Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1898-12-31
EMPRESS is A WRECK.
The Royal Mistress of Austria Is a
Badly Broken Down Woman.
Fven the Servants Who Meet Her Maj
eSty Are Ordered to Look Away
from Her-Hcr Queer Mode
of Living.

After more than six months absence
Empress Elizabeth of Austria has re-
turned to Vienna and taken up her res
Aicnce in her lovely villa Of Lai:.z, built
ia the old deer park to let her indulge
in her whimsical love for solitude.
DO not think that it will be long be-
fore the world will kAar something of
her, writes i correspondent, for she
Aas come back an aged and broker:
woman. Though she is G1 years old,
her hair. to which she has always de-
voted the greatest care, kept until now
its fine chestnut color. Now it IS gray,
her nose is long and sharp and her COM
pleXion is sal!ow always and some
times ~ye!iowish.
The empress is enthusiastic where
flowers and plants are concerned, but
not always quite reasonable. She
wants her Vienna gardens to be as
!uXuri"-'iy grown as those of the
Rivie;... Her apartments display an
unequalcd wealth of flowers from the
imperial hothouses. Her bedroom and
toilet roorEs, bathine-rooEa and bou-
doir have hundreds and hundreds of
pots. vases and glasses that she buys
;ndiscri ..inately in her travels. and all
are filled with fresh flowers every day.
In her bedroom. just opposite her bed.
where she can see i; whenever she
wakes, is a most uDcanEy statue of
brcnze covered with green ratula.
This stn;ue is ensconccd inS&rc plants
and shrubs. behind which Efecn incan-
DESCENT lamps give q fairy light.
The servants who meet her majesty
in the house, the garden IT the park
are ordered TO look away and let her
puss unnoticed. She must Ect &c bowed
or curtsied to. As to seeimT her, thai
would be difficult, since She always
holds UP an old fan that has served
hcrfcr years when anyone approaches.
She is followed in her walks by her
Greek master. who walks close enough
10 her heels to be able to read 10 her.
For this reason. and because the strain
Of holding up Il gown is too great for
her, She wears skirts that do cot touch
the ground. She docs net wear IL cor
set, hut over q delicate cambric jacket
a skirt with braces, and ever this a
black siik-.ined jacket, always the
.arce in shape, but of an endless va
riety in thickness and warmth. Her
hair is r!aited. and the plaits lie round
her head in the way Tyrolese maidens
10 their lair.
Though so delicate, the empress goes
urnccoEranied into the deer park OF
Lainz, which swarms with deer. mouf-
lions and wild boar. She carries q rat
!lc. and when m animal aDDrCacheH
abe rntt:c5 10 frighten it away.
Her health most likely broke down
on account Of the unreasonable diet
she KEGS. She will not allow her
weight to change, her waist must be
so contractors always. even without Il
corset. She therefore avoids n.i solid
food aid lives almost solely upon milk.
The oranCe diet she prescribed Iur her.
self years ago, when for three months
abe ate nothing but red crarTcs, near
iy Killed her. She has acquired a fine
taste for milk, and can always tell
What cow the milk she drinks comes
from, and any change IL The diet of
= cow makes her object TO the milk.
She has an armchair by thc side Of her
bed which is really II weighing ma
chine, and here she registers her
weight every morning and every night.
Just now she has her daughter Marie
valerie with her at LainZ. but only two
Of her grandchildren-the small ones
were left behind, as their presence
would be too much for the nerves Of
the imperial grandmother.-Chicago
Inter Ocean.