Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1919-02-15

thOrlty.
"Your royal highness has heard bad
news9" l asked.
She had scarcely dried her eyes when
the Countess Eldorff entered the room
hurriedly. The Duchess jumped on her
feet and made an effort to appear that
she was still cool and confident. Then
she turned and said to me, eyes, we
have heard much bad news Our allies
have turned traitors, but remember,
they will yet receive the traitors re-
ward. -
The Countess of Eldorff is very cool
and well balanced woman and l OBJ
served that she did not join enthusiast
cally with the Duchess IN ner childish
threat
She simply bowed, but made no reply.
Then addressing the Duchess she in
formed her that the Empress wished her
to accompany her to her fathers pres
ence. The Duchess left Immediately,
while the Countess remained in the room
with me. l was well acquainted with
the Countess as in the past years there
had been many occasions when we had
exchanged condolences. asked her if
it were true that the kaiser had come
to Wilhelmshoe with especially bad
news. She was very angry towards
Austria So angry that she could hardly
contain herself. She said that the en-
peror and his staff had received direct
notice from Vienns to the effect that
Austria was about to sue for peace
separately from Germany. The emperor
had finally realized that the Central
Alliance was about to go to pieces and
that Germany's fate hung by 81 hair.
Blames The Austrian Empress.
"The treachery Of the Empress OF
Austria is in, the bottom of all thisl Z
she exclaimed. "The Empress of Aus
tria hated Germany. From the beginn-
ing she was pro-ally and at last she has
brought about our ruin,' she said.
l could not help observing the untlr-
inc efficiency of our official Informs
ton bureau. During the last two months
or SO the authorities had been giving
out news regarding the coming treach-
cry of our allies and preparing the Ger
man public to believe that our coming
collapse should be attributed more to
the various treacheries of our former
allies than to the military and political
blunders of our own government ana
general staff. ~.
The Countess Of Eldorff's political
vision did not extend beyond the mar.
row intrigues of the Palace and SO
did not question her reasonings.
"It was the Empress of Austria, that
low Bohemian, who induced Tsar Fer.
dinend to surrender SO that the road
would be open for the allied armies to
Austrian territory" she told me ser
iously.
The Austrian Empress Writes
a Bitter Letter.
| She asserted that two days before
coming to Wilhelmshoe the kaiser had
received a letter from the Austrian EN-
press, telling him contemptuously tha1
She herself had induced Tsar Ferdinant
n surrender. Then she offered me
court bulletin in which was printed
what : purported to be copy OF thu
tAmstrian Emnress,s q letter to the kaiser
ro.d tba would be letter which / be
Iieve was forged by our political de
ortnoant One sentence which give be
low i from memory, but 1 believe i
very near to the text.
HOur only chance to preserve th'
dynasty (the Austro- Hungarian dyn
astml e an aerlv neace at any price
And vet feay that our chance is onl,
ono nor cent. But Karl and 1 arc pre-
nored for the worst ana Will reeelv,
wbct "a in store for us without mur
mnr However. | should like to hav,
vou know that myself. made every eff
fort 70 induce Ferdinand to make peae'
With vour enemies. knowing what you
twenty. five wears of rule had mean
.nd what II would have meant tor Kar
and 7 had Won been successful agains
,,our enemies we resign ourselves to fat
w;tb thc satisfaction that after us you
too will be no more
Countess Eldorff then related to M
how the kaiser had shown the lette
of Empress Zita to his daughter Louisa
The part Of the letter that had infuriat
cd tbe kaiser the most was her boast
inc tbst she had succeeded in negotiat
inc with Ferdinand in spite of our see
ret agents in the Bulgarian Court. OF
showing Zita's letter to his daughte
the emperor had made this threat, ac
cordino f. Countess Eldorff.
The Kaiser's Hatred of Empress Zita.