The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-07-21
AN IMPERIAL LOVE STORY.
How A1chduke Francis Ferdinal


 cis Ferdinand of Austria Este, would take a solemn oath on June 2S, in tht
 secret council chamber of the Imperia
 Palace, before the emperor, the arch
 dukes. High court functionaries, privy
 councillors and ministers, and that this
 oath was connected with his forthcom ing morganatic marriage with Countess Sophie Chotek came as a complete sur.
 prise to everybody this morning. Il had not been difficult to observe until lately that the emperor and the arch duke were not on speaking terms, and it is said that the officials of the court were so convinced that the archduke
 would continue in disgrace that they
 treated him slightingly wherever they
 dared.
 The oath is to the effect that the
 archduke accepts for himself, his flu
 ture wife and his descendants all the
 legal consequences of the morganatic
 marriage-that Is, his morganatically
 welded wife has no right to claim the
 privileges and rights of his birth and
 position, nor have any children born of
 the marraige. If he succeeds to the
 throne he will not make his wife Elm
 press of Austria or Queen of Hungary
 and he will not give his children the
 rights and position of members of the
 imperial house.
 Countess Sophie Chotek comes of a
 very old Bohemian family, which has
 never been wealthy or influential, but
 has always faithfully served the reign
 ing house The branch from which she
 descends is quite poor. Her father was
 governor in Bohemia, and died four
 years ago; her mother, Countess
 Kinsky fourteen years ago. She has
 one brother who is provincial official,
 and six sisters, of whom four are mar
 ried-one as long ago as 1868 in Stutt-
 gart, where her father was minister. The countess was most carefully educa- ted, and had great predilection for arts and letters from her early youth She is of a sweet, retiring disposition, not fond of society, but gay and happy in the family circle. She was very happy when she lived in the Archduch- ess Isabella's household with the seven daughters and the little son and heir of the Archduke Frederick.
 As the Archduchess' daughters grew up the Archduke Ferdinand was a frequent visitor, and spent whole even- ings with the favorite lady-in-w waiting, Countess Sophie, in some cosey corner of the salon, speaking of art and taking her advice on the castles which he was rebuilding. and for which he was laying out parks One day, about twelve month ago. the storm came. The arch duke had spent a night at Halbthurn, Archduchess Isabella's Hungarian property, and left for his own castle of Eckartsau early in the morning. As is the fashion with young men here. he wears on chain his keys, pencil, matchbox and other sundries, all in gold and his valet has to place them in his pocket when he is dressed. The chain slipped under the toilet cover, the servant forgot all about it, and when the servants of Halbthurn found it the archduke had gone They took it to the Archduchess Isabella. who closely examined this bachelor property and found attached to the chain gold me dallion, which. when opened, revealed an exquisite miniature painting of her lady-in- waiting, Countess Sophie Cho- tek. The countess left Halbthurn with out luggage half an hour after the dis covery, and Archduke Francis Ferdi- hand has not visited the house since The countess went to stay with her sister who is married in Dresden to Herr von Wuthenau, but she had her imperial admirers word. and when he could not go to see her she came to Austria at his bidding.
 Thus they spent three days last Christmas at Castle Eckartsau, on the Danube. There was a time when the archduke was even prepared to re- nounce the throne if he could not oth- erwise marry the countess, but consul tations with the first legal authorities convinced him that this was not neces- sary. This being so the two have giv- en up a favorite plan of restoring the beautiful Villa d'Este, in Rome, to its old grandeur and glory, and residing part of the year on the Italian estates f rom the Duke of Modena. But in the eventuality of the Archduke Francis Ferdinand becoming emperor ne will have to give up this property to his brother Otto so nothing is being spent upon it.
 The archduke has been residing since May in the beautiful rococo Palace of he Belvedere, built by Duke Eugene of Savoy.
 Countess Sophie Chotek is tall, graceful, elegant person, very lovely, with beautiful, expressive eyes, a sensi- | i've mouth. a finely modelled, straight lose. She is exceedingly tall, but so is he archduke, and with her brown hair worn wavy and high she just reaches l lis eyes. She did not expect this great ,iece of happiness for a yea& ago she | vas filled only with the ambition of go- l ng on a journey with the Archduclless sabella. She is a thorough Czech, and | n enthusiast for the rights of her peo- | 'le. Some say that it was due to her | influence that the archduke, when he | vas consumptive and would not obey | he doctors, at last submitted to severe | and when he saw that he | vas indeed mending he took a VOW | hat if he quite recovered be would | marry his fair counsellor. It was fear | f going in the face of this VOW that | nade the emperor consent to the mar iage. In court circles certain diffi- ! ulties that will arise out of morgan tic marriage are discussed with inter- st. Of course, the countess will live in | he archduke's house. If she accompa- ies him to the station when he starts or some journey she can ride with him l his imperial carriage, but she cannot l