New-York tribune., 1912-02-25
Her Qualifications as a Mem
Der of the Nobility Made
1t Possible to Appoint
Count Leopold
Berchtold.

DerCntOlO.
,cop,right 1912, by the Brentwood Company
IT is 10 his wife that Count Leopold
Berchtold is indebted for his ap-
u uointment to succeed the late Count
d,Aehrenthal as Chancellor of the Dual
r-mpire. as it's Minister of Foreign Af-
fairs and as Minister Of the Imperial
House Of Hapsburg 1t is not alone that
tho countess is a very brilliant and
handsome woman, but it is more es-
,ecially that she belongs to the old Mag
var aristocracy-that inner circle Of the
great world at Vienna where all call
one another by their Christian names
because they are all related, and which
Is without exception the most exclusive
society, or rather coterie of society. In
the world. The Countess "Nandine'-
the short for Ferdnandine-is the
daughter of the late Count Alloys ka-
rolyi. knight of the order of the Golden
Fleece. who spent so many years In
England as the ambassador Of Emperor
Francis Joseph to the Court of ST.
James's.
Indeed. there have seldom been foreign
diplomats in Great Britain who enjoyed
10 greater degree the goodwill Of So
ciotv and more universal popularity and
who were more thoroughly at home on
the banks of the Thames than the ka-
rolvis. 1t is interesting to recall that
Baron HenCelmuller, now dean of the
6iplomatic corps at Washington, was in
tbose davs serving on the staff Of Count
KaroIyi in London as his chief lieutenant,
knew Countess Nandine as a quite young
girl and was instrumental in obtaining
for his chief that apology from Glad
stone for offensive words uttered about
Austria as the leader of the Opposition,
and without the public withdrawal of
which there could have been no relations
between the embassy and the Grand Old
Man when the latter returned to Office
as Premier.
CONFIDENCE IN PALLAVlCINl.
II is in no spirit of depreciation Of the
talents of Count Leopold Berchtold that
I assert that he is indebted to his wife
for his appointment to the Chancellor
ship. 1t had been originally intended TO
nominate to the post the Marquis John
Pallayicini, who has during the last few
Years been on several occasions sum-
r1oned from his embassy at CONSTANT
rople to serve as acting Chancellor and
Minister of Foreign Affairs during the
illnesses and the leaves Of absence OF
Count d'Aehrenthal. He Is man OF
much more mature age and Of wider eX-
nerience than Count Berchtold, and has
all the threads Of the Chancellorship at
his fingers ends. Moreover, he enjoys In
a very marked degree the goodwill and
the confidence of the Emperor, who was
aware that he could rely upon him to
continue the pacific policy of d'Aehren-
thai in the face of the Italaphobia of the
entire military element at court, in the
army and in the political world.
Indeed, John Pallavicini would un-
doubtedly have been appointed had 1t
not been for his wife, an Englishwoman,
who does not fulfil the genealogical quail
Acahons that are exacted as a sine qua
non for admission TO court from all
women who are Austro- Hungarians by
birth or by marriage. The Marquise
Pallayicini. although Austrian Ambassa-
dress at Constantinople. has never en-
loved the honor of presentation at the
court of Vienna. She was Miss Geor-
gina Grove, a granddaughter materially
os Sir Thomas Reade, second in com
mand TO Sir Hudson Lowe on the Island
Of ST. Helena when Emperor Napoleon
died there. and she was acting as the
companion Of the wife and daughters or
old Ferdinand de Lesseps when Pallavi-
cini then secretary of the Austrian En-
bassv AT Paris, fell in love with her
and made her his wife.
Now. the Chancellor of the Empire Is
likewise the Minister Of the Imperial
aouse and its principal dignitary. That
Is TO say, he acts as its notary in the
case of the signing OF documents Of
dynastic Importance, of marriages, births
and deaths in the imperial family, Is the
custodian Of it's archives and Of all its
secrets which he is sworn by most
solemn oath never to reveal, and is the
supreme authority over the entire courts
Of Austria and Hungary and Of all con-
nected Herewith. as well as the SOW
ereigns executive in his dealings with
the members Of the Hapsburg dynasty,
especially when 1t comes to disciplining
any Of them.
AN EMBARRASSING SITUATION.
For dignitary occupying, next to the
imperial family, the very first place at
court and in control of the latter TO
nave his wife bared therefrom results
IN very awkward situation indeed. and
one which is most embarrassing for all
concerned since foreign ambassadors
ana members Of the court are not sup
posed TO take any notice Of women who
DO not form part of the court circle.
There was much trouble in this con-
nection during the Chancellorship OF
Count Agener Goluchowski. whose wife
was Princess Anna Murat Now, de-
spite the fact that the Murats insist
upon being treated as something very
much akin to royalty in Partisan So
clety Princess Anna Murat, wife OF
Count Goluchowski, did not possess the
genealogical qualifications requisite for
m -. Nl,A oil