OCR Text |
Show isf MAGAZINE. SECTION 4 1 fr f I A & V It Is in Vienna, Where Birth Alone Counts and the Social Climber Is Mercilessly Snubbed ) aristocracy a survival of the fittest, in point of birth and rank, to mingle with the high and mighty Hapsburgs. High and mighty they are indeed, and numerous, too, these collaterals and cousins and children and nephews of the Emperor, and great-nepheand their husbands and wives and each holdbrothers and sisters-in-laing a separate court in state and splendor, with gentlemen and ladies in waiting, equerries and masters of ceremonies. They all gather around the old Emperor during state or family or religious festivities, and each one of them possesses a string of names and titles that would puzzle any honest citizen from a democratic ese winter. But Viennese aristocracy country. and the Viennese society reporters are The Social Life trained to it by birth and habit; they of Vienna know it all as perfectly as the trainer Is Host Enacting his stud-booThe social season is inaugurated in knows But these high and mighty archJsnnary and lasts until Lent, and the archduchesses sometimes and dukes txmd of festivities is uninterrupted, from their lofty pedestals descend it is a natural thing for a lady of the and show the public that they are real Viennese aristocracy to go to bed, flesh and blood and not merely magthough a dozen weeks consecutively, d nificent symbols. An it dawn and rise at sunset. Only in on insists marrying the archduchess thn way can she satisfy the demands officer of her choice, the or sportsman hich social life makes upon her own or an archduke shocks society by personality, her husbands name and some mysterious scandal or a fervent rink and her family jewels. attachment to a charming but ineligiMo aristocracy was originally more ble maiden. In recent years this has 'osmopnlitan than the Viennese, and frequently. ret none is so exclusive. It has taken been thr cae very Sometimes he best from reeverywhere, and ntes to admit any but its equals in There Are Exceptions hirth and rank. For birth is the one Heres an Instance Undard by which people are judged It is uncertain whether a jealous !n Austrian the archduchess open really did level her reonly society, e rtsame" to .its barred gates. Those volver a few weeks ago in the face of the charmed circle may go so far a n young actress, but it is is smiling occasionally upon the out' certain that Archduke Franz Ferdi'der, hut they will never take him nand insists on bestowing his heart accominto their ranks. They may be intere- and hand on the beautiful and sted in the American girl, admire her, plished, but ineligible, daughter of a isk her to social functions, but they Viennese college professor. don't invite her to intimate lunches, The outcome of such romances is nd they dont at the Court of Vienna. marry her as a rule. acNoble Blood The princeling is allowed to wed never reand on Both Sides his wishes, to cording his Insisted appears as an archduke among Upon a when even But It is a tradition that a marriage in former equals. loves blood the royal of thr Austrian not nobleman mesalliaaristocracy is a and marries her, the nce unless it brings together sixteen a commoner the consequences are and g scandal Ittrterings on both sides. The The girl knows parties must be able to boast hardly less serious. The her. gates of court that exclusive passport to Austrian what awaits to the forever barred Court circles are nobility on both sides society a f each is not daughter of the family through eight unbroken woman who The nobilCourt. at received reiteration of men. This nobility will lose its pres system has brought about in the ity is afraid that it most brilliant and society in the world is which centres in Vienna when the great families come to Ac Emperor Francis Josephs Court n fan their Austrian manors and castles, their Galician estates and Istrian villas, their Bohemian pal-ic- ti and country houses in Tyrol. The foreigner who has visited Vienna can never forget those glorious evenings spent on that most fashionable of thoroughfares, the Ring-stnu- e the lights, the crowds, the the beautiful women tqnipages, clothed in velvets and furs, the sleight tarn by prancing thoroughbreds, and he (littering ice carnivals of a Vienn- THE Hun-garia- w, k. jewel-studde- in-id- well-know- ed con-actin- time-hon-ur- 'rrled by the birds, but declare they I ftfovfe j itnome tm::v-c- t. s tige and privileges above the masse by close alliance with other than it own kin, and in times when social differences are apt to become less and less marked, prejudice is stronger than ever, and the most strenuous methods are resorted to. The Marble Heart Is the Portion of the Socially Ambitious The great Austrian lady will stop and speak graciously to the poor peasant on her estates, but she will unmercifully cut the woman who is just one step below her in the social ladder, lest that woman should presume that she is being authorized to climb. This cutting takes a most drastic form in some cases. Viennese society still remembers with horror or satisfaction, as the case may be, what foln lowed the marriage of a s, Count Paul Hungarian magnate. with the divorced wife of a Viennese broker. Through some oversight or coincidence of name an invitation was received by the Count for himself and his Countess, and they joined the ranks of the nobility at the Court ball. Just before the entrance of the Emperor, the guests formed in two lines. The Count stood with the men, while the Countess moved to the right with the ladies. They suddenly drew close together and left her standing alone, in the solitary splendor of a magnificent toilette and priceless jewels. The entrance of the Emperor was somewhat delayed, and the grand master of ceremonies requested the unhappy couple to leave the room immediately, which they did. Austrian Society Rules Are Unwritten As in England It is to the honor of the Viennese aristocracy that, although mesalliances for love or caprice are frequent, mesalliances or even marriages for money are extremely rare, and this notwithstanding the comparative poverty of many aristocratic families and the great display which is required by their name and rank. If there is any relenting by society, it is shown towards the actress or the peasant's laughter rather than towards the daughter of the rich tradesman or the financier, who are most strictly boycotted. The rules of Austrian society are mostly unwritten, like those of Eng they ran well-know- Fes-tctic- otut--r direction. land,. where rank is mathematically determined, and a hostess knows exactly which .elder sons of younger sons must precede the younger sons of elder sons. But nobody would ever forget in Vienna that only princesses of the blood have a right to sit at the Emperor's supper table; that the courtesy tifle of reigning prince is extended to the heads of great mediatized families; that an archduke may deprive any man whom he chooses of his promised partner at a dance, if such be his pleasure; and that it is always leapr year for an Austrian archduchess, it being her privilege at a ball to name the gentleman who is to be her partner and to get him, even if he has been saving up that very lance for months for a certain young Comtesse. In the very exclusive circles, where it is known months ahead who will entertain whom, dances are asked for and promised, and often not more than one in a season. How to Speak to and of the Women of Royal Blood The French title of Comtesse is the courtesy title by which all daughters of the nobility are designated, when spoken of. When spoken to, their title is strictly adhered to Furstin, Baronin, Grafin. The Viennese girl of society is bright, charmingly frivolous and gossipy, thoroughly accomplished and fond of flirting. The dashing young officers of the crack regiments, men of noble birth, are her devoted courtiers and admirers. Marriages in the aristocracy are generally ascribed to love, but Dan Cupid is remarkably deferential to the sixteen quarterings and the future position of the bride at Court. The great majority of these matches turns out A happily, or at least decorously. livorcee in Austrian Court society is 'inheard of, and so is the woman who Irags a great name in the mire of public gossip through her behavior. The Austrian noblewoman, like the Austrian nobleman, is fond of horses, sport aid hunting: she loves dancing, md masked parties are the joy of her cart; and she shares with all Austrians, rich and poor, men and women. my wires ana my enuuren.' ' princes and commoners, privates and officers, that reckless, inordinate love for gambling which is a characteristic of the exuberant Austrian nature. Viennese aristocracy has a reputation for fastness and gayety which is Europe, apt to scandalize conventional but, after all, society is not any worse there than elsewhere, and perhaps in some instances it is not as bad. The sincerity and frankness of its craving for fun and excitement explain many things td the wise observer. All is on the surface; there is no concealment It is typical of the Austrian character, for instance, that the amusement even of common people is never so wild that the gentlest ladies dare not join in it An aristocratic party will often attend a public masked ball incognito a form of entertainment. not supposed elsewhere to be. patronized by women of social position. The whole of the Viennese world is free, gay and vivacious to an extent unsus pected elsewhere, always ready to enjoy or promote fun in every possjble way, always generous even to lavishness, always entertaining even to astonishment, always finding a reason to enjoy life. A great Austrian lady may smoke a cigarette over a glass of brandy at a card table, but she is just as much a grande dame when she rises from that table as she was before. She is a woman well versed in the ways of the world, and well trained to uphold the dignity of the name she bears. She considers herself above the tyranny of customs and convention ality, and you can trust her for being a good woman, a good wife and a good mother. She is an uncrowned queen, and can often boast of a descent more proud and ancient than that of many queens. Besides, she feels responsible for what she does to her own world, and only to that; and that world, in which all know each other as their forefathers did, never misunderstand her. It is like her own family, all of it. This Exclusive Society la Abo the Mott Intimate in the World The foreigner who has the chance of a glimpse into that world is bewildered by the intimacy and familiarity which binds the members and - ll 'i ous conuiiitiu. COWI AMD COUNTESS LONYAY friends of the most exclusive Court of Europe. He hears a buzz of names Lori, Molly, Sephine, Minni, Franz, Teri, Hugerl, and so on and when he begins to identify their possessors he I tvilliu ItUUt iiliffv VS 1 WITH THEIR DOC finds that the outside world reads them in unabbreviated form in tin Almanach de Gotha, and that the names and titles which go with them are of international fame and splendor. MIUU4 M IBUCto r .. . , I |