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THE AUSTRIAN SOCIETY GIRL.

■Austrians haye.'.abput! them! much that'is especiallfj charming a; writer in"..' the ''Outlook"). .One might almost declare that in Austria every young .girl is. a bright and jnejrry, ( being. [ so say, such, a jmerry wayi'pf.s&oxig 'ii, £Sd; ! itf < &^ > 4as6'of one'so'.'allurinj, feflr., l HMß , '' J< . , to Tf find fault quality ;of the matter said. At," present it is indeed the 1 fashion for!giris of, a High pass, .the State ~ examinations. With this object in view no money . is. spared.,-; It is possible that princesses may 1 ', have to be crammed ,'mo'sfc .sedulbiisly, and that; examiners, may ,treat them very leniently,; but'- certainly,' ere' their', entry '. into; society, their minds , have, received temporary impressions of ' many subjects,. through the strenuous, efforts of many, professors.! And yet,, to. ,a. British .contemplator,. the whole seems ■ done'in".a'curiously" exclusive. and patriarchal way.' \her high pressure. ouJture,.a Komtesse or young society maiden" . brought up from .the provinces ; is .apt ito ■ arrive with a very limited!View"of7life j and after her first season in /Vienna often.' r<s- - having made many fresh friendships,. friendships, that is to say,, of an intiniate character and with other girls.' Such a country bird i will declare, on returning to the paternal nest, that-in Vienna all' the girls, excepting of-course her-old frierids'aiid her relations, are, quite .superficial, and have nothing in them!::. Perhaps., the. -.Viennese girls may be, thinking even, leas favourably of. her,mental; and temperamental equipment. Later, .on,. her;,brptliers and cousins in,the Diplomatic, Service . may. come , home from Paris, Washington, London, or", elsewhere) and remark 'on tho' doll-like qualities of> the young women folk of the court set', .on their lack of , interest -in -politics and. other movements of,the'.day.. But in the. meanwhile a; Komtesse :,who".is "feseh and lustig" dur r »>g her ;first;"y'ears 'the! wiil ! prtfbably' quite satisfy. all .the expectations of her, family and friends. -In due course,, also, she will probably-make .just, such a-marriage; aa . they., may .wish to arrange for her,and thus prove a ■ success in her own circle; judged, by Western'.'standards she is somewhat .deficient .'in .-ideaS'. 1 • So much for the avcrage' Kpmtesseri;' Now let us, on the other hand, freely acknowledge that.thpse..Aiistrian girls,, of good..birth,_whb, quite, early in'life'have' the advantage of <tra*|l, of;' a really. liberal education,' and' of an acquaintance with, '■ men •: and women from .many -lands, are, specially' arid exceedingly attractive. In competition, with Austrian-maidens such'as'these, even the Americans and Parisians must look to their laurels;"the more;so because well-born Austriaus start -with the priceless endowment of sweet,'clear-toned speech. Austrian voices can render German iohversation tuneful. Fortunately for-their rival's among the : hof- 1 fahig-such highly endowed Austrian girl? are rare. In "Jewish circles," it is .said that a very high standard of culture prevails, but between . .them and sooietv with a ; capital '"Sthere is.a great gulf fixed.' ' Transient sojourners in Vienna Will :be struck ; the'' beauty of innumerable statues, by the', marvellous pictures, by ,the grandeur; of. many public', buildings, . and of tho-world renowned Ring, .' They will marvel'at'the quaint juxtaposition:of antique streets to modern ones, and at,the rough paving ' which still. may ' r frequently be. encountered both in roads and footways. They 1 will succumb to , the attractiveness of Karntnerstrasse shops,.- and. to, tho delights , of music and acting at concert bails, _opera . and . principal; theatres. They will-admire tho fast trotting-horses and tho general picturcsqueness of, society life in its outdoor, Prater, phrase;: and -they certainly will not .admire tho ways of the generality of-pedestrians-as-met with in the, town 'it-' self. In Vienna, woe botide any who. happen to be both on foot and in a hurry. An Englishwoman has, been known to say: 'We see a few people such as these in London; we call them, country, cousins. Here, in' Vienna, the streets seem filled with, country icousins; -one can hardly move along 1"_. But if peripatetic - Viennese are not active,-withtheir, limbs, at. any rate the. industry with which they use their eyes is noteworthy.. Mon and women.of all ages and conditions all seem to' exists expressly in. order to stare their eyes- out in the streets. -There are' ' differences of method,- but, the .habit is' universal. Children. stare,boldly, as soon as they can! walk. Thosp of the lower orders drag ..along, beBine i;their cldbrsi 'and stare- open - mouthed over ; their shoulders the while; i-the elders s<icm quite- content that- thov'- should -do so, and apparently do riot check the" practico. If one chances to see ■ people'who do not stare arid who'< 'walk well, "bno imagines them to bo foreigners. It is only fair to say that' upper, class Austrian women walk well,' but then-they, .appear much less often oir foot in the 1 streets of Vienna than their English compeers do in London.

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19081021.2.72.3

Bibliographic details

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 333, 21 October 1908, Page 11

Word Count
783

THE AUSTRIAN SOCIETY GIRL. Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 333, 21 October 1908, Page 11

THE AUSTRIAN SOCIETY GIRL. Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 333, 21 October 1908, Page 11

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