The Indianapolis journal., 1902-10-19


the late Baroness wallburg and her chill
dren had always been regarded as the
legitimate wife and offspring of Archduke
Ernest until Rainer declared them other
wise: Furthermore that the late archduke
had encouraged that impression in every
way possible among his neighbors and In
official circles. Indeed Baron Wallburg
would have been unable to obtain a COM
mission in the army IL 1t hadn't been for
his fathers expressed recognition. which
was also essential in bringing about the
marriage of Clotilde to Captain Of Horse
Won Szimics.
EMPEROR FRANCIS JOSEPH'S PART.
Even Emperor Francis Joseph's connec-
ton with the case was plainly shown. too.
His Majesty created Laura Won Skublitz.
spinster. Freifrau Won Wallburg." the title
in itself proving that the woman was le-
ultimately married. for the appellation
Frau" implies the married state, and its
assumption by spinster is a misdemeanor
in the eyes of the law. The letters patent
creating the title are dated April !. 1858.
and provide that the baroness's children
born in wedlock shall be entitled to the
same style and name, as barons and bar
onesses. respectively
the Laibach marriage register and found
the first evidence OF attempted fraud The
page that should have born the date Of
April 1S 1858. was torn out. 1t being the
only one removed ir the whole row Of
books, covering more than four centuries.
The municipal authorities pleaded ignor-
ance Of the fact, but Staudinger discovered
among the higher clergy a person man
enough to lift the veil from the conspiracy,
namely, the Rev. Canon Andreas Zamejc
now in his seventy-eight year. This gen.
tleman, who recently celebrated his fiftieth
anniversary as a cathedral official, told
Staudinger that the missing page contained
| the record of the marriage Of Archduke
Ernest with Freifrau Won Wallburg, nee
Laura Won Skubltz. He had repeatedly
| seen this record during the archduke's life,
| and could give its contents in detail. The
| marriage was solemnized by the canon's
brother Military Chaplain Joseph Zamejc,
| April IS, 1858. The witnesses were Arch
| duke Henry and Martin Zelesnik, sexton of
| the cathedral. All parties named are now
| dead.
Staudinger persuaded the reverend gen.
| tleman to make affidavit to the above,
which he did before a notary. in accordance
with law, and then-it is claimed-the coun-
| ty clerk perpetrated the fraudulent marriage
| certificate that later on caused his arrest,
prosecution and conviction. Such, at least,
| is the official version; the unofficial is that
no fraud whatever was committed, and
that the document stamped fictitious by the
| court was the original one, torn from the
marriage records.
| Having procured evidence of the mar
| riage, Staudinger followed up the case by
searching the birth registers, only to find
| more proof Of Archduke Ernest's abomina-
| BILE, not to say criminal, weakness. His
| and Baroness Won Wallburg's children
were properly registered as legitimate, but
| in each instance the name of the father
| given was fctitious-"Baron Won Wall
burg''-which was evidently a ruse agreed
upon between the authorities and his I'm
| perial Highness. with the Emperor's knowl-
edge and connivance; for, falsification OF
marriage or birth certificate being Grim
inal offense in Austria, the church and
civil officials would never have consented
to the false entry at the instance Of the
archduke alone.
WROTE TO ARCHDUKE RAINIER.
Next Staudinger wrote to Archduke Rain.
er, limiting at the evidence collected and
pleading with his Highness to do justice
to his brothers children and grandchildren
and at once relieve their most urgent
needs. Rainer answered this by offering
Baron Wallburg a paltry hundred Thousand
guldens in settlement of all his and hi:
sisters claims, and when the offer wa:
| spurned he procured the arrest of hi.
nephew and his nieces, Clotilde and Laura
also that of Staudinger. on charges Of con
i spiracy and blackmail
All were thrown into JAIL but even Rain
| er's overpowering influence was impoten
to keep the Wallburgs behind the bars
Though the states attorney tried hard t.
make out a case against them, they were
soon released AS for Baron Wallburg, h,
is now head waiter in Cafe New York,
Buda-Pesth, where the tips of friends ant
partisans enable him to earn enough Il
support his family and sister Laura. Bar
oness Won Szimics is likewise taken car,
of, for the present, at least, as the Buda
Pesthers, enraged at Archduke Rainer's per
fidy, collected a fund to keep the vol
from the door pending the trial or retria
of the case by Parliament
| When that comes up, in a month or two
Republicans, Socialists and the rest of tn,
opposition promise "to rattle the dry bones
of decaying royalty as they have not beer
ratified since the days of the Marie Antoin
cite necklace scandal" This is tellini
simile, but not very logical The necklace
scandal threw the utter rottenness o
French royalty only into more glaring re
lief; 1t did not destroy the Queens reputa
tion for purity, honesty or loftiness of pur
pose, as public opinion had stripped he
of these qualities of mind and heart ever
before she lowered herself to accept th
services of Rohan and his fake countess
The imperial house of Austria, on tn
other hand, has always born a good repu
tation. No one is sorry for Archduk
Rainer, but it is a matter of genuine re
gret that the Emperors name is connecte,
with the affair.
ARCHDUKE'S TELL-rALE LETTER.
One of the principal argumentative weap
ons in the possession of Parliament is .
letter written by Archduke Ernest to hi
daughter Clotilde shortly before his death
The letter is dated "Arco, Feb. 20, lS99
and refers, in the introduction, to a recen
meeting between father and daughter "a
the funeral of our beloved grand duchess
Here are some of the most striking pas
.