El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-11-22

when Rudolf. the imperial prince upon
whom the Austrians pinned their
hopes. met death in a mystery which
to this day is not cleared
Fate of the Crown Prince
Graves hold the secret OF that Iate-
ful night at hunting lodge In Meyer
ling. There have been a dozen YER
sions of what occurred. One true
story" relates that the crown prince
was struck dead by BaltaZzi. Hunsa-
rian chevalier who loved the baroness
Marie Netsera and who was frenZied
by finding the girl and price Rudolf
together in the castle of Meyerling
after the crown prince had given MS
pledge not to see the girl again. An
other that the crown prince killed the
uncle of the young baroness when he
came TO rescue her and that both OF
the young lovers afterward committed
suicide. The truth Is not known.
Clouded in still deeper mystery. If
possible, was the disappearance that
same year of Francis JOseph's faVOrite
nephew. the archduke Johann Salvador
Heir 10 the throne at the death of
Rudolf, he renowned all his imperial
dignities and fled the country as John
Orth, captain of a merchant ship, never
TO be heard Of again. The next or
kin. the archdCke Francis Ferdinand,
who become heir presumptiTe, added
further burden TO his uncle's heart
by mOrganatic marriage to Sophie,
his wife who were assassinated at
SarajevO in June. 1914.
assassination of the Empress.
But II Is doubtful II any or all of
these reverses weighed more heavily
upon the emperOrS heart than the
tragedy at Geneva, when the empress
Eliza beth, who had been called the
most beautiful woman in Europe. was
stabbed TO death by an Italian
anarchist, IN 1898 True, she long had
nRpU r1c n 2 "a
he had never ceased to respect and
adore her.
After each blow he renewed his de-
votion TO the state. his only solace
prodigiously He was beloved for his
kindness. his mOdesty, and rectitude.
and his high moral courage made II
possible for him to hold in leash the
Gzechs, the Poles, the Serbs. ahe
Ruthenians and the Bulgars. who made
up the mosaic of nationaIities in his
dual empire.
Picked His Own Bride.
Gossip dealt pientifully with his
private life, filled with romance and
II is related that his
mother intended him to marry princess
Helena. eldest daughter Of duke Max
0f Bavaria With passive Indifference
the young emperor agreed to his moth
ar's wishes, and set out to pay court
10 his intended bride. He got no fur
her than the park surrounding the
luke's castle, where he spied a little
slrI whose extraordinary beauty at
racted him.
He learned that she was princess
younger sister Of his in
ended He resolved that Eliza beth !
should be his bride and so she became |
n 1854
Niennese Were Vindictfve.
In addition to her beauty Eliza beth :
vas highly endowed with talents. but
he found no welcome at court. The :
'mperoTs mother would hardly coun- |
enance the match, and all of the /
Ter Her enemies bore her every tale /
nat could wound her pride and es-
range her love At last they sue /
'eeded- In burst Of pique she fled /
Q ner native Bavaria She came back. /
'uI the NienneSe never fOrgave her
Emperor Fond of Pretty Women.
Inc estrangement Widened. The /
Emperor was fond Of pretty women /
md Vienna did not lack them. The /
impress grew more and more to con-
iider herself "a dutiful sovereign
ady," and less and less A wife. The !
ragic death of her only son drew her Z
nearer to her husband for a while but
mere came a succeeding period of
stronger repulsion. and thereafter she I
Utmost disappeared from the Hofbure.
How She Ended Scandal.
Then appeared KATRINA Schratt.
ormerly of the imperial theater Rv
her tact and wit she succeeded in
;reating for herself a place below but
beside the throne, never accorded be-
ore her time so openly and so Der
to any woman. Speculation !
Is 10 her relations with the emperor
vas wide and malicious. OF course il
.ound its way to the empress and
here followed an incident which tes-
flies to her uncommon delicacy and
courage.
Nettled by the continual humiIia-
ION OF such dlstasteful scandal mon I
sering. she devised a way to end it. |
)ne day she took her youngest daugh-
lreable establishment of her guests.
,et out TO pay a long call on Frau |
'chratt at her country palace in IschI. /
where all the world knew the EN- /
error spent hours daily. That ended i
[ effectually. 1t was impossible 10 /
gossip before the empress about a /
condition which she herself had So /
laIly legalized by her presence.
Whatever the truth about Katharine I
'chratt and the emperor. she had good !
ense never to attempt to influence !
i'm politically. Those of her prede- /
essors who had dared more boldly |
and the penalty Of sudden and noise
ess removal from his surroundings
When upon the assassination of the |
impress. the court went into mourn
ng, Frau Schratt was seen but LITTLE !
Was a Good Soldier.
As soldier. the emperor was no (
oFed Of his army In a crushing re- I
erse by the French at Solferino he Z
uttered such humiliation that he is
AID to have wished to die with his !
Zen that he stood mOtionless in the /
Ire OF a battery hoping to be struck |