The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-16
Special Correspondence

y
whatever guise, is pathetic, but there
is something tragic in the faded gentil-
ity of once princely families. One sees
so much of it here in Italy that the
mere exterior of a palace calls up Wis
ions of decayed grandeur and suffering
pride, and almost the first question
asked when noble family s mentioned
is, Have they any money!" In four
cases out of every five the answer is in
the negative.
The large majority of them are land
poor having invested their money in
the great building speculation of the
'70s which followed the event of Rome
becoming the capital of the government
Tremendous apartment houses, hotels
and public buildings of one sort and
another were in process of construction
when the enterprise collapsed through
bad management and sudden lack of
funds, and more than one family was
ruined.
Others are the victims of the bound
less ambition and extravaganza of their
ancestors, who have bequeathed to
them enormous palaces and villas with
out the means Of their maintenance
The family residences of the Italian no
btlity were built on q scale more in ac-
cord with the gfantism of the Roman
empire, or the splendor of middle age
ecclesiaSticism, than with the modest
civilization of modern Rome. The Do
ria palace, for instance, is almost two
thirds of the size of st. Peters, and
the Coliseum could stand within its
ground plan. It used to be said that
thousand persons could live under its
roof, outside of the private apartments
and the huge galleries. It's not to be
wondered that the heirs are obliged to
let four-ffths of their family mansions
Aside from the fact that they need
the rent money, it is quite impossible
for them to occupy more than one-fifth
Of the rooms at a time.
The income from the rent and the
wife's dowry is, in some cases, all an
Italian noble has to live on, for what
money may come from the estate must
go for taxes. OF course, there are a
few families, such as the Borghese the
Massimo and the Branacci, whose for
tunes have either not suffered vicissi-
tudes, or have been mended by Ameri-
can marriages but here is naught to
do with them.
WHY SHE DARED IAfPERTINENCE
It is no eXaggeratiOn to say that the
large majority live on credit. There is
law in Italy which allows that creditors
ter that time the personal property of
the debtor may be seized. Some fami-
lies have already suffered the humilia-
ton of being sold out" and are now
living from hand to mouth, but in
other cases the nobility of the name
owes the creditors, and indulgence is
extended indefinitely. But they must
endure the insolence of tradesmen
which the situation incurs.
CrIt ha of
man witnessed an example of it. This
time it was the impertinence of a dress
maker. An aristocratic looking woman
was complaining because her gown was
not finished. You always put US Ital-
ians off for the English and Amer
icans,' she said.
Countess" replied the dressmaker,
chow do you suppose I could live with
out my foreign customers? 1 must have
the American and English money in or
der to shoulder the Italians bills"
How dare you reply to her in that
manner" said the American woman.
after the Italian had gone out without
attempting to resent the speech.
"One can afford to be impertinent to
a person who owes me 1000 francs" re-
piled the dressmaker. Then she went
on to relate tales of the pitiful exist
ence dragged out by many of the no
bility.
DO you mean to say" exclaimed her
American customer, that some of them
really live off the pantry shelf?" Why,
madame, in many cases a mouse can't
live off their pantry shelves"
And it is actually so. One hears
pathetic stories on every side. Last
week a count applied for the position
of "portiere" at a convent here in
Rome. and was found to have been two
whole days without food. Outside the
Porta del Popolo on the road that leads
to the Artist Villegas Moorish villa,
there sits an old beggar. differing in no
wise from the hundreds whose
wretched presence detracts from the
tourists pleasure, save that his face
has a noticeable refinement of feature.
This poor human bears the title of
count, and is the only survivor of a
once respectable noble family.
UNsPoKEN SUFFERING.
Another case where the actual needs
are almost as urgent. but the evidence
is carefully concealed is that of
young count received in the best circles
whose friends supply him with all his
little luXuries. such as gloves, ties, call
ing cards, etc, and often feel obliged
to invite him to dine. Not that he
ever asks it or hints in any way that
he is hungry; on the contrary, his pride
would bid him starve first; but that his
pallid countenance and hollow checks
proclaim Enthusiastically his sufferngs.
He is an accomplished gentleman and
occasionally earns a few dollars by
translating articles into French and
English for the magazines. But this
comes through a friend and is kept
very quiet lest the disgrace of his earn
ing an honest penny should become
known. Besides" he says quite
frankly. what would be the use of
my working? The family debts are so
tremendous that it would be quite i'm
possible for one man to make any i'm
preston on them"
Americans have little patience, of
course, with the aversion the European
noble shows towards earning his own
living, but they little realize how few
doors are open to him in business
way, or how quickly he would lose
caste should he enter any of them.
r.