The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1907-03-07
GERMAN COURT LIFE
DULL ROUND OF THE AVERAGE
PETTY CAPITAL.
Often Poverty Strlckcn; PompouS
However, and Ruled by High Dig
nitarics-Wocs of the Princesscs
and Their Marriages.

Germany is ruled by one emperor,
four kings, six grand dukes, seven
princes and one simple coult.
TlCse sovereigns occupy very differ
G degrees of Importance even IN
t. eyes of their own immediate
Gets but in one degree or an
they all enjoy the dignities
privileges of Nngship and all
ll,o to face some of the responsible
&C, OF state.
LSery one of them has a capital
an a court of his own. Some OF
Il. capitals are not very big cities,
bdC 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 the prince
regnant. A few of them have little
more than their civil list, and there
Is world of pathos in the paring
and scraping that has to be done
to bring up the little princelings,
who are all serene highnesses or
some high sounding thing, in con-
formity with their rank.
The education Of the girls is. In
particular, a matter of Importance.
The money spent on 1t Is regarded
as sort of family Investment, for
the poorest OF them is of regal rank
and many marry any royalty in Ger
maIy--or out of it-from the Kali
Sc s son down. A pretty, bright or
fortunate one among them may at
any time make the fortune OF her
family by a 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 education 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 rulership
when the eyes Of his subjects are
upon him.
He may have no money to enjoy
A''AASNiL anu Aio pOlLllCdl power WOl IN
speaking of, but he had all his
family are begirt with an armor OF
mediaeval etiquette, through which
they cannot break to reach those be-
.ow them and through which not
;v'1 non.regnant nobility can pierce
each them
)ne OF the courts have grand dig
les chamberlains, oquerries,
-er Of the horse, grand hunts
!. There are all sorts of titled
Gt ons who are delighted to accept
such 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 five
maids of honor as we'll.
The princesses as they reach ma
turity pnd come out into .ho rociai
world have maids of hc~or too
When the nobility of the nstle State
itself does Lot furnish enough ladies
to hold these posts ladies of consid-
erablerank In Prussia or the other
large states can always be found
who arc charmed to serve for the
sake of the prestige derived from
any sort OF a court appo' ltmcnt
The true ruler Of the whole court
fs usually neither the prince nor the
princes wife. nor yet the Grand
Marshal 1t is the Grand Mistress
OF the court. who is usually majes-
tic person Of mature years and i'm
posing mien. who fairly incarnates
etiquette and radiates precedent aud
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 strlngs is by
taking trip to Paris In mutt. As
Tor 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 1t by stealth When a
princess escapes from her governess,
she finds maid OF honor dogGing
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 hint OF what life Is In a
small German court. Speaking Of
her girlhood before she became
Queen Of Romania. she says:
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