Gimme a braht wit kraut
Just back from an exhausting week in Chicago, where we went for the wedding of my cousin William Cabot (they’ve probably lost count, but I guess he would be around number VII of that name).
Even by Cabot standards, it was a lavish affair, with a reception for over four hundred guests, and the associated celebrations seemed to go on for days. Chicagoans were greatly outnumbered by Bostonians (I haven’t seen so many Brahmins together since Elden’s 21st) but I did meet two gentlemen – sorry, a coupla guys – who gave me a helpful introduction to Chicago-ese.
His bride was an Italian girl, Domenica Mazzini-Bourbon, and about thirty of her family flew in, mostly from around Verona . They are an aristocratic bunch and I doubt if any of them have ever worked. Domenica’s grandfather has a title of some kind and is lending his palazzo (which I gather is a huge decaying dump but has a nice view) for the honeymoon.
My present to the couple was an oak chiffonier which used to belong to Louisa Lodge Cabot, who was William's great-grandmother as well as mine. It was probably the only gift which was not new and cost the donor nothing. I have no idea how it came down on my side of the family.
Even by Cabot standards, it was a lavish affair, with a reception for over four hundred guests, and the associated celebrations seemed to go on for days. Chicagoans were greatly outnumbered by Bostonians (I haven’t seen so many Brahmins together since Elden’s 21st) but I did meet two gentlemen – sorry, a coupla guys – who gave me a helpful introduction to Chicago-ese.
His bride was an Italian girl, Domenica Mazzini-Bourbon, and about thirty of her family flew in, mostly from around Verona . They are an aristocratic bunch and I doubt if any of them have ever worked. Domenica’s grandfather has a title of some kind and is lending his palazzo (which I gather is a huge decaying dump but has a nice view) for the honeymoon.
My present to the couple was an oak chiffonier which used to belong to Louisa Lodge Cabot, who was William's great-grandmother as well as mine. It was probably the only gift which was not new and cost the donor nothing. I have no idea how it came down on my side of the family.
posted by Teddy III at 2:28 AM
2 Comments:
What's with these Brahmin guys? I thoght they was some kind of Indian?
No, Luke, not Indians. Here's what the dictionary says: The term "Boston Brahmins" refers to a class of wealthy, educated, elite members of Boston society in the nineteenth century. Oliver Wendell Holmes coined the term in a novel in 1861, calling Boston's elite families "the Brahmin Caste of New England." The Boston Brahmins have long held the interest of casual and professional historians because of their unique place in nineteenth-century American culture. They were mostly the descendants of Puritans, having made their fortunes as American merchants, and they could not be described as egalitarian. Rather, they were the closest thing the United States has ever had to a true aristocracy.
Nice to hear from you, Luke my old friend.
Teddy III
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