The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1898-09-01
A L0YAL HOME
WORKER ABROAD.
Sights and Scenes in European
Ways and Byways.
In Austria's Interesting Folk in
Picturesque Costumes-The Lottery-Beg-
gars Of Misunderstanding Observations.
BY ELSIE PoMERoY McELRoY.
VIENNA, Aug. IL, 1893.

Vienna, they say, is dull now, all of tn,
fashionables having gone to cold-water
mud, or barefoot cures and bereft tn,
town of their gayety; but we find it inter
esting. We enjoy only sitting in the
parks watching the women and and thu
children play, and we are continually
seeing things that we have never seer
before. Occasionally we congratulate our
selves on our inexperience, but usually
the sights are at least interesting and
sometimes our eyes are delighted.
There are fresh llerchiefed women sell
ing cyclamens, gentians, lavender bios
SONS and violets-yiOlets in August but
they come from the cool mountain sides
where also the fragrant little wild straw
berries may be found Ill Summer. HunGa-
rian peasant girls in short Haunting
skirts, bright bodiceS, and stockings and
tinSelled scarfs tied closely over their
dark har, 60 slowly by; and occasionally
a rich peasant dame and her daughter
from the Tyrol will pass in all the plctur-
eSqueneSS of national gala garb-Snowy,
short-sleevcd bOdiceS, girdles stiff with
embroideries of silk and gold bright
skirts, long, palc-blue aprons hemmed
with silver threads, and herchiefs OF
| brocade silk. Or Swiss in a loose suit
of white linen, with a sleeveless Jacket
lined with sheep or goats skin, will walk
along in utter Inconsistencies that an
| American man would consider himself "a
fit subject for the lunatic asylum if he
went around in clothes like that.
Sometimes a young mother with coppery
braids wound round her head and shining
in the sun as she bends over her babe,
her cheeks all rosy ard her bare throat
and arms dazzlingly white, will make a
picture for our eyes. The little one vii
be wrapped in snowy sun and grass
| bleached linen, and will be bound to "a
pillow by broad embroidered bands, an d
| the mother holds it under a sort of curtain
| that she makes by pinning a large square
of heavy white linen to her right shoulder
and arm. This way of binding the baby
to the pill low and curtaining him in is very
pretty and seemingly comfortable for both
him and his mamma.
GORGEOUS NOODLES.
New braveries of military uniforms con-
tinually attract our attention. and having
learned to look for the stars on the collar
and for the long sword, we can now almost
tell a Captain from a private, but utterly
fail to distinguish important railway Off
Gals and policemen of some rank from
soldiers.
Indeed, the soldier has no monopoly of
swords and taSSelS here-any civil servant
of the ninth or higher rank wears a sword
and unifOrm-and pOrteTS, or some similar
factotums, who stand about the public
buildings, and do not answer questions,
are the most utterly gorgeous of all.
1t becomes very bewildering, especially
when you are not certain which one to
tip, and think it more than likely that
some one of them will run his sword
through you If you do, or if you don't.
We are now become so effete that we al
ways give two kreutZers zone cent to the
street-car conductors. We know our way
and all that. We don't ask anything OF
them-just do it to be handsome, as our
English friend would say.
There is great and unreasonable charm
in hearing people talk German. They
chatter away with each other so FAST we
can't pOSSibI understand bit OF il, but
we listen as intently as though we under
stood and had deep interest in every
word. No doubt the conversations would
often bore us immensely if we compre
hended them.
Once friend interpreted for us a bit OF
talk between two elderly and worthy-lOOk-
ing DANES. They were discussing lucky
lottery numbers, telling of their losses
and small gains, and of the enormous
fortune won by the cousin of man who
lived in the same street with Frau AS
married daughters brother-in-la IS sister.
This is about as near as fortune ever
comes to them, but the peasants are IN
veterate gamblers. The citizens indulge
in lottery scheme which is no less than
KaiserIichen and Koniglichen affair,
being bond issue at low interest, but
numbers corresponding to the bond num-
bers are all shuffied up, two or three are
drawn out at random, and the lucky
holders of bonds numbered similarly re-
ceive large prizes.
The hope of being lucky induces the
popuiace to subscribe, and the Govern
ment gets the money at what must prove
a rather high rate OF interest, certainly
high one to us who deem a lottery de
mora LIKING, and the damages wrought by
it too costly to be endured. However, a
good wife told me that when her husband
offered her a new silk dress, she took in
stead the chance OF a "Loos, as it is called.
ONLY A PRINCESS.
Just what form this love for unearned
money takes among the nobility one cam
not yet say. To tell the truth we have
only seen one of the nobility-a princess,
who was walking down the mountain
road while her carriage was being mend
ed She was tall, WORKOUT woman of
some 90 Summers, clad in decent black,
who looked so much like well-to-d do
American woman settling down into a
comfortable old age and quietly mourning
her dead that one was not tempted to
generaliZe convincedly on the Austrian
nobility on seeing her.
We have occasional evenings of ex-
quisite music at the Royal Opera House,
to swing us out OF any memories OF hot
days and dusty streets, and OF visions o.
miserable beggarS and cripples that do
ucfItSS IS tNtii III Inc UliUSt
of our enjoyment OF Nienna'S beautiful
churches, galleries, and gardens. The
beggar dirty and with all his miseries
carefully accentuated, is everywhere. He
is inevitable especially in the gardens,
where one goes TO listen to the music or
for ones "Jauser", which is pronounced
"Yowser," and is really afternoon coffee, |
though it has a wicked and dissipated |
sound To return TO the beggar Every |
one gives him a few kreutzers. That |
phrase ''pauperiZing the poor which dis |
turbS all of our little efforts towards charity
of this sort has not been hammered into |
the heads of the AustrianS as it has been |
in ours, and one gives to beggaTS without |
a single guilty pang and in no fear of de-
nunciations from the political economists |
Austria is a Catholic, and therefore one |
would expect it to be a very piouS, country; |
but it does not seem SO. After three |
weeks observation of altar-pieces, paint |
ed glass and gothic spires we have con-
cluded that only the peasants are devout. |
One finds shrineS everywhere-in the |
arch of a dark alleyway, crucifix with |
gre at wreath of red roses about it, or a |
Virgin shrine with lighted lamp, flowers
and hoop of plaster angels with flowers
and flying ribbons hanging above her, with |
a prayer bench before the shrine, and all |
in the arch of a busy court where are
many little shops and crowds of busy
people. In inches in the gray walls, look |
ing down on the noisy streets, are set holy |
figures, and in the busy streets, along
country rOadsides and up every mountain
path at every few steps one finds shrine |