New-York tribune., 1896-11-01
ZINC OSCARS NOVEL.
.xn>,oTHER THE HEROINE OF
,,,s sroRY-RoYAL ANNALS ABOUND
ING IN ROMANCE.

-.,,,,s ~ O. Frederick Voiunie VI ol'e'a' poe''
"Y .u os Swedish transations OF fassos 'Jeru-
- Do,ivered" and Goethes Faust' King
hos now made his debut as hoVeIlst' the
,ne volume which he has just piaceo upon
w. market being "A Romance OF 'he ''''eS o'
~onoeon and Of Bernadotte
I,,ng oscar has not gone far 1or d pio'' roi "e
.bosan as heroine his own s'anui'io'"e''
u na Desiree. and the story OF now she WAS
49,, ~. the first Napoleon ana subsequently
u" % marry Bernadotte. VINO dieo as hiis oi
,s ,oId in full Nor couid hihs oscar
.,,.c+sd a more interesting ana picturesque
n"' Tor strange as has been the 1a'e OF 'he
.ssss 'ne".~ Josephine and Eugene. ana ot queen
E'D' -,,. - seryia, that OF Desree or sweden was
even stranger ,,.ou,as s.ockhroker Of
-. NJ Clary, she learned 10 KNOW Ndpoleo"
Inv ,.arv boyhood the Clarys oelng on Terms
u. =. intimacy with the Bonapar'es "ho' upon
OF ,-,ror ont of Corsica, had established
'sss,ves at Marseilles. In course Oh 'ih'e
1T Ronaparte, afterward king OF opain'
'o .,,a Jul,a Clary. and a match hao aireaoy
orranred between her sixteen-'ear-o'o
u Dasiree and Napoleon, ana ther engage
.rrounced. when suddenly the young rover
.-darsd off TO join his regiment. ne qulchi'
.. nis little fancee. and the mefnor! oi "el
~, and dainty loveliness was soon eciipseo
pH' ,,ors yoluptuous creole beauty OF jose
,,,r. de Beauharnais-
.,.a. was almost heartbroken ny the mar
=, her faithless swain. and accoroins 10
~-.rdson. King Oscar. never 1otsa'e hiiii'
,,sr Indignantly refusing Generals DuP"o'
I,,o@ as we'll as many other suitors sup
ond sponsored by the Emperor she nha"!
p-,oa pe-nadotte. not because she ioVeo niih'
-. ,acause in her eyes ne was the Only man
~ facing Napoleon. The matcn uio ho'
out happily Bernadotte, a1'er pelhs
..d crown Prince Of Sweden ana suose-
.-,,v becoming King. lost his head so coh'-
...,v that forgetful Of the fact that ne himself
-. ,hs son of a peasant from the rsfenees'
=. -.rroached his charming wife with the io"ii-
-, =, her BIRTH declaring that he hao peen
z,r,v of a terrible mesalliance and tnat IL he
s.a only waited he might have had any princess
=, tho blood In Europe for the asking. queen
D.s;rAe survived her husband many years all"
ssd shortly before the Franco-German war;
...,u.rsa,,v beloved in Sweden and. strangely
enough. without ever having revisited ner ma
.,. Iard sinoe the overthrow Of the great Ma
poleon. 49,,
King Oscars course In thus resor'ihs 10 'iie
.-na1s Of his house in order to secure a pio' ioi
hi. novel Is one that might be COPIED WITH sle"'
advantage by his brother and sister soVerelshS
~ the Old World There is scarcely sinsle
rerning house in Europe that does not posse''
ronantc episodes in its modern history-episooes
that are sometimes infinitely more dramatic thah
,bosa that owe their origin to the IMAGINATION OIL
,bs ordinary novelist Thus. what more cnarm-
tho ny njc,uresoue theme could an author wish
for a novel than the story OF the Austrian Arc"-
duke John and his peasant wife! IL is astohs"-
tr. that with the taste for literature that DIS
tinruishes so many members of the lmperla'
1onse Of Hapsburg. not one Of them should have
ynade use Of the episode "a the subject for
romance.
ARCHDJJKE JOHNS PEASANT WIFE.
The Archduke. 1t may he remembered, arrived
one day at the post station Of Rrandhofen anu
demanded horses and a position in order 20
continue his Journey. The worthy postmaster
O. neasant Of the name Of Ploeschel. was greatly
embarrassed by the demand. for. although ne
he had the horses in the stable yet Owing 10 II
being harvest time there was no postiiion
available OF within reach. Realizing her
fathers plight and aware that he ran the FISK
of losing his postmast,rshlp for not having a
position at hand required by the reguia-
tions, the young girl suggested to him the idea
of Disgusting herself position and Of driV-
ing the Archduke's carriage herself After Il
little hesitation the father gave way. ana
quarter Of an hour later beheld the fair Anna
arrayed in the traditional Positions jacket.
topboots and buckskn breeches. astride cf one
Of the wheeers and conducting the Imperial
carriage at rattng pace along the road lead
ing out Of Brandhofen.
The good looks of the position soon attracted
the attention Of the imperial occupant OF th1
carriage, who, before the end Of the stage
was reached. drew the young position into
conversation and obtained from her q full con-
fassion Of her disguise.
Susceptible to feminine charms. like all the
members Of his house. it was only natural that
the Archduke should be considerably Interested
by the episode. and the acquaintance thus
formed soon ripened into an infatuation. which
finally resulted in a morganat!c marriage the
fair Anna being created first Of all Baroness
Brandhofen and subsequently Countess
Of Meran. From this union which attracted an
immense amount Of attention at the time, there
only one son born. the late Count Francis
Meran who became great favorite. not only
Of the Emperor, but also of the Empress and
Of all the members Of the imperial family.
All kinds Of honors and dignitcs were Law
shed upon him. including the Order Of the
Golden Fleece. high rank in the army and the
place OF Privy Councillor. He died about a
year ago. having survived his mother. the ex-
position, by only few months. and his
funeral was attended by all the principal mem
bers or the reignng house He lss buried. to-
Gether with his mother. in the ii.:le cemetery
OF the village Of Brandhofen. where the first
meeting between the Archduke and his plebean-
born bride took place. ard where the Archdukc
erected later beautiful chateau in which he
lived for many years with his wife.
Another reighing family the annals Of which
abound In romantic episodes is that Of Spain.
ana 1t Is 10 he regretted that the Infanta Paz.
VINO writes so cleverly has never yet put into
'ne form Of novel the story Of her uncle. the
Iate Don Jose linel Rnnte Don q