Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1896-11-06
ROYAL WAGES.
Qualifications Necessary to Candidates For
. Highly Valued Preferment.

QUALIFICATIONS necessary to ~
Highly Valued Preferment.
"The pretty page with the dimpled
Chin" so sweetly sung of by the poet,
and who constituted one OF the most
picturesque figures Of medieval timeL
still survives.
Royal and imperial pages range In
age from ~ to l6 years. They are ap-
pointed by the sovereign, enjoy pay pre-
negatives and perquisites much as do the
grown up attendants on royalty and are
prescribed certain definite duties. The
duties are possibly no more important
than in the days of yore, when there
was no postal service and the lovelorn
princess was forced to rely upon the So
crecy and fidelity Of her page for the
conveyance Of messages Of her knight
or troubadour. But tact and discretion
in performing them are probably more
necessary now than ever, owing to the
popular craving for information OF this
kind from the pages by persons who
imagine that because they are young
their tongues are likely to be loose.
To tougher them against such at
tempts and qualify them for this service
the royal pages are subjected to very
careful training. At the court OF st.
Petersburg, for instance, there is reg
ular college Of pages, where they are
educated and maintained at the expense
of the crown.
Gentle birth is the first qualification
for the post of royal page. AT the courts
of Vienna and Munich an ancestry of
no less than 16 generations free from
any plebeian strain on either fathers or
mothers side is required in the candl-
dates. In England and Russia nobility
is not demanded. The pages Of honor III
the court of Queen Victoria are gener-
ally sons of distinguished officers of the
army or Of high dignitaries Of the royal
household.
On state occasions they wear gorgeous
uniforms Of blue and silver and many
"a fair American who has been presented
at one of the drawing rooms OF Queen
Victoria will recall to mind the appear
ance which they presented standing
slightly behind her majesty or behind
| the Princess of Wales when the latter
officiates in the place Of her illustrioas
mother in law. In fact, their duties are
| limited to attendance upon royalty ut
drawing rooms, state concerts, state
| balls and royal weddings.
At the courts of Berlin and Vienna
the pages figure at all state ceremonies,
clad like those of England III blue and
silver. At the court banquets they stand
behind the chairs of the royal and i'm
perial personages. These personages on
rising from the table sometimes address
a few kindly words to the boys and pre-
sent them with sweetmeats. Indeed, tho
late Emperor Frederick was wont TO
amuse himself by examining their
mouths full of bonbons until they could
not speak and then plying them with
questions demanding an immediate an
swer or else cracking jokes that were
sure to make them laugh.
These pages were chosen for the occa-
sion only from among the best looking
boys Of the school of cadets at Berlin
and from the imperial Theresianum col
lege at Vienna, all the members of
which are of noble birth. These schools
resemble the American West Point, but
the pupils enter at the age of ii and
receive commissions as officers at = much
earlier age than in this country.
At the court of St. Petersburg the
corps Of pages is sort of imperial
school, where number of lads, sons OF
noblemen and state dignitaries, both
civil and military, are educated at the
car s expense and under his supervision
On attaining their eighteenth year they
usually obtain commissions as officer of
the regiment of chevalier guards. The
czarina maintains a similar institution
for girls who on graduating receive the
: titular appointment of maid of honor to
her majesty. Record.