Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1916-12-07
Reign One of Most Notable of
Modern Times - Held Dual
Empire Together BY Strong
Grasp Of an impossible Sit
uation Through So Years.

Vienna. Nov. 22.-Emperor Francis Jo-
seph has for three score years been one OF
the great figures In the affairs Of Europe
n the world at large and. although his
extended reign has been clouoeo with
many grievous personal afrlictions, nota-
bly, the suicide of his only son and the
marked also by events of far reaching and
nenefcent craftsmanship. He has seen
hungary emerge from a condition Of open
OF Russia; his Italian dominions were
saved by the genius Of General Radetsky;
ne cast MS influence strongly. although
After the Austro-French war in 1853 he
was compelled to sign the treaty of peace
OF vllafranca. by which Lombardy was
of Holstein and in the same year. as 5
result Of the war with Prussia, he lost
snnTsno also ais That year was fatal to the The
by the treaties Of Nikolsburg and Prague.
respectively. The Turkish provinces OF
aIo;an and herzegovina were, by the l.
cislon Of the Berlin congress in 1878,
paced under the administration of Aus
tria-Hungary. These are some Of the
great events of the reign which has just
But In human interest his personal sor-
rows ~overshadowed all. One after an
other they came upon him. In 1853 the
tempt upon his own life. In 1867 his broth
er, the Archduke Macmillan, after three
years experiment as emperor Of Mexico.
was captured by the army OF the patriots
and condemned to death by u courtmar-
tinl, whose sentence was executed not
Wlthstanding intercession In his behalf by
the governments of the United States,
England and Prussia.
Man of Many Amours.
There followed the burning to death Of
q niece an Vienna; a sister met similar fate
IN Paris. and a cousin drowned himself in
stahrenberg lake. Yet these were but
minor r taca ~ aNtH,D f~N - 1r}f1 &11f
which befell the ancient house of the
Hapsburgs in 1889. when Rudolf, the i'm
perial prince upon whom the Austrians
terry which to this day Is not cleared.
Graves hold the secret of that fateful
night at a hunting lodge in Meyerling.
occurred. One true story relates that
the crown prince was struck dead by Bal
1871. a Hungarian ehevalier, who loved
frenzied by finding the girl and Prince
Rudolf together in the castle of Meyerling
after the crown prince had given, his
that the crown prince killed the uncle of
the younug baroness when he came to
rescue her and that both of the young low
erS afterWard committed suicide. The
truth is not known.
,Clouded in still deeper mystery, If pos
siale, vas the disappearance that same
the Archduke Johann Salvador. Heir to
the throne at the death of Rudolf. he re-
nounced ali his imperial dignities and fled
the country as John Orth, captain of a
The next. of kin, the Archduke Francis
Ferdinand. who became heir presumptive.
added a further burden to his uncle's heart
by mprganatic marriage to Sophie, the
countess of Shoteh. Tt was he and his
wife who were assassinted at Sarajevo In
June, 1914.
Murder Of the Empress.
But it is doubtful If any or all of these
l rnunrCne urnjo1,n1 p,nrne ,,r; ,,-o, ~
neva, when the Empress Elizabeth, who
had been called the most beautiful woman
In Europe. was stabbed to death by an
Italian anarchist in 1898. True. she long
had been estranged from the emperor. but
he had never ceased to respect and adore
news of the crime he exclaimed: Alas
nothing can be SHARED me. nothing
GOSSIP dealt plentifullv with his private
HE, filled with romance and misfortune.
It is related that his mother intended him
to marry Princess Helena, eldest daughter
of Duke Max of Bavaria. With passive
Indifference the Young e1nperor agreed to
| his mothers wishes. and set out to paw
court to his Intended bride. He got no
further than the mark surrounding the
whose extraordinary beauty attracted him.
He learned that she was Princess Eliza
beth. younger sister Of his intended. He
resolved that Elizabeth should be his
bride. ard 40 she became In 1874.
In addition to her beauty Elizabeth was
found no welcome at court. The emper-
or's mother would hardly c~ountenance the
match, and all Of the Vjennese aristocracy
held alnof from her: Elizabeth returned
scorn for scorn. Her enemies bore her
every tale that could wound her pride and