CHAPTER XXVIII.

Foreign t.i.tles.

In this country, where everybody possesses one and the same t.i.tle, that of a citizen of this Republic, no one can claim a superiority of rank and t.i.tle. Not so in European countries, where the right of birth ent.i.tles a person to honor, rank and t.i.tle. And as our citizens are constantly visiting foreign countries, it is well to understand something of t.i.tles and ranks and their order of precedence.

ROYALTY.

In England, the king and queen are placed at the top of the social structure. The mode by which they are addressed is in the form "Your Majesty."

The Prince of Wales, the heir-apparent to the throne, stands second in dignity. The other children are all known during their minority as princes and princesses. The eldest princess is called the crown princess. Upon their majority the younger sons have the t.i.tle of duke bestowed upon them, and the daughters retain that of princesses, adding to it the t.i.tle of their husbands. They are all designated as "Their Royal Highnesses."

THE n.o.bILITY.

A duke who inherits the t.i.tle from his father, stands one grade below a royal duke. The wife of a duke is known as a d.u.c.h.ess. They are both addressed as "Your Grace." The eldest son is a marquis until he inherits the higher t.i.tle of his father. His wife is a marchioness. The younger sons are lords by courtesy, and the daughters are distinguished by having "Lady" prefixed to their Christian names. Earls and barons are both spoken of as lords and their wives as ladies, though the latter are by right respectively countesses and baronesses. The daughters of the former are "ladies," the younger sons of both "honorables." The earl occupies the higher position of the two in the peerage.

These complete the list of n.o.bility, unless we include bishops, who are lords in right of their ecclesiastical office, but whose t.i.tle is not hereditary.

All these are ent.i.tled to seats in the upper House of Parliament.

THE GENTRY.

Baronets are known as "Sirs," and their wives receive the t.i.tle of "Lady;" but they are only commoners of a higher degree, though there are families who have borne their t.i.tle for many successive generations who would not exchange it for a recently created peerage.

A clergyman, by right of his calling, stands on an equality with all commoners, a bishop with all peers.

ESQUIRE.

The t.i.tle of Esquire, which is only an empty compliment in this country, has special significance in England. The following in that country have a legal right to the t.i.tle:

The sons of peers, whether known in common conversation as lords or honorables.

The eldest sons of peers' sons, and their eldest sons in perpetual succession.

All the sons of baronets.

All esquires of the Knights of the Bath.

Lords of manors, chiefs of clans and other tenants of the crown _in capite_ are esquires by prescription.

Esquires created to that rank by patent, and their eldest sons in perpetual succession.

Esquires by office, such as justices of the peace while on the roll, mayors of towns during mayoralty, and sheriffs of counties (who retain the t.i.tle for life).

Members of the House of Commons.

Barristers-at-law.

Bachelors of divinity, law and physic.

All who in commissions signed by the sovereign, are ever styled esquires retain that designation for life.

IMPERIAL RANK.

Emperors and empresses rank higher than kings. The sons and daughters of the emperor of Austria are called archdukes and archd.u.c.h.esses, the names being handed down from the time when the ruler of that country claimed for himself no higher t.i.tle than that of archduke. The emperor of Russia is known as the czar, the name being identical with the Roman caesar and the German kaiser. The heir-apparent to the Russian throne is the czarowitch.

EUROPEAN t.i.tLES.

t.i.tles in continental Europe are so common and so frequently unsustained by landed and moneyed interests, that they have not that significance which they hold in England. A count may be a penniless scamp, depending upon the gambling-table for a precarious subsistence, and looking out for the chance of making a wealthy marriage.

A German baron may be a good, substantial, unpretending man, something after the manner of an American farmer. A German prince or duke, since the absorption of the smaller princ.i.p.alities of Germany by Prussia, may have nothing left him but a barren t.i.tle and a meagre rent-roll. The Italian prince is even of less account than the German one, since his rent-roll is too frequently lacking altogether, and his only inheritance may be a grand but decayed palace, without means sufficient to keep it in repair or furnish it properly.

PRESENTATION AT THE COURT OF ST. JAMES.

It is frequently a satisfaction to an American to be presented to the Queen during a sojourn in England, and as the Queen is really an excellent woman, worthy of all honor, not only can there be no valid cause for objection to such presentation, but it may well be looked upon as an honor to be sought for.

THOSE ELIGIBLE TO PRESENTATION AT COURT.

The n.o.bility, with their wives and daughters, are eligible to presentation at court, unless there be some grave moral objection, in which case, as it has ever been the aim of the good and virtuous Queen to maintain a high standard of morality within her court, the objectionable parties are rigidly excluded. The clergy, naval and military officers, physicians and barristers and the squirearchy, with their wives and daughters, have also the right to pay their personal respects to their queen. Those of more democratic professions, such as solicitors, merchants and mechanics, have not, as a rule, that right, though wealth and connection have recently proven an open sesame at the gates of St. James. Any person who has been presented at court may present a friend in his or her turn. A person wishing to be presented, must beg the favor from the friend or relative of the highest rank he or she may possess.

PRELIMINARIES TO PRESENTATION.

Any n.o.bleman or gentleman who proposes to be presented to the queen, must leave at the lord chamberlain's office before twelve o'clock, two days before the levee, a card with his name written thereon, and with the name of the n.o.bleman or gentleman by whom he is to be presented. In order to carry out the existing regulation that no presentation can be made at a levee except by a person actually attending that levee, it is also necessary that a letter from the n.o.bleman or gentleman who is to make the presentation, stating it to be his intention to be present, should accompany the presentation card above referred to, which will be submitted to the queen for Her Majesty's approbation. These regulations of the lord chamberlain must be implicitly obeyed.

Directions at what gate to enter and where the carriages are to stop are always printed in the newspapers. These directions apply with equal force to ladies and to gentlemen.

The person to be presented must provide himself or herself with a court costume, which for men consists partly of knee-breeches and hose, for women of an ample court train. These costumes are indispensable, and can be hired for the occasion.

THE PRESENTATION.

It is desirable to be early to escape the crowd. When the lady leaves her carriage, she must leave everything in the shape of a cloak or scarf behind her. Her train must be carefully folded over her left arm as she enters the long gallery of St. James, where she waits her turn for presentation.

The lady is at length ushered into the presence-chamber, which is entered by two doors. She goes in at the one indicated to her, dropping her train as she pa.s.ses the threshold, which train is instantly spread out by the wands of the lords-in-waiting. The lady then walks forward towards the sovereign or the person who represents the sovereign. The card on which her name is inscribed is then handed to another lord-in-waiting, who reads the name aloud. When she arrives just before His or Her Majesty, she should courtesy as low as possible, so as to almost kneel.

If the lady presented be a peeress or a peer's daughter, the queen kisses her on the forehead. If only a commoner, then the queen extends her hand to be kissed by the lady presented, who, having done so, rises, courtesies to each of the other members of the royal family present, and then pa.s.ses on. She must keep her face turned toward the sovereign as she pa.s.ses to and through the door leading from the presence-chamber.