The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-06-20
AMERICAN GIRLS ABROAD.

Girls Neglect Social Convcntlons-Hap
 py and Unhappy Marriages-lncident at
 Court Ball.
 (Berln Letter in San Francisco ArGonaut.)
 For some time, l have noticed, by perusal of American papers, that the subject of American girls marrying foreigners is one of growing interest Rightly so, l think, Not only from the point of view that in the aggregate, large sums of money earned in America are lost to the country, although that seems to be the chief consideration for many writers, but also because the an- nual loss of q number of the most de- sirable and highly cultured American women and their amalgamation with foreign natiOnalities cannot be a mat ter of indifference to the nation at large, Pardon me, therefore, if I ven ture to add my mite of information and advice as to this theme,
 I must preface, however, that my views and statements cannot by any means be taken as authoritative or conclusive There are, it seems, no re- liable statistics on the matter (but l am inclined to think that the number of such marriages is larger than is gen. erally imagined in America, for in the majority of cases they escape attention over there, concerning persons not of sufficient prominence to figure in the accounts of the daily press), and condi- tions and facts differ so much in indi- vidual eases that it is hard to strike something like a general balance, Since I have however, enjoyed some what exceptional facilities in becoming acquainted with cases of the afOremen- toned kind, think I may fairly claim that my opinion will be worth about as much as that of another individual ob- server Let me first generalize and group a few observations,
 The American girl or young widow as a marriageable person has come to be appreciated in Europe as much, nay more. on the Continent than in Eng land. There are several reasons for this, one being that the average Amer ican girl is handsOmer than the aver age European girl; another being that she-or her papa or guardian-is sup posed to have, and often does have more money than her European sister; and still another. though not so potent factor. being that the American girl is intellectually more gifted, brighter, more interesting creature than is her European sister on an average. The above three facts have just begun to be generally known in those European circles coming here under constdera- ton: hence it is probable that the mar rying and giving in marriage of the American girl to we'll connected young Europeans will increase, instead of de- creasing, hereafter
 In most instances American girls, when marrying Europeans, do so for two reasons, one being that they wish to spend their lives in highly cultured, more or less aristocratic and exclusive society. and the other being that they believe the life of this society In Europe to be a more enjoyable one than would be the case in America and with an American husband, other things being equal In this two-fold suppositiOn the American girl Is often quite wrong, rarely quite right If she marries, for instance, into a family belonging to the privileged classes, she is regarded to the last in the light of an interloper. And this, no matter what she or her husband, or even the whole family may do to the contrary, caste spirit in Eu- rope being too strong and too msur- mountable to be overcome, even by very smart" American girl Again, where she escapes. by her European marriage, a number of peculiarly American anoyances, she exchanges them for as many, or more, peculiarly European ones. The whole life of the upper classes here is, just to mention one thing, so highly artificial and so full of the minutest care to be taken at every step, that few Amcrican-born women, even after long training, grow accustomed to it or learn to ac- commodate themselves thoroughly to 1t all There are, of course eXceptions-l personally know of some-but the above is the rule, even if the girl, on marrying, be still young and impress sionable Again, Europeans of both sexes, but more especially the women, do not like the independent, unceremo- nious ways of the American woman, and they never forgive her for exercts- ing more freedom of speech and man ner and motion than they themselves are, by the custom of a thousand years, permitted to enjoy.
 A recent incident at one of the court balls in Dresden comes to my mind to illustrate this The young American girl In question is the daughter of wealthy and distinguished Baltimo- reans. and she, being very pretty be- sides, and highly gifted in mind as we'll found no great difficulty in ob~ taining an invitation to the festtvity that night Court rules and etiquette being often somewhat relaxed on the Continent, notably at the smaller courts. for the pleasure of receiving some charming little Americaine). Her costume that night was, of course, above reproach; of that she had taken good care, and at first she was much admired; and she had also an ire proachable chaperone with her. Buther manners-b-r-r! Without intending to do so, without being aware of 1t, she transgressed that evening nearly every rasraph in the code of behavior, un- til she was, when supper time arrived, fairly tabooed and ostracized. Her final faux pas-she said, rather audi bly. though in English, that the trut- fled pheasant on her plate was not as good as an American canYas-back