The sun., 1916-11-22

one was ever prosecuted for u. The
third and last attempt upon the EN-
ieror's Me was madr In September.
1882. when an effort was mad TO blow
up the ruler with bombs at Trieste. A
man named Overdank. the head ~ the
conspiracy. was tried and executed for
HIS share In II.
The Emperor's last years. in addition
to the dread Of assassination and family !
troubles. we're p~erplexed by dissensions
In his empire growing out Of Its lnchOate
component, n complicated system Of
government. When he attained his
seventy-hfth birthday. In August. 1905.
II was rumored that he would abdicate
in favor Of his grandmother. Charles
Francis. son Of Archduks Otto. RurnO
erred.
slmpIess Monarch In EspOpe.
For many years Francis Joseph had
been known rs the simplest and most
indust rious n In Europe. as well
as one Of the shrewdest. During the lat
ter part Of his life he mad his home
exclusively at the o,stie at S~choeDbrunn.
going to the Hofpurg In the capital for
State business and formal entertain
ments. II was his custom to rise be-
tween 5 and half past s o'clock and walk
briskly In the gardens Of the castle for
an hour and q half or 90. On his re-
turn he used to spend come time before
breakfast In reading his newspaper"
made up by his secretaries OF concen-
trated extracts from the dailies OF Eu-
rope and containing only such news a.
the secretaries thought would interest
him. After breakfast the Emperor used
to drive into the capital TO the Hofburg.
where twice a week any Of his subjects.
no matter how lowly born. might see the
Emperor face to face and submit to him
personally any complaint hat he might
~
To his facility a. q linEuist the EN-
peror owed part Of the great personal
popularity that was his throughout the
empire. Once when ~ q more boy he
had occasion to address a meeting OF
Hungarian mobiles he won all their hearts
by speaking to them In their own tongue
the Magyar.
Tn Emperor's business day at the
Hofburg used to be . very busy one.
He spent II entirely In the royal o6lces.
ven having luncheon served on his desk
amid tho litter Of oficial papers. He
was fond Of the theatre or the opera. but
his day often closed early. and II was
not uncommon for 10 o'clock to ind the
ruler in bed.
Francis Joseph vac not a literary
monarch. He cared little for books, but
80 ". w NOssHe sskO bos~
with his subjects. ana 20 40 this he often
entered shooting compositions. and he
vas an excellent shot with q rife. Mo-
toring he hated as much as he did cards.
but he loved to climb mountains and
maintained all his life a keen interest
in flowers. orchids being his especial pets.
The Emperor's generosity had a. much
to do with his popularity ~ his ability
IS a linguist, and his gifts to charities
| mara taNiah II hoQ hAon Aa1fnatQh that
his civil list was worth perhaps m
thing approaching $500. 900 u year. but
the demands upo II were not infrs-
quently greater still.
wosla Die Standing.
The severest illness the Emperor suf-
Tered In late years WAS AN attack OF
pneumonia. seven years ago. His physi-
clans advised that he &c to the Riviera
for the winter. but he refused with the
impatient answer
Leave me alone. ! know my duty.
An Emperor should die standing
He recovered his usual health and
spirits. and the later years a W. found
him denying the frequent reports
that he intended to abdicate. His gold
en- Jubilee was celebrated with great
acclaim In 1908. the Kaiser and eleven
German kings and reigninE princes Wis
NinB SCtiOcfiDT Viii Sistle 10 COUkT1tuiutc
the aged monarch. There were gala
performances at the opera n the the
atre and the time was one OF popular
rejoicing. Savage race riots occurred
during the period In Bohemia and gave
rise to the epigram that the longer
the Emperor lives the more his peoples
love him and hate each other. His
eightieth birthday was also celebrated
rttingly at Ischl. II was a family fes-
= fixnl mud atnnnU fhnaa mhn ustanlAI
were several who were older than the
Emperor. as the Archduke Rainer. who
was IS. the Archduchess Marie. So,
and the Duchess A%delgunde OF Modena.
who was 81.
To the end the Emperor continued
to live the life OF simple habits formed
In his youth. lie rose early. went to
his peasants, To the end he con-
tinued to meet his people and to hear
their grievances.
The last tragedy came when the
heir apparent. Archduke Francis Ferdi-
nand. was killed on Jun rs. 1914, by an
assassin. and his wife. the Duches Of
H~ohenbers. WAS shot to death in the
same attack.
Investigation proved the existence Of
a widespread plot II was established to
the satisfaction of the authorities that
Servians were involved in the con-
spfracN, and II was announced that some
OF the conspirators had confessed that
the bombs We're brought from Belgrade.
The Servian Government announced at
once its adherence Of the act and dis
claimed all responsibility.
This failed to satisfy Vienna. Demand
upon demand was sent to Belgrade, each
In stronger terms that the preceding
note clutch OF Teuton Oh Slav was as
memorable as destiny. Servla Yielded
az far as national pride would permit
any nation TO give way. II had pro-
tested its innocence of the murder to
have that solemn protestation declared
insufficient was an insult no proud race
could bear.
On July IS Austria declared war on
Servia. Day by day the great nations
81 Europe declared themselves on this
side and on that OF the struggle
Francis Joseph has lived In turmoil. IA
leading figure In the wars OF three gem
creations. he leaves the field when the
world IL turned upside down,
Extremely Feeble for Year.
BUT while little accurate news has
been available from the Austrian cap.
ital since the war began. from what has
filtered through two censorships, n is
believed improba BILE that the aged ruler
has had a clear idea Of the progress OF
the war or the Internal affairs OF his
empire for a year past.
His health has been uniformly bad
He has been extremely feeble, Reports,
not indeed always BILE. were that he
was kept supplied with glowing accounts
OF the successes OF the Austrian arms
II was said also that when he was able
TO be- In the open. he spent his days