Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1893-09-15

! dludQQ Este TO Iue Columbian expo
Sition will be the occasion Of Il second
Austrian day in the white city. The
prince is the eldest son of the royal
patron of the Austrian division, Arch
duke Carl Ludwig, and his presence
is an indication Of the especial inter
est taken in the fair by Austria's reign
ing family. 1t also recalls sad memoir
les of the tragic event that robbed
Austria-Hungary Of a beloved crown
prince and thereby made this once
rollicking lieutenant of dragons heir
presumptive to the Austro- Hungarian
throne.
Never were romance and sorrow more
pathetically blended than in the life Of
Rudolf, only son OF Francis Joseph,
emperor of Austria and king of Hun
gary. Royal lineage proved fatal to
the merry, warm-hearted prince. Had
he been born a peasant he might have
lived a blameless life. The eXactions
of his royal estate drove him to his
ruin.
1t is but half a decade since the an
nouncement Of his sudden and untime-
ly death at Mayerling, his hunting
castle, shocked the civilized world. 1t
occurred on the 3Oth of January, 1889,
and the numerous and conflicting re-
ports that were circulated at the time
concerning the manner OF his taking
off were so tinged with mystery that
i most unusual interest was created
that has not yet entirely subsidized.
The Austrian newspapers were put
under strict government surveillance
and the meager statements that they
were permitted to publish aroused
strong suspicious that a tragedy had
been enacted.
There were whispers Of suicide due
to an unholy love for a lady of noble
birth whose good name had suffered
through associations with the crown
prince. Then it was rumored that it
was double suicide, his companion
being the slandered Baroness Netsera.
Another tale related that jealous hlls-
band who had surprised the crown
prince in a too friendly tete-a-tete with
his young wife in the neighborhood of
Mayerling had taken i haSty and fatal
revenge.
Each rumor had probabilities that
gave a semblance of truth. That
Rudolf had suffered violent death
was quite positive. His well-known
attachment for the Baroness Vetsera
and her complete disappearance at the
! time of his death made the double sui
eide story seem not at all unlikely.
The startling episode of the jealous I'm
perial Chasseur had also measure of
truth, but it antedated the mystery by
several weeks and the righteous indig-
nation of the injured husband was
assuaged by 4 royal gift of money and
whittier he and his fair and tickle
| spouse departed and thus made an end
! of the mischief
The following absolutely correct re-
cord of the fatal event is from the lips
of member of the Austrian nobility,
who not only holds high political posi-
ton but is intimately connected with
the imperial court in Vienna:
Crown Prince Rudolf had a special
weakness for the fair sex. Even the
stern discipline CT his imperial father
had failed to inculcate Il high degree
Of moral recitude i'll the susceptible
prince, and his love affairs unfortunate
ly did not cease when he led to the
altar, May 10, 1881, Stephanie, the
daughter of the king of Belgium. The
one affair of his life that should have
been an affair of his heart was absolute
! ly lOveleSS, so far as he was concern
ed. AS a prince he had welded for
reasons of state. AS a gay Lothario he
continued to WOO and win when he
could not wed. But then, who ever
heard of a prince who was puritan.
Certainly Crown Prince Rudolf's life
presented no such anomaly.
The Crown Princess Stephanie was
but II years of age at the date of her
marriage and her romantic ideas, as
well as her moral sentiments, were
rudely shocked by the gallantries Of her
royal husband, which he took little
pains to conceal. Bitter accusations
and strong scenes were, in consequence,
early and frequen, events in their mar
ried life and the intervention of the
parents of both parties was at times
necessary to maintain the appearance
of peace in the family.
When the little Princess Elizabeth
was born to the young couple she did
not by any means prove an olive
branch. Her sex was disappointment
to Rudolf, as it debarred her from sue
ceeding him on the throne. Moreover,
| the physicians declared that Stephanie
was physically incapacitated for bear
ing more children, so the future held
no hope of a male heir and the estrange-
ment between the young couple in
creased day by day.
A fair Bohemian from Prague was for
a time the especial object of Stephanie's
dislike, as she was the especial delight
of Rudolf, but the beauty's reign of
favor was short, for the Baroness
Marie Vetsera soon appeared upon the
scene and the crown prince had eyes
only for her.
The liaisOn of the crown prince and
the pretty baroness soon became the
scandal of the court and the Crown
Princess Stephanie's jealous reproaches
were almost unceasing. After a par
ticularly trying scene with her way
ward husband she appealed to EN-
peror Francis Joseph and 1mploret