New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-18

time all the Ears wives abstaincd from coming u
court 50 not to give the pas 70 Ambassadresses,
while in the early portion Of Queen \ictoria's
reign the Duchesses rose up in arms al the idea
Of making way for these ladies. But they We're
forced to yield. not only the Ambassadors but
also Ambassadresses are looked upon as repre-
senting the personality of their sovereign and
it would be impossible Tor any foreign sovereign
to walk behind an English subject either a;
official functions or even in society. Talking OF
precedence. | have known cases where an AM
bassadress actually enjoyed the pas Of her hus
band a, off cial functions entertainments. 1t was
q case where, although ne Ambassador was one
Of the most recent arrivals the Other Ambassa-
doris were all either widowers or bachelors. The
wife therefore. of the new arrival became
dovcnnc OF the Diplomatic Corps in which her
Ever since the treaty of Westphaa. though
not by virtue Of any clause contained therein.
but merely by usage and presidents that have
gradually succeeded one another Ambassadresses
have become entitled to the same preceden,s
ana the same honors as their husbands. except
in some minor matters. such as. for instance.
the first reception by the sovereigns on arrival
I'm their capital. The Ambassador is fetched in
one of the mOnarCh'S carriages. and is attended
by a cavalry escort on the occasion Of his first
audience; whereas. when the Ambassadrcss pays
her respects for the first time To the Empress or
Queen. as the case may be. she drives to the
palace in her own state carriage. the guard.
however. turning out. and presenting arms Just
as in the case Of her husband. Like their hus-
bands Ambassadresses cannot be sued for debt.
no matter how big the accoun, that they may
run up at their couturiers. as Worth and other
Pa ris dressmakers have on more than
cason found out to their cost. And in one In
stance where the Spanish Am5assadress at
Turin had her effects seized OF behalf of some
creditor the most profuse official apologies We're
subsequently offered by the Court of Turin to
that Of Madrid. Any attack upon an Ambassa-
dress or any slight or insult to which she may
be subjected is considered in the light Of an
insult - the Government represented by her
husband and It was the knowledge Of this that
on one occasion at Rome induced Lady Page.
the English AmbassadrcSs. and Madame du
Muoy. the French Ambassadress TO summon their
carriages and. In defiance OF all etiquette To quit
the bail given by the Princess Paavicini prior
to the departure of the King and Queen. because
they had not been accorded places at the royal
supper table On the conclusion Of their hus-
bands mission. X is customary for AmDassa-
dresses L. receive some token of regard from
the sovereign al whose court they have been
residing, and which generally takes the form OF
JeWefN, valuable porcelain or portraits. and
constituting the counterpart 81 the decoration
usually offered to their husbands by way OF
parting souvenir Should the fancy seize them.
they may harness sin horses II their carriages
the subjects Of the sovereign Of the country In
which they are living being debarred from using
more than four; and another prer0gative which
they share with their husbands Is tina. Of being
addressed as "iour EXccllency." The title of
Ambassa dress first officially accorded to
the wife OF the Spanish Envoy t. the Vatican
by Pope SiXtus VI Nothing is heard OF Ann
bassadresses previous to that time. owing II the
fact probably that there We're no permanent
embassies accredited to any OF the courts the
DIPLOMATS missions being mostly Of a temporary
character. which led those intrusted Herewith
20 leave their wives a home.
tn" important rDl, played by women in dipio-
macy and accorded 10 them in the Official and
political circles Of Europe * attributable L. The
fact that they possess tact and intuition of A
dehcacy and p"neirAion which are exceedingly
rart in men. Their powers Of persuasion are in
cpmrarablN superior we'll II more null
Upe character than those Of the which Is
only physically but alas. not mentally the
strongcr; ana in diff cult situations whence "A
man could only emerge with the help Of lie
Of coarse and dsceruibe texture. or by a silence
which is sometimes inconVencnty eloquent. the
woman viii escape under the cover 81 most
artistic piece of intricate embroidery on the very
1imsiest and most dilphanous groundwork Of
fact There is likewise an element of intrigue
being t. lead clever and astute people into in
ferring things which are untrue without laying
onefS self open & charge Of practising deception
Women are much more suited for this task than
men. They possess more tact and intuition than
men. and there are but few who would refrain
from a little innocent state intrigue II assured
that ii would enable them to demonstrate their
intellectual superiority over man and their in
fluence.
However. il must be admitted that II American
born Ambassadrcsses ID ever dabble in political
intrigue they do with such del:cacy. liChtncss
and grace that they seldom found out. and
while they have achieved the reputation Of being
hesven-born diplomats and In every sense Of IN"
word the better half Of the Ambassador. they
never yet exposed themselves 70 being
Classed as ".ntrgantes." EX-ATTACIIE.