The Washington herald., 1907-02-17
L Foreign Courts
EX-ATTACHE.
EX-ATTACHE.

Lent no long, -.or with
Old World royah LAT The courts
Of Madrid NUM-, Jenna. and ST. Pc
tersburg. il has ceased to be observed by
means of fasting The days when Queen
Elizabeth not only issued privy council
DEGREES, but likewise secured from Par
lament the enactment of statutes pTovid-
ing divers pains and penalties for those
eating meat on fish days are past and
gone, and are as completely relegated to
oblivion, as are the laws of some OF the
New England States prescribing the rigid
rules Of abstinence during the penitentiaI
season To such an extent have they been
forgotten that by many, both in this
country ana Protestant Europe. the OBJ
servance Of Lent is regarded as a mat
ter Of discipline enforced by the Roman
catholic and Orthodox Hierarchy, but
from the iardships of which members Of
other Christian denominations are cx-
empt. In England. for instance. there is
no interruption of the inequalities of the
London season. Dinners and dances viii
follow one another from now on. until
just before Easter. while Parliament is
Is session, without any regard to Lent.
ana one or more courts viii be held by the
King and Queen before they go abroad
again for their customary spring holiday
on the Continent The only day of the
year on which any preJeuse is made of
Fasting by King Edward and the reign
ing family Is on Good Friday, when meat
is conspicuous by its absence from the
royal table and even this Is ascribed to
the influence Of Queen Alexandra, who
leans toward the High rather than the
Low Church. The abstinence from meat
under the circumstances is, however. no
very great hardship. For diner" OF
"dejeuncr maigre," that is to say. i'm
which no meat figures. invariably affords
to famous chefs, such as Meuager. who is
at the head Of King Edwards kitchen,
the opportunity of displaying the acme o.
their culinary art.
Both the Emperor and Empress Of Rus
STA are very strict in their observance of
the fasts prescribed by ,the Orthodox
Church rite, which are infinitely more
rigorous than those of Roman Catholicism.
prohibiting, as they do, all food before
o'clock IN the afternoon, and allowing
tables. But these deprivatiOns are not
imposed on the imperial children. nor
even on the encourage and hOulshod OF
the Car. whose strictness with regard to
himself in tie matter is attributable not
only 10 his sincere piety. bur also 10 the
obligations imposed upon him as the con-
secrated head OF the Orthodox Church |
Few of the Grand Dukes and Grand
Duchesses accord any attention TO Lent
in matters culinary, and by the Russian
great world in general the rules of fast
are almost entirely disrcgarded
At the court of Vienna no balls are
given during Lent but there is the ordi- |
nary round of State banquets and in the
event of foreign visitors of royal or im- /
perial rank. festivities of a still more
elaborate character are organized in their /
honor. When these take place in Lent. /
the menu is much more complicated and /
extensive than at other seasons. since il I
virtually comprises two distinct meals /
instead of one. a diner gras' with meat /
for the uOn-CathOlics present. and a /
diner maigre.' for those who accord /
their spiritual allegiance 10 the successor
of St. Peter at Rome. u Is much the same
at Munich, and especially at Madrid. .
where the observance Of the penitential
season is SO pronounced, that for in I
stance. TO wheel traffic is permitted in .
the streets OF the capital between Holy /
Thursday and Easter morning.
While Lent attracts but little atten- .
ton a. the Court Of Berlin, the Kaiser.
who is, like the Car. d very religious .
man, makes q point of fasting on the eve
Of those days Of the year on which he /
takes the sacraments. a custom in which .
he is joined by his consort. Moreover,
he has been in the habit since his Access
sion of Withdrawing every year for a
period OF two or three days, TO the /
Warteburg, halIowed In his eyes, and in
those Of all other German Protcstants,
by having been the refuge of Luther. and
The scene of his labors The Emperor
goes there almost wholly alone, ana shut
OF from all contact with the outer world.
gives himself up 90 mcditatiOn-ia one
word, goes into a sort Of religious re-
treat. When one takes into consideration
how busy his lie, how multifarious his
duties, and his pTeoccupa tons his brain
never AT rest, and every intellectual
faculty subjected TO the highest possible
strain, il may readily be imagined that
he should feel from time TO time the
necessity of period of complete retire
meut for self-oXamiuation and meditation
The Emperor very rightly argues that no
one can be the worse for such q species
of spiritual stock taking. and accordingly
determined d few years ago 10 afford to
his subjects tie opportunity OF giving
themselves up for few hours to quiet
meditation once every twelve months. He
found that since the Napoleonic wars, at
the beginning of the last century. there
had been an annual "BUsstag," that is
To say. day of repentance. instituted at
the time when Prussia was i'm the early
stages of her war of liberation from the
French invader. and when she felt her
self in s0ra need OF the help Of Providence
against the overwhelming odds by which
she was then confronted. The "Busstag'
had been kept up ever since. in memory
of those trOublOus times. But the char
aCter Of the observance of the day had
entirely changed Instead of being given
up 20 prayer. fasting, and repentance, It
was celebrated as one of the most joy
Gus holidays I'm the year, a circumstance J
to which the fact OF its taking place in
May, when the weather is so balmy. and
the springtime scenery OF the rural dis ,
tricts so attractive. no doubt contributed -
Indeed, the "Busstag' was made the :
occasion OF merry picniCs in the country.
of open air entertainments. and Of all
sorts of festivities and pastimes With {
the object OF restoring to this day its
original significance, the Kaiser changed I
its date from May to November, when q
the weather throughout his dominions is I
usually so abominabe that nobody feels ,
any inclination to go holiday making.
It must thoroughly be understood that !
the Busstag is statutory, the choice of the
date being left to the ruler In England.
q