THE AUSTRIAN SOCIETY GIRL.

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

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.