Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-07-09
The Future Emperor Of Austria

q.
The year following his birth his fathers
generals lost six battles in about as
many weeks. and the fair province of
Lombardy had to be abandoned to the
victorious enemy. The boy was not
eight years old before Austria managed
once more to get hopelessly beaten and
to lose more territory. So the prince
escaped some of the evils of being born
in the purple, and was early made &C.
quainted with misfortune. Thus. too.
he escaped what philo ,ophers have call.
ed q still greater calamity, the chance of
succeeding to despotic throne. Born
an autocrat's heir, no is now but the
eldest son OF constitutional sover-
eigu. Nevertheless, he will have his
fair share OF power, if he cares to claim
it. Hitherto, however, he has shown
40 special aptitude for politics, or, in
deed, for business of any kind, pre-.
terring pleasure, anG being, moreover.
somewhat of u dreamer. He can talk
metaphysics by the hour to sy pathet-
ic friend, and will PROFOUND opinions
very unlike indeed to those winch an
apostolic king is allowed to express in
public. In fact, he is pure sceptic,
considering every subject open to dis
cussion, and consequently never at
loss to lind twenty reasons for doing
what he pleases or for doing nothing at
all. The opinions of u man of twenty.
ore are not always Of the same value as
those of u man Of forty-two, but Ru-
dolph may any day be an emperor, and
it is worth remembering that the Church
Of Rome will have less to hope for from
him than from any previous ruler of
Austria. Joseph H., with all his
llberality of thought, considered that
deists meritea a whipping rather than
a REPUTATION. Joseph's future successor
would consider the deist very much to
he pitied for having any positive con-
victlons whatever.
OF course, Rudolph's ideas may
change in the course Of time, bat Aus
trian society at large is 30 absolutely
intidel, growing more SO every year,
that the prince is not likely to be con-
verted by his associates, certainly not
by the brilliant young professors in
whose conversation he delights. More
over, Rudolph is an entirely self
satisfied young parsonage, and not too
easily disposed to admit the superiority
of anybody's reasoning to his own.
When it IS remembered that to this
pride of intellect is added pride of
birth, one may admit that the prince
does his best to realize Aristotle's idea
of the magnanimous man-so far as
thinking highly of himself is concerned.
When he Was in Ireland his highness
wished to take precedence of the lord
lieutenant, and was astonished as we'll
as offended when the Duke of Marl-
borough fatty refused it him. The
duke very justly argued that as the
queens representative he could yield
the pas to no one. The empress, whose
spoiled child he is, took her sons part;
but the duke was infexible.
1t must be allowed that the prince
is, in many respects, lad of promise
manly, clever, good-natured. There
are few better riders and few better
shots. which is not surprising when
ont rrmc.a bers that both his parents
excel IL .le same direction. He is
passloau,ely fond of sport, which he
can c,scribe we'll enough, toe, for the
prince has already added his name to
the last OF royal authors. Fifteen
Days "a The Danube" is very read
able Attl. look The writer has evil
IDENTITY e4neu Of humor not often
accorded 10 Percentages of his exalted
ranks
Naturally his education has been of
the comp!etest possible kind. He
olyc ltch foil
all fairly we'll, though to get anything
from him worth listening to, you must
converse with the prince in his native
German. Mathematics he has never
taken kindly to, nor to history--always
excepting that of our own times, in
which o future emperor can scarcely
help being interested. He draws pas
sibly, and has some knowledge of forti-
fcations. His baptism of fire has yet
to come; all that one can say of his
military capacity is that he would
probably acquit himself we'll in sub
ordinate position. He is not fit for the
highest commands; he would lack the
moral courage necessary to take reso-
lutions at the right moment. Here,
again, he is his fathers son.
As child he was singularly shy,
and even timid. During the war of
'66, Viennese journalists amused them
selves with inventing stories OF the boy
princes eagerness "to go and fight
the Prussians." The truth was exactly
the reverse. The little fellow was
scared, and merely cried when the news
of Sadowa arrived. His shyness he
has not got over yet; of his personal
courage there is no doubt.
Rudolph was strictly brought up,
care being taken that his table should
always be OF the simplest kind, and
that his apartments should not be too
luxuriously furnished. In these re-
spects Francis Joseph avowedly fol-
lowed the example of Queen Victoria.
Like her Msjesty's sons. too, Rudolph
was made to walk out every day, no
matter what the state of the weather
might be. Till about eighteen years OF
age Rudolph was kept in leading
strings, and looked as demure as a
young curate on ais way to tea with q
maiden aunt. When he obtained his
liberty, he amused himself pretty much
Us princes have in all ages. Still, If he
did not follow in the footsteps of Sir
Galahad, neither did he cause himself