The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-07-15
Finds Nobility In { Europe Hard
 PrASsad # A0SA
By MARGERY WELLS

N1ENNA-You will always think of countess as something that walks upon velvet, is adorned with jewels and gold, and is waited upon hand and foot. She should be that. Tradition is all in her favor. But the march of progress, the trend of the present times, and the standing order of the republican social system is all against her.
 Some of the younger feminine mo- bility whose positions in life were turned topsy-turvy, in the after-the- war reconstruction of European governments have themselves turned mental somer- saults and are now taking their places as democratic citizens. But their num- Der is small. The majority of them have not been able so easily to readiust their conceptions of life and take their places among the multitude. They cling to their old ideals and hold on to what semblance of pomp and glory they can still grasp. And it is but a poor sem hianee, at that.
 There is'a family of. Baronesses who live in a spacious enough apartment, surrounded by handsome furniture, luxurious draperies and rugs. Ali this, including the dwelling. they have saved from the wreck of their social system. But that is positively all they have. The money they can scrape to- getner IS only enough to buy their food and the services of one poor little : meachin maid. GA maid here gets $3.5O a month and her keep, such as it is.) ] There these ladies sit in all their glory and splendor, with nothing on earth to do except receive the calls of a few friends in the same eircustances, and with the same old-time social standing, ot course, as their own. Then they 20 to, return the calls of these same ac- cepted friends. They have no parties, they attend no functions, for there are none. They do not even go to the theatre, for that they cannot afford. They are very proud. They do not complain. But, on the other hand, they do not one thing to improve their status. They have set their teeth, and when they are not awaiting in all faith the return of the old regime, they are resigning themselves, day by day, to the fate of fading away.
 The younger girls are the most pa thetic of all, for they have spirit and do not know at ali how to make use of 1t, Moreover, the ideas of their mothers and fathers absolutely pre- vent them from doing anything rad ical. One Countess that I know has developed a most wonderful talent with her needle. and this energy and craft she expends on making clothes for herself. In the possession of her family are quantities of lovely stuffs and furs and trimmings and headings and feathers galore She does these oyer, cuts and fits aud drapes and re- hangs them, until she makes of her self veritable fashion plate. But that is as far as it goes, for there are no men who can take her about.
 There is one young Countess of 9 who has taken the feins in her own hands and is dancing upon the stage. She is beautiful and she does her work wonderfully, but she is drowned upon by all of her mothers friends. In fact. she is an outcast from the set that accepted her 50 willingly once upon a time. Another young lady of the same social standing has a face that is most lovely to see, and she has taken to pos ing for commercial photographs, allow ing those who publish the pictures to mention her title.
 Another older woman with a title has taken her place as overseer of about 50 salesgirls in a fashionable dressmaking establishment. She speaks seven languages fluently and has the air of Queen at her work. I cheer her on. think she is wonderful. But she wipes stray tear from the corner of her eye, telling me she has to bear so much in the way of rudeness. The girls, it seems, put their hands on her when they become friendly. Per haps they are not court manners, but they look nice and friendly to me, while I try, without avail, to give the noble lady the benefit of my American point of view.