River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1875-09-17
MISCELLANY.
THE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA.

tria captured her emperor: The empress
is the youngest daughter of Duke Maxi
milan Joseph of Bavaria, and the sister
of the ex-queen Sophia OF Naples.
Francis Joseph was to have been aflianc-
ed 20 the Princess Sophia, to make ac-
quaintance with whom he went to make
visit to his uncle's castle at Possenhof-
en-, where his four young lady cousins
had been born and brought up. The Prin-
cess Elizabeth, then in her sixteenth year
and remarkably beautiful, was not to have
been allowed to see the young emperor,
both because on account of her youth
she was not supposed to be "out" and
also because beingAnuch handsomer than
her sisters, the willy duke desired to Sc
cure his imperial nephew for his elder
daughters before the former shall have
been allowed to catch sight of the young.
est, as he felt very sure that the hand of
such beauty as she promised to be would
be sought far and wide when it should be
in the matrimonial market. So the
young lady was told that she was to stay
with her governess, and not to presume
to show herselfin the drawing-room dur
ing the visit of the Austrian cousin. But
being lively, spirited, and brimful of Gu
riosity to see the youthful emperor. who
had SO suddenly succeeded to the troubled,
but brilliant crown of Austria, the Prin-
cess Elizabeth contrived to give her at
tendants the slip, and to hide herself in a
corridor, along which the imperial guest,
who had arrived an hour before, and was
dressing for dinner in the rooms set apart
for his reception, would have to pass in
going to the banqueting hall. As the
young sovereign passed along this corri-
dor the princess, who was watching for
him, sprang out of her hiding place, laugh
ing at the success Of her manauvre, and
crying gaiiy, Cousin Franz! Cousin
Franz! | wanted to see you; and they
wouldn't let me, and so | hid myself here
to see you go by" 1t appears that
cupid's bow, SO innocently shot offby the
merry girl, who had no thought beyond
the qualification Of her curiosity to see
the grand young cousin, whose quality as
an emperor had excited her imagination,
went strait to the mark. The young
emperor fell over head and cars in love
with the young and beautiful vision that
had presented itself so unafiectcdily be.
fore him. What passed between the two
young people has never TRANSFERRED; but. a
few minutes later. the imperial guest enter
ed the drawing-roon with his young cousin
on his arm, and presented her to the
amazed circle of relatives and courtiers
who were awaiting his appearance as 1.-THE
empress of Austria, my engaged wife. :"
The anger of the elder sisters is said to be
quite lively, as was, perhaps, quite nat
H., 81.
princess dined that day in the banquetinc
hall, seated beside cousin Franz" SO
suddenly metamorphOsed into her Sim
perial sponse;' and the duke. though
vexed for his disappointment of his eldest
daughter, had at least the satisfaction of
having this splendid match secured for
his youngest. The marriage took
place when the princess had reached the
mature age of sixteen, and all her hus-
bands subjects were enchanted with her
youthful beauty and her remarkable
grace and kindness.
A Partisan correspondent gives some
additional gossip concerning the Empress
Elizabeth: We are not, after all, to be
Empress OF Austria, though she did pass
through Paris few days ago. About a
thousand people went to the railway sta
ton to see her come in, but the lovely
Elizabeth at the last moment quietly
changed her destination and came into
Paris by another route, thus disappoint.
ing the eager crowd Of sight-seers. She
is we'll worth looking at, is this lairest of
royal ladies, though she is thirty-eight
years Of age and possible grandmother
besides. saw her at Vienna ten years
ago she then looked about twenty,
slender as n reed and graceful as a deer,
with the loveliest dark eyes in the world
and su;h profusion of dark, silky hair
that it fell, coil upon coil, from under her
coquettish little hat, only retained by the
meshes Of fine silk hair-net. Her style
and elegance were indispensable, far ex.
ceeding, to my mind, the more artificial
graces Of the Empress Eugene. She
dresses very simple new, it IS said,
usually black, grey, or lilac, never having
worn any gay colors since the death IF
her eldest daughter, several years ago.
Her manners are marvelously sweet and
winning, and she is as popular as she is
beautiful. Truth compels me to state
that it is currently reported that she
henpecks her imperial spouse unmerci
fully, and that he, like wise man, sub
mits TO her dominion.
When she first arrived at the imperial
court she gave immense oifense to her
naughty mother-in.law, the ArchduchesS
Sophia, Of evil memory, by insisting up.
on going out walking (think Of profanine
the sacred feet Of the Empress Of Austria
by contact with the vulgar earth y and
by carrying an umbrella, which last is,
we believe, fatal sin against royal Ell.
quette. She inherlts the simplicity Of
her manners from her father, the Arch.
duke Macmillan Luitpold Of Bavaria
This gentleman travels very quietly and
with no more state or form than an ordi.
nary private gentleman. He was recent.
" on his way from Munich to Vienna to
visit his daughter. In the same com.
partment in the train with himself was a
laxative little Austrian tradesman. who
soon got into conversation with his quiet
looking companion, After talking over
matters and things for some time and
getting annie information about his bus.