The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1907-05-02
GERMAN COURT LIFE
DULL ROUND OF THE AVERAGE
PETTY CAPITAL.
Often Poverty Stricken; Pompou3
However, and Ruled by High Dig
and Their Marriages.


four kings, six grand dukes, seven
princes and one simple count.
These soyereigns occupy very differ
emit degrees of Importance even IN
the eyes of their own imm cdiate
subjects but in one degree or an
other they all enjoy the dignties
and privileges of kingship and all
have to face some of the responsibili-
ties of state.
Every one of them has a capital
and court of his own. Some of
the capitals are not very big cities,
but they are all very proud.
AS the revenues of many of these
petty States are almost as micro
scopic as themselves, the brilliancy
OF their court life depends a good
deal on the fortune of tae prii ce
regnant. A few of them have little
moe than their civil list, and there
is a world of pathos in the parl1g
and scraping that has to be done
to bring up the little princeiings,
who are all serene highnesses or
sorae high sounding thing, in con-
formity with their rank
The education of the girls is. III
particular, matter of Importance.
The money spent on it is regarded
as a sort Of family investment. for
the poorest OF them is of regal rank
and many marry any royalty in Ger
many-or out of it-from the Kali
ser's son down. A pretty, bright or
, fortunate one among them may at
any time make the fortune of 'er
family by great alliance.
The sons are of far less CONNER
cial value, but easier to provide for.
Those who are capable of picking
up the elements of an educa ton can
always count on commissions in the
German army.
But whatever the cheeseparing,
however bitter the privations In the
family circle, nothing of it must be
seen in public. However simple the
tastes of the prince; he must never
relax from the pose of rulershtp
when the eyes of his subjects are
upon him.
He may have no money to enjoy
himself and no political power woi til
speaking Of, but he had all his
family are begirt with an armor of
medieval etiquette, through which
they cannot break to reach those be.
low them and through which not
even non regnant nobility can pierce
TO reach them.
Some of the courts have grand dig.
nitaries chamberlains, aquerries,
master of the horse, grand hurts
man There are all sorts OF titled
persons who are delighted to accept
ouch positions and serve without pay
70" the sake of the honor, the social
distinction, which they carry.
Then there are the ladies of the
court. One or two ladies in waiting
are attached to the person of the
rulers consort, perhaps four or Ave
maids of honor as we'll.
The p4incesses as they reach ma
tarit. RID come out into .hr rociai
world have maids of ho-or too
When the nobility of the ltstle State
itself does Lot furnish enough ladies
to hold fese posts ladies Of consid.
erablerank in Prussia or the other
idISe .'lSiI6S Gan AWAY pc IOunl
who arc eli; rmed to serve for the
sub Of the prestige derived from
any sort OF court Apo nLncnt
The true ruler of the whole court
is usually neither the prince nor the
princes wife, nor yet the Grand
Marshal. 1t is the Grand Mistress
of the court, who Is usually a majes-
tic person Of mature years and i'm
posing mien, who fairly incarnates
etiquette and radiates precedent and
ceremony.
Thosewho regard princes as so
highly placed that they can act with
freedom forget the grand mistress
of the court. About the only way
in which the average royalty can es-
cape from the leading strings is by
taking trip to Paris in mufti. AS
for the women of the reigning house,
there is no escape.
Etiquette forbids them to go out
alone. 1t even forbids them to sit
alone in their boudoirs, unless they
can manage it by stealth When a
princess escapes from her governess,
she finds a maid of honor logging
her footsteps every hour in the day.
When she marries she exchanges
the maid of honor for a lady in
waiting. The only way to freeze
out her feminine jailers IL to take
refuge in the company of her hus-
band.
Carmen Sylvia" in her memoirs
gives a hint of what life is in
small German court. Speaking of
her girlhood before she became
Queen of Romania, she says:
1.-THE life in the palace at Wies-
baden totally lacked gayety. The
evenings above all were mournful
when my father got back from hunt
ing tired out and slept upon the sofa
while his wife and daughters sat in
dead silence in orded not to awake
him.
Every one was waiting on every
one else in the court and no excep-
ton was made for children. We
stood so much that 1t is a wonder
our legs were not pushed up into
our bodies by our weight. like
telescopes. Sometimes we were
bored and sometimes fatigued. That
was the onlyvariety."
Different persons read the same
thing in a different manner; hence
the necessity of presenting the same
subject in different ways to convince
different minds.