Tombstone epitaph., 1915-11-28

Austria Hungary has always seemed
to me like one of those representa-
tions of the Greek dramatists, In
which the hero. pursed by an aveng.
ing fate. struggles in vain against .
tragic destiny that leaves him, in the
end. utterly bereft OF all that life has
held dear for him.
Never has Q monarch suffered %
many blows from fortune. Called tc
the throne at eighteen, II was bis fate |
to lose his Italian provinces. to suffer |
defeat from France and then from |
Prussia. to see Hungary become quasi |
independent. His son. Prince Rudolf. |
died by his own hand under circum- |
stances OF the utmost pathos: his
queen, Empress Elisabeth. fell the vic
tim of an assassin's dagger; his heir
and nephew. Archduke John. resigned
his inheritance and disappeared: yet
fate had still in stcre for him the mur.
der OF Sarajevo. war, and its ensuing
mtseries-
In my capacity as private and conf
Dental emissary for the British gov
eminent. with a commission to deter
mine what forces were making for
war In Europe, l had fixed my head
quarters in Vienna, the pivot-capital
OF European politics. Although my
mission was not generally suspected.
OF, rather. because OF this, was In
close touch with political Affairs and
men
was returning to Vienna after
short trip home to England when my
carriage was invaded. about ten in the
evening. somewhere beyond the Swiss
frontier. by q man whom knew very
well indeed. escorting woman wnom
I had never seen before.
1t was evident that they had taken
the adjoining sleeping section. and
had Inadvertently entered mine at the
iittle station. A few words OF explain
alton. and ! had stepped into the cor
ridcr and shown them TO their quar-
ters. The man had not recognized
me, but the sight Of his face. which !
could not possibly have mistaken, Tor
reasons connected with bygone ex-
perience when I was an attache at VI
emma. aroused in me the utmost aston
knew him perfectly well as being the
missing archduke and heir TO the
throne. who. when he resigned his
rank and inheritance. had sailed on
tramp ship as Johann Orth, able sea
man. to find his grave, as everybody
believed, in the depths of the Sargasso
sea.
The story of Johann Orth is common
property. It is also known that per
sons have asseverated, from time 10
time, that they had met the archduke
in distant parts of the world; but no
body of responsibility had ever be.
iieyed the tale. had not.
The man was so like his cousin.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and heir
apparent. that, but for the experience
to which l have referred l should
have mistaken him for the heir appar-
ent himself. What was he doing here?
Who was his companion?
AS stood at the door Of my sec
tion the man opened the door OF his
and stepped into the corridor. He
saw me, stared at me. and suddenly
grasped me by the shoulders and
dragged me into my compartment and
shut the door behind hin Then be
thrust out a huge, sunburned, toll
oaiioused haad, and grippeS -a!2e gttt
tie clasp CT a steel wise
We'll met!" he shouted, calling me
by name. Il could not have had a
more fortunate encounter. You know
me, eh, You are ambassador at Vi
emma now! Never mind! You will
youch for me In case my uncle has
grown near sighted? You will stand
by me, as an old friend ought to-"
did not know what answer to re
turn to this outburst. The mans ap
pearance was that of one who hac
been on a protracted debauch, and YET
there was no smell Of alcohol upon hi:
breath. And soon / began to realize
that IL was excitement and apprehen
sion that gave him his wild appear
ance, not liquor.
He poured out a story in a food o.
words that left me gasping. And
had not the least doubt Of him at AM
time.
He had escaped from the wrecked
ship in one Of the boats and LANDED
on the shore of Brazil In that coun
try he had become a successful cone
PLANTER and none OF his neighbors ha'
guessed his identity. But to cne VIII
mad lived so full life the monoton!
became uncomfortable. Under variou
names he had travelled with his Wifi
in many countries of the world. occa
sionaIly recognized and challenged
bu. always managing to conceal hi
identity, until the year 1912 found hin
rapching in California There tn
woman for whose sake he had sacr
feed his rank had died
He had married again. an ambition
woman who somehow discovered tn
secret OF his birth She had urge
him to return to Austria and regal
his rank and inheritance. Her plea
had fred him until his resolution b
came as great as hers. And so the
had started together on the maddes
and most impracticable quest that wa