Household. AUSTRIAN WOMEN.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1604, 14 October 1882, Page 2 (Supplement)

Household. AUSTRIAN WOMEN.

It deserves to be said of " European Breezes" that it is the quite the most readable book of European travels which has been published recently. We open books of this character with some reluctance, expecting nothing better than disappointment, especially if the travels are recorded by a woman, because, as a general rule, there is sb much sight-seeing on the surface and so much padding in the way of gossip. While the volume is amenftble to some criticism on this score, this is not a prominent fault. Tne reader will be agreeably surprised to find fresh observations made in many instances, quite aside from the beaten track of tourists. The writer, Marie J. Pitman, sees with trained eyes, and writes with force, jjrecision, and with a good deal of descriptive power. In Vienna she makes a great many observations in a practical way, letting one into the domestic life of the Viennese. She notes that nearly all ladies in Vienna are taught to swim, and this is considered a part of their education. The ladies are instructed in the whole range of domestic duties; "There are no ladies in the world so capable of doing many things, and doing them well as the Austrian ladies. I refer to those of high birth. I care not what they may be called on to do, from cutting a dress to making a salad, they are always ready. Young girls with titles and fortunes are sent to famous milliners and dressmakers, where they serve a regular apprenticeship, and remain until {perfectly able to cut and make any garment." "An Austrian lady who cannot swim, or does not know how to ride a horse well, is an exception. Needlework of every kind, even to the making of lace, is a part of every girl's education. There is no smattering of anything ; whether she learns the piano, or to draw, she learns it thoroughly. If she has no talent at all for an art— which is seldom — she lets that art entirely alone. Her pedestrian accomplishments put us quite to shame ; her efforts of memory are another source of wonder to us. This wonderful memory, which enables Austrian girls to repeat sometimes the whole of " Paradise Lost" or an entire drama, comes from practice begun in babyhood. Every day the girl is expected to learn a poem or a page. She often does it while making j her toilet; and at last, from habit, a poem requires but a single reading, and it is stowed away in the memory safely. As linguists they are famdus. This, too, comes from learning when very young. An Austrian lady, who chances to sit by me at this moment, tells me that at eight years old it mattered not to her or to her sisters whether she spoke German, English or French ; and she recalls no effort in learning those languages foreign to her 1 ." Among the nobility and higher classes ladies are thoroughly instructed in all these household accomplishments. Here id a bit of criticism worthy of a second reading. , " I could not but contrast often the simplicity of manner and attire of these ladies, some of whom traced their lineage back to ' the times of the knights, with, the arrogance J and selfassertion of some of the twuveauto tithes of America, who talk loudly of ' exclusiveness' while dressed in satin, lace and' diamonds, at a watering place casino, in the morning. If the European lady has not always the perfect taste which characterizes the American in her dress, she certainly knows one \ thing ' better — to dress suitably for the occasion. She, does not wear her diamonds and, Krenoh gowns- to ohurch; ' she does not go shopping {in blaok satin andpearla; 'but ata bailor; dinner party she is regal in 'fine ' clothes' <&d costly, ornaments'.' • --An' American- girlUydtil&. ; have^Bfcood < amazed \at 'a^fashioriabletplayra* ( i party whioh, J once^^attiendißd^VheXe^allf i£M [ jladieS' were'' 'in^tthe, 'shnplest Jj of /prettily-mldf/ ■; sc^Ucb^and^ootW'dresses^j'^'jky'H'/^K^MJ ; »^t'is.weU^noughfkno^^ | s notideternjined by r richness of jj f,ot H ank^jd^esa?pfainiy^o^o'f I c6untry^4psrflpns?jof i Xweiilth4 anujt i

efcoelted Jkehop, and whose JLnhasited^ laces were of pnceless rT*luf,' wBre\in*'the steeets and on these occasions" dresses that the American girl would scorn to wear on 'the beach at Newport on a summer morning, because of thf ir simplicity : but when the occasion demanded elaborate dressings, they were dazzling. In Vienna I went with a young , baroness to try on a dress shewaahaving<madie towearat4he afternoonkball<jto be given at the Emperor's school'lar-the education of officers' sons. She was twenty, had a million florins, in her own right, had been brought up with Hh& Emperor's children for a time, when her father had beeiraid-de-caznp: and the jewels she had already inherited, and, which were to come to her, had dazzled me > when spread out for my seeing one day. I' had fancied her dress to be something very, elegant. Imagine my surprise when it proved] to be a dainty cotton satine, fifty cents a yard' in America, with which she was to wear sim-, pie turquoise jewellery. But the was the bellej of the ball. Later, I saw her at a christening, where she was godmother ; and she was resplendent in satin and jewels. Elaborate and,' I expensive dressing is reserved by young ladies^ for really great occasions ; and forty yards' of j lace, and diamonds, are not seen on girls in; European horse cars as in New York. Thei higher the position abroad, the more simple, the attire in public." j Here is a paragraph about the kitchen, or interest : ' , "The Austrian lady of station who does not; know how to cook, I may almost say does not exist. Every detail of the cuisine she isj . acquainted with. A story is told by-Viennesej ladles of another, who, having neglected this; branch of her education, allowed, at a great! dinner party which she gave, two dishes o/ffeej sci7ne color to be served in succession, a fault for which she was hardly to be forgiven. Thej Princesses of the royal households attend a, course of lectures from a chef entirely upon the order of serving. Young ladies do not learn the art of cooking at cooking clubs, or from public lessons, as here in America, and they rarely learn in their own kitchens. It is the custom to go to some great house, the house of a princess, or to a very rich banker's, where there are famous chefs, by whom they are taught. When a chef engages to cook for a nobleman, he stipulates that he is to have the privilege of teaching as many young ladies! as he chooses. These young ladies need not* even know the mistress of the house, and' they make their arrangements with the cook only." The chapter describing Budapest, the ancient capital of Hungary, is one of the most interesting in the volume. There is not much sympathy between Viennese and -Hungarian ladies. The antipathies of race are very strong, but each in their way is accomplished.! The ladies have great personal beauty, and it lasts later in life than with German ladies. The' general impression among all these is that American ladies are spoiled by too much petting ; and this estimate is not wide of the mark. The American woman, except, in &peqal instance|, has nothing like the capacity for domestic affairs of the French, Austrians and Germans, or even of English ladies She is trained differently. She is attractive in the drawing room, with a great deal of ignorance about the management of a domestic establishment. The volnme abounds in> shrewd observations, and these are set forth in a frank sort of way, as if it was sufficient for the author's purpose that they were true, without inquiring whether everybody would relish them. This piquancy adds a good subflavor. The matter is good, and the seasoning is also unexceptionable.