The Washington herald., 1907-08-04
BY EX-ATTACHE

Talleyrand. in his letters to Louis XVIII
from Vienna. in ISl4. complains that the
great international congress Of sovereigns
and statesmen assembled there Cor the
purpose of reshaping the mOnarchies of
Europe after the downfall of Napoleon,
was devotng its time and its energies,
not tc work, but 10 dancing And since
then, all famous gatherings of the same
character have manifested a similar lean
ing toward the cult of Terpsichore. This
is, OF course, partly due TO the fact thar
congresses involve much hospitality on
the part Of the court. the government.
and OF The great persoDages of the capi-
tai in which the meeting takes place,
cOurtesies which are acknowledged by
means Of entertainments given by each
of the foreigr. delegations and embassies
in turn. The dreary dUllness Of the dis
cussions of the congress during its ses-
siOns by day is calculated 10 imbue its
members with more than ordinary Zest
for the festivities of the evening. Even
the most stately Of representatives, of
powers both great and small. are apt TO
manifest "a tendency toward frivoiity aft
eT tiresOme hours spent at the council
board, and the heavy guns of the politi-
cal and diplomatic world who would
probably scorn 10 dance at any other
time. are apparently delighted to trip the
light fantastic toe at balls given in con-
nectiOn with international conventions
Thus. at the peace congress Of The Hague
fr~ltA F.rn- Gin &c
sembled, several weeks ago, without one
or more fetes being given by either the
Dutch or the foreign dignitaries assem-
bied in the capital Of the Netherlands,
and while the delegates are said TO have
accomplished but little in the way Of as
suTing the peace Of the world, they must
have covered miles upon miles of ground
perhaps less proftably, but certainly more
agreeably, in waltzing.
Having thus demonstrated the intimate
connection between dancing and inter
national congresses-there are some who
insist that the latter would be impossible
without the former-I may now go on TO
announce the fact that an international
congress of dancing IS to be held next
year at Berlin. At one moment il was
suggested that it should be held at Wen
na But it was feared that the celebra-
tion of the siXtieth anniversary of the
accession 10 the throne Of Emperor Fran
els Joseph in 1905. might interfere with
its deliberations, and detract from its i'm
pOrtance and. in consequence thereof,
Berlin was chosen for the meeting. OF
course, it viii be under the auspices of
the court of Berlin and Of the German
government. Probably the presidency viii
be offered to Prince BuelOw the chancel-
Tor of the German empire, who. in his
younger days was famous as leader Of
cOtilNonS. and who is still quite able to
take his part in a waltz or in a schot-
tisCne and who. while secretary Of the
German embassy mt ST. Petersburg took
the trouble 20 become an adept in that
most difficult and yet most picturesque
of all dances. the national dance of Rus
sia. the grand maZurka. Should he be de
barred from presiding over the congress
there are plenty of his colleagues. both
in the imperial administration and in the
PrUssiaH cabinet. fully qualified to take
his place. In fact, a knowledge of dane
ing is incumbent upon every member OF
the Prussian ministry For at all royal
and imperial weddings at the court of
Berlia a feature of the festivities is the
se-called torchlight dance. in which the
cabinet ministers are required TO head the
procession, each Of them carrying a light
ed candle in his hand / may add that
the torchlisht dance is not waltz, but
d rather more stately polonaise
Al Vienna quite a number OF states
men have endeared themselves to their
feuow-c0untrymen while in Office and In
cidentally strengthened their political
status. by taking part in the dancing at
the public entertainments which they
were compelled by their position TO at
tend. Each year Lent is ushered in at
Vienna with a great public ball. which
goes by the name Of the 'IndustTiellen-
bal" It is under the patronage of the
ladies of the imperial family and Of the
leaders Of the aTistOCTaCv. and is attended
not only by the latter, but also by the
most respectable and well-to-d0 members
of the bOurgeOisie, constituting one of
those rare occasions when the-at other
times widely sepaTated-oid nobility and
citizens meet socially on common ground.
At the first one of these balls given, after
Prince Alfred WindischgraetZ had become
premier, both he and his colleagues enter
ed heartily into the fun and gayety of the
entertainment, and before the evening
was half over. the prince, Baron Won
Plener, the somewhat stately minister Of
finance. and the minister of justice and
public worship, Count Won Schoenborn,
brother Of the cardinal of that name,
were 10 be seen spinning rounl the floor
70 the inspiring strains Of one Of Strauss
waltzes. just as if they were young cav
airy subalterns or mere diplomatic at
taches.
Delighted TO discover that their cabinet
ministers shared the national love of
gayety and pleasure, the people accorded
10 the prince and to his colleagues a de-
gree of confidence and good viii not en-
j0yed by the previous administration Ne
minister however, ever enjoyed the same
amount Of popularity as the late Baron
Kall3y. minister Of finance Of the Dual
Empire. and who. although a Hungarian
by birth was as much beloved and re-
spected i'm Austria as in his native land.
OF his enlightened political views, per
haps the best illustration that can be
given is the fact that he translated into
Magyar, Mills Essay on Liberty"
which he published at his own expense
for the benefit Of his cOuntrymen. But
what endeared him far more to them and
to the Austrians, in the other mOiety Of
the empire. was his composition of one
Of the most picturesque and fascinating
balletS ever produced upon the stage Of
the Imperial Opera at Vienna, and Of
the Royal Opera, at Budapest, while he
accomplished more in the way Of recon-
Cling Bosnia and Herzegovina TO Aus
trian rule. by introducing throughout
Austria and Hungary, and rendering
fashionable. their graceful national dance
known as the kola, than by accomplish