New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-03-18
AMBASSADRESSES.
.,,rP1cAN WOMEN SHINING IN FOREIGN
COURTS.
.,,,.r,.rr OF THE IDEAL AMBAssADREsS-PRE
pocar1vEs AND PRIVILEGES OF THESE
IAp1Es-woMEN IN FOREIGN
DIPLOMACY.
DIPLOMACY.


DIPLOMACY.
There have been Of late 50 many accesslonS 10
cha already large number Of marriages between
American girls and foreign diplomats that it
.,,ld seem as if the daughters of Uncle sam
-. ,,esessed in a more superlative degree than
women Of other nationalities Of those quail"
tics that are most highly priced by. and OF par
,icular value TO- ENJOYS and secretaries or lega-
tion Attaches don't count; Tor they are only
.o,,,, &c long as matrmonially unattached. At
one moment there were no less imam loui Oh the
foreign Embassies at St Petersburg where Amer
lean ladies reigned supreme as mistress 81 the
houeo There was the daughter Of John Jay.
Who was the wife Of the German Ambassadors
The daughter Of the late Loring Andrews, like
;so of Nev,-York was the wife Of the Wurtem-
horc envov. the daughter of c. w. Riggs. o.
washington. dispensed hospitality at the English
rr,hose,. where her husband. Mr.. Henry How
ord was charge d'affaires. and there was the
I-r;ted states Legation itself TINS, as well as
the fact that the Danish Ambassadors at STOCK
holm the Dutch Ambassadress at Rome, the
british Ambassadors at Brussels. and unt
ouite recently the French and Belgian Ambassa-
dresses in London we'll as the German Am
hassadress at Madrid. the French Amoassadress
:, Conenbaren and the Dutch Ambassadress at
scient +, show that, in the opinion Of diplomats
Who owing TO their nomadc life. have unrivailed
onnortunties Of comparing the women Of every
raca and cme-there are none so eminently
,,,ad for the role Of Amba ssadress as Ameri-
aus who come nearer To the ideal of what an
.,baesadress should be than any of their for
eign sisters.
Under these circumstances the question arises
&c n what constitutes ideal Amb2ssadress
In response thereto. l cannot do better than 10
o,cte the words of the Comte de Mouy' VINO 10Y
- many wears represented the French govern
,nent at Rome According to the Count. neither
beauty nor age holds a high place in the analin-
cations Of an ideal Ambassadors. provided her
features and expression be pleasant and agree
aba Her voice should be sympathetic and her
manner kindly She should possess the arr OF
rrov,nr ius, what to say and nothing more
She should be clever and well Informed. without
any affectation Of science or intellectual superior
itv In matters pertaining to elegance she should
no faithful TO fashion. without. however, eisher
preceding /, or following too far in its wake
Her moral conduct should be untarnshable even
bv A breath Of suspicion, but this should only
serve II render hel indulgent 70 others. though
with discernment She should abstain from I'M
charitable gossip. as well from discussions and
arguments. and. above ALL avoid making con-
fdant Of any one. Her rank being beyond ques-
ton, she should be free from any afeciation Of
superiority or nordnate sense of dignity bu'
should DE perfectly unassumng ana permit
nothing to interfere with her natural modesiy
Her receptions and entertainments should be
nleasant and agreeable but worthy OF the great
nation which her husband represents Each
guest should be received as friend, but accord
ing to his rank. Harmony and concord being her
main and predominant aim. she should in
spire all those around her with the same sent-
ments. She should be in every sense OF the
word great lady. that is 'une tres grande dame,
and yet as simple and unaffected as is the
latter She should alike impose and captivate.
as well as give a lofty idea of the fenlirine
society of the nation which she represents. She
should know how to win the love and apathy
Of those around her for the government and for
the people TO which she belongs. and. most i'm
portant Of all. she should possess in the most
exquisite degree that not merely cardinal, but
might almost say pontifcial virtue. namely.
tact"
These. then. are the qualifications Of the ideal
Ambassadress. and the fact that foreign diplo-
mats should show marked preference for
American helpmates leads to the conviction that
the daughters Of Uncle Sam approach nearer 10
the ideal and possess to a greater degree than
other women the qualities above enumerated.
When diplomatic appointments are made by
the American Government at the commencement
Of each Presidential term. the political and
social status of the envoy is taken into considera
ton by the Administration. Scant attention is,
however. accorded to the personality Of the APP
pointee's better half Fortunately. American
women possess such wonderful powers Of adapt
ing themselves to any surroundings among
IN
added TO. rather than diminished. the prestige
and diplomatic success of their husbands. and
American Ambassador asses are entitled TO a large
share Of the responsibility and merit in the Off
cial and social victories won by their husbands
for the United States. They are entitled, there
fore To far greater regard and Importance than
either the Government or the people OF this
Try have hitherto seemed disposed to accord to
them. In the words of the great Napoleon. 1.-THE
wife is the most important of all elements in the
Embassy" and in talking to the Duchesse dab
rantes when she was on the eve of her departure
for Lisbon to assist her husband in the represen-
tation OF France at the Portuguese Court he
added. Sometimes two great Powers are on the
eve Of destroying another merely because
two silly jades have squabbled" Napoleon
views with regard to the importance Of the role
OF Ambassadors shared by every European
Government, and there several countries
where diplomats are obliged to obtain the con-
sent of their sovereign and Of the Minister Of
Foreign Affairs under whose orders they serve.
before marrying. Indeed. it was but last year
that one of Emperor Williams Ambassadors
forced to resign his post because he persisted
in his intention of marrying foreigner after the
consent Of his Government had been refused.
The reason for this is that an Amhassadress
necessarily exercises an influence over her hus-
band. and also TO a great extent Is called upon
to share his official secrets-secrets Of such i'm
portgnce ofttimes that he does not even dare to
communicate them to the members OF his staff.
know that this question as to whether an Am
bassador should impart State and official secrets
to his wife constitutes a subject of much con-
troversy and discussion. But the consensus OF