The Saint Paul globe., 1898-11-06
E SEVENTY,
SHE EIGHTEEN.

From the New York Journal.
Franz Josef, of Austria, is reported as
about to marry Mercedes Of Spain.
The emperor is nearly seventy, the
bride is just eighteen. But the match
is not ill-sorted. He is the monarch
of tottering nation, she is the prin-
cess of a crumbling realm. Personally,
he is an amiable gentleman, and she
an unaffected girl.
But behind him are chronicles of dis
aster. Behind her are annals of de-
feat. Their union, therefore. will be
not merely that of veteran prepar-
ing for death and of a maiden prepar-
ing for life: it will be the wedding of
two OF destiny's victims, the nuptials
of puppets of fate.
Maria de las Mercedes, Princess of
the Asturias, is the daughter Of the
by him in memory not of his first love
he had a hundred-but in memory
CT his first real and first wife. The
latter, Mercedes de Montpensier, was
one of the prettiest little girls that Sc
vile ever saw, and Seville has seen
many.
The king-he was just king then
aGored her The ceremony which en-
sued was mediaeval in beauty. Madrid
went mad with delight. In six months
the girl was dead. There are people
who pretend to know why. There are
10 state secrets any more. But tn is
gossip The point is that that which
killed her morally killed him. The
marriage which followed with the lady
who at present is queen regent was for
reasons entirely dynastic. Canovas re-
called the fact to her on one occasion,
otherwise justified, when she wanted
to talk divorce. Already death had
that matter in charge.
Alfonsito, the Rey Nino, was pos
thumous surprise. But anteriorly M9r-
cedes had been born. The latter, at
the death of her father, reigned for
six months. Then, Alfonsito appear
inc m She took a back seat. AS she was
only five years old she did not mind
very much The circumstance, how
ever, has been regarded as unfortunate.
Alfonsito is the thirteenth of his name.
The number is accounted Unlucky, and
every self-respecting Spaniard is as su-
perstitious as a ragpicker
There is reason for that. Columbus
put down an idea, borrowed a boat on
it, and brought back a world. Through
what history may be trusted to %recog-
niZe as one of the great faunts OF fate.
Spain's rule over the world which he
found ended last summer with the
sinking of the ship named after him.
If that is not enough TO make even q
Spanish agnostic superstitious one may
wonder what is. But the point is else
where.
Between those two dates. between
the time when Christopher Columbus
set sail and the Christobal Colon was
sunk, the most powerful empire that
ever existed, an empire which extend
ed from Europe to Asia, whose Amer
lean dependencies stretched far to the
north of Cancer and far to the south
of Capricorn, an empire on which the
sun never set, collapsed. Bad govern
ment did 1t, bad judgment and some
thirs, worse-bad faith. The admin
istration was rotten when it was not
heartless, usually it was both, and so,
too, was the court. The scandals of
the latter have been so resonant that
they echo still. To recite a fraction of
them would require not column but
a catalogue. 1t is this which Mercedes
represents. Behind the girl is not
merely the picture of nations fall,
there is with it the pagentry Of splen-
did shame and the spectacle Of royal
sinners.
Franz Josef represents less sin than
sorrow. The Hapsburgs, from whom
he descends. ruled the Roman roost;