orbit of life. She has
her household and her children: the family
honor is in her keeping, AMI they think deal
OF that in some circles in Austria. She in
stinctively shrinks from dragging her wrongs
into the public courts OF the country. and thus
practises the gospel of self-abnegaton. which
elsewhere is less often practised than preached.
disappointment does not lead her TO drink or
despair. She seeks consolation in devotion to
her daughters. for however narrow minded
she may be. she is conscious that this is her
vocation. She has herself been brought up to
think that it is a privilege to possess children
which must be deserved.
".
We should not take leave OF this book with
out some reference to the Austrian middle
classes a subject to which the author allots no
fewer than three chapters. A point to be
noted at the outset Is that. In Austria. the