Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-03-01
An Imperial Quarrel.

A curious story about the Empress
of Austria and her intended visit to Ire
land is going the rounds of the press.
As our readers know, Summerhill
House, County Meath, the residence of
Lord Langford, was taken some short
time since, by order of Her Majesty, as
a hunting lodge for the season. The
imperial hunting stud was sent across
few weeks ago, and we believe that
next Wednesday had been fixed for the
starting of the imperial suite from Gee
doello, where the imperial family
passed Christmas. Her Majesty was to
follow on the I'd Of January. Now, if
we are to believe the gossip, a hitch
has occurred to mar oil the arrange
ments and put a stop to the projected
trip. 1t is said that during her hunting
sojourns in England the Empress re-
ceived neither that attention from the
Queen nor that respect from the arts
tocracy which she might expect, and,
indeed, courtesy demanded. Her Maj
esty carried away with her, in conse
quence, an unfavorable impression of
England. so great as to cause her to
accept the suggestion of choosing Ire
land instead, next time, as hunting
field with greater pleasure and alacrity.
When the Queen, however, heard of
the preparations, whether from herself
or by the advice of some one at court,
she is said to have charged Prince Teck,
who is married to the Queens cousin,
and who was formerly an officer i'll the
Austrian service, with mission to the
imperial family, to represent the incon-
venience that might arise from the visit
and dissuade the Empress from her
journey. 1t is told that Prince Teck
was to impress upon the Emperor es-
pecially how demonstrative people
the Catholic Irish are, and they
would be likely to show their respect
for Catholic sovereign by giving them
very enthusiastic welcome, which
might be used for other purposes than
merely an illustration of Irish hospi-
tality. The Emperor, so the story goes,
comedies entirely with the Queens
view, but the Empress appears not to
see it at all, and is determined to have
her own way. So, as old Tom Carlyle
would put it, there is "a tongue and
eye skirmish " in the imperial "circle
of domestic tea." The whole story is
probably the imaginative invention of
a society journalist, who finds himself
in the recess and out of the season; but
81 non zero, ben E-ocato. 1t is true
that on whatsoever side the cause lay,
the Empress of Austria abstained from
connection with Windsor or ST. James
during her time in England. 1t is also
true that her oneness of faith with the
people here, who are Catholic first; that
the history of her court. where our
Nugents and our Nolans found so gen
erous home and so fair field, that our
soldier. loving sympathy with the gal
liant white coated service apart from hos
pitality our reputation for which virtue,
thank goodness, remains ungarnished,
would insure to the Empress Elizabeth
from chivalric Celtic people not only
welcome, but warmth. But such an
expression of natural good feeling and
good taste could not be construed or
tortured into q political demonstration,
and the fear of a similar construction
or misconstruction might prevent our
island from ever being set foot on by
man or woman of distinction. It would
be an obstacle to Gen. Grant, who has
just left us, Protestant, and been
feted by us, as it would be to the EN-
press Elizabeth, who, we hope, will not
be deferred or prevented from visiting
us. But perhaps we are taking the
fable quite too much AT serieur. We
hardly believe that the Queen would
be so ill-advised as to make the stored
remonstrance. When her Majesty came
herself she was Loyalty and warmly re-
ceived. 1t is only to be regretted that
she has not come again and Often
Dublin Freenan's Journal.