Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-01-05

France some eight ten years ago they stayed for
a few days with the Czarinas only brother, the
Grand Duke of Hesse, at Darmstadt. While there
they were visited by Emperor William, who
over from Mainz to luncheon. On rising from
table the entire company photographed and
Just before the picture was snapped, William,
who was standing next to Nicholas placed his arm
in kindly fashion round the shoulder of the Car.
The latter attached importance it at the time;
but later he discovered that the photographer had
struck off thousands of pictures from the negative,
in which the remainder of the group did appear,
and only the two Emperors were shown the Kaiser
with his arm round the other monarch's neck.
Both rulers at realized the political significance
OF the picture and the Interpretation placed upon it.
coming so soon after the magnificent hospitality
with which the Russian sovereigns had been enter
tanned at Paris Great was the annoyance which
it gave to the Car and Czarina, the picture was
still bitterly resented by the Kaiser, who
was just then at pains to strengthen his friendship
with Nicholas and keenly alive to the fact that
the portrait calculated disturb rather than to
promote his aims Indeed, William took the I'M
tiative in causing the seizure and destruction of all
the pictures which the German police could lay
their hands, at the same time urging the Car to
adopt similar measures in Russia, which of course
was done
Infinitely more Objectionable the eXtraor-
binary photograph published in French, English,
and American papers, and widely circulated and
sold abroad, purporting to show Emperor Francis
Joseph with his daughters and his grandchildren,
seated at luncheon at Schonbrunn, the head of the
table being taken, not by the martyred Empress,
whose name formerly associated with that of
the Emperor. The picture had been made up by the
transposition of heads. That of the actress had
been placed by skilful but dishonest photographer
the body of of the Archduchesses cev-
ery to leave trace of the fraud. Naturally it
gave much pain and annoyance to the Emperor and
his daughters; all the more the picture implied
incredibly heart1ess and shameless affront to the
memory of the lamented Empress. Needless to say,
the picture is strictly forbidden in Austria
Another picture which to-day is almost impos-
sible to obtain in Austria, though it is not actually
under the ban of the law is the portrait of the miss
ing Archduke John, who disappeared from human
view under the name of John Ortiz some sixteen
Years ago, while voyage round Cape Horn.
Before leaving Austria after resignng his rank and
prerogatives as a member of the reigning house of
Hapsburg, he went to conside. able expense to buy
up and to destroy all the portraits of himself in
existence, to avoid being recognized; and in
deed the care which he devoted to thus obterating
all pictorial record of himself contributed in small
the belief that he had planned his disap
pearance beforehand, and that instead of having
persisted at sea he had purposely vanished, in order
to enable him to start life in another part Of
the world.
A picture which has been suppressed by the
Austrian and German police is the photograph