Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1915-11-19


cried, "and I shall force my uncle to
acknowledge me as his heir. II he
refuses shall rally to myself a party
in the state and seize the govern
| ment. / have abandoned my rights
too long. I know the world now,
know the fallacy of such sacrifice
as mine has been; above all, know
what Austria needs"
He wanted me to accompany him
into the Schoenbrunn palace and
vouch for him to the aged emperor.
even though explained to him that
I had no longer any official standing.
It was not until we were within an
hours run of Vienna, after a session
which had lasted till dawn, that sue
ceeded in getting him to listen to rea-
son. Often during our talk his wife
had come silently to the door and
listened to us, but she had never
| spoken.
The archduke had assumed the name
of Won Behring, and it was by this
that addressed him.
II will do my best to gain you a
hearing" I said, reluctantly, because
did not wish to be mixed up with the
business. But this only on condition
that you follow my instructions. You
must take lodgings in Vienna and
wait till you hear from me"
| II can trust nobody!" he cried wild
ly. Suppose you betray mel"
"That is, of course, possibility to
be reckoned WITH" answered, with
touch of irony which missed its mark.
But consider, Herr Won Behring, that
1 if you appear at the palace gates and
demand an audience you will certainly
be treated as mailman. And even
| if you succeed in convincing anyone
that you are really the man you claim
to be, you will only bring down upon
yourself lifelong confinement or-as-
sassination."
He gaped at me. He had known
little of the internal politics of Aus
tria, which was, in fact, in one of
those crises that can only be solved
| by death or organic reconstruction
through war.
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand,
heir to the throne, and the only far
seeing statesman in Austria-Hungary,
seeing that the dual monarchy was
disintegrating, had planned to convert
it into triple monarchy, by the in
clusion of a vast Slav confederation,
including Bosnia, Croatia and Servia.
In this plan he was assisted by his
| talented wife, formerly Sophie Chotek,
a maid-of-honor, now duchess of Ho-
henberg. The marriage was a NOR
ganatic one, the archduke had been
| forced to withdraw all claim to his
children's succession, and his wife was
bitterly hated by the ladies of ancient
family and the court clique that had
| the aged emperor's ear and was bent
on destroying the Serb-Croatian ele-
ment instead of utilizing it as a prop
| for the empire.
This clique consisted of the old
| nobility, of Count Forgach of the for
eign office, Prince Montenuovo, the
court chamberlain and his aide, Count
Paar; Baron Rauch, ban of Croatia,
and others-a long list and g powerful
one and bent on thwarting the arch
dukes statesmanlike scheme by all
possible means, not the least potent
of which was the antagonism which
the court ladies felt toward his wife.
They could never forgive plain Sophie
Chotek for having risen to be the wife
of the heir-apparent, and in spite OF
the morganatic nature of the mar
riage, undoubtedly the future queen
Of Austria-Hungary.
"You see, my friend" I said, when
had set out the situation, your re-
appearance on the scene will not be
the simple matter that you antici-
pate"
mo-" said the woman at the door,
speaking for the first time.
Her voice seemed to arouse the
archduke from reverie. Suddenly
he pulled from his finger a gold ring,
set with splendid emerald.
"My friend" he said to me, II shall
do as you advise. Then take this
ring and deliver it, with my address,
to my cousin, Archduke Franz
Ferdinand. When we were young men
we exchanged rings and agreed that
either should come Immediately to the
others aid when the ring was shown
him"
A little later we ran into Vienna.
Having seen my strange companion
and his wife comfortably housed in de-
cent, but not sumptuous, quarters.
went to my own lodgings, where 1
found an invitation signed by Prince
Montenuovo, requesting my presence
at reception to be given that eve
ming at the palace.
That simplified matters. Undoubt-
edly the archduke would be there, and
I should have the opportunity of de-
livering the ring to him. Still, did
not like being mixed up in this bust
ness. 1 would have evaded it by any
legitimate means. though was inter-