Contemporary  Austria  was  not  far  behind.  To  Charles  VL  especially,  the
last  male  scion  of  the  old  line  of  Hapsburg,  etiquette  was  as  the  breath  of
life.  Even  before  he  succeeded  to  the  Austrian  throne, — as  early,  indeed,  as
1706,  when  Philip  of  Anjou,  his  rival  for  the  crown  of  Spain,  had  left  Madrid, —
Charles,  to  the  rage  of  his  English  allies,  refused  to  enter  the  city  because  he
had  as  yet  no  state  carriage,  and  it  would  be  contrary  to  all  etiquette  to  do  so
without  In  1732  he  had  engaged  to  hold  an  important  political  conference
with  Frederick  William,  King  of  Prussia.  Yet  the  chief  subject  of  debate
at  the  Austrian  State  Council  held  before  the  interview  was  on  the  question
whether  his  Imperial  Majesty  should  shake  hands  with  the  Prussian  monarch
or  not  After  long  delil>eration,  they  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  ought
not  to  do  so,  as  such  a  proceeding  would  inflict  a  lasting  wound  on  the  im-
perial dignity.
