IMPERIAL RANK.

Emperors and empresses rank higher than kings.  The sons and daughters of the emperor of Austria are called archdukes and archduchesses, the names being handed down from the time when the ruler of that country claimed for himself no higher title 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 TITLES.

Titles 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 principalities of Germany by Prussia, may have nothing left him but a barren title 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 nobility, 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.