The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1903-03-25
A PHANTOM EMPRESS.
HOPELESSLY INSANE FOR THIR-
TY SEVEN YEARS AND
DYING NOW.

Years Through Shadows
of Mimic Court
Other News.
Brussels, March 18.-A phantom
empress is fast journeying to the
kingdom of death. Archduchess
Carlotta, widow of the ill-fated
Maximilian, Emperor of Mexico,
who, for thirty-seven years has
baen hopelessly insane, is dying at
Palice Laeken, near Brussels.
Since that June morning, all
those years ago when the shots
rang out from seven Mexican mus
kets that were heard all around the
civilized world, and which cost a
mans life, woman's reason and
an empires existence, this beauti-
full daughter of the Belgians has
moved among the empty shadows
ola mimic court. Faithful even in
her pitiful distraction to the love
which has been the ruling passion
of her life, she is looking constantly
for the Emperor who never comes.
II cannot find him." she will
say, with vague trouble inner eyes,
to those about her. "but he will see
you when he returns.
A bride of II, an empress at "a,
a maniac at 26, Carrlotta repre-
sents in her own person the tragedy
of the chimerical empire, reared by
French and Austrian ambition up.
on foundations ofsand. The daugh-
ter of king-Leopold | of Belgium
was her father-the sister of the
present Belgian monarch, she was
literally born to mount the dias to
a throne. Of dominating intellect
and surprising beauty, she con-
bined the most fascinating accom-
plishments with the executive force
and determination of man.
The princess was just on the
threshold of womanhood when she
met the youthful archduke, the
youngest brother of Emperor Fran
els Joseph of Austria, Macmillan,
tall, fair, slight, with the charm as
we'll as the fatal weakness Of the
Hapsburgs, he was man to win
the romantic devotion Of any wo-
man, in especial one like Carlotta, in
whom pride of race was a dominat-
ing characteristic. In two months
they were married, and then began
an ideal life, which in the soiled
and blood-stained annals of both
the Hapsburgs and Coburg house
stands out the supreme example of
a perfect love.
On the shores of the Adriatic, in
a spot where all nature seemed to
have lavished her riches,l the arch
duke built bis bride home more
like fairy palace than any dwell
ing Of mere mortals. It was OF
pure white and typifed all the po-
etical, dreamy qualities which la
ter brought swift ruin when coupled
with the iron sibilities of
nations welfare. Macmillan was
at this time the governor of the
Lom bard-Venetian kingdom, and
Miramar castle was on the OUT
skirts Of Trieste. The untroubled
happiness ofithose early years was
in sense the compensation for the
terrible finale. The last scene in
this chapter of their lives was the
reception at the castle of the embas-
sy which dazzled Macmillan and
his ambitious wife with the pros
pect of empire.
New York, Mar. 21.-Detectives
in the New York central Office and
several embers of the Pinkerten
staff in Chicago have been at work
since March 2 attempting to dis
cover a mysteri ous person who on
Jan. 22 sent to John c. Fischer,
we'll known theatrical manager of
this city, quart bottle of cham
pagne charged with enough hydro
cyanic acid and strychnine to kill
instantly one hundred men.
Mr. Fischer is proprietor of the
musical comedies "Florodora" and
1.-The silver Slipper" and the wine
waa received on the night of the
one hundredth performance of the
latter opera at the Broadway The.
atre.
1t was only by the merest chance
that Mr.. Fisher and three friends
escaped death. The bottle was
opened and the contents were
poured into glasses before it was
noticed that it had peculiar look