New-York tribune., 1920-12-12
BARONESS MARIE Won
IL VETSERA 7Uas mpsteri-
ously murdered at Moyerling

~ FETSERA 2Uas 'npsterl-
oa1sly murdered at Mayerling
imposed on him surprised end
shocked all Europe.
Blame Francis Joseph's Mother
It was whispered at the time and
for many years afterward, that the
young Emperor - Francis Joseph
was not nineteen yet-intended to
commute the death sentences of ,he
revolutionary leaders, but that he
was prevented from doing so by his
lnother, the Archduchess Sophie,
known for her hard and vindictive
nature.
Be that as it may, the story sur
vived unto this very day that when
Countess 1lona Batthyany, wife Of
the executed Premier, heard of her
husbands death she altered a ter
rible curse, invoking the vengeanx
of God upon the House of Hapsburg
for the murder of the innocent VIC
Tins.
The story Of this curse had tre-
mendous hold on the Magyar people.
AS years went by, the tragedies that
darkened the horizon Of the House
of Hapsburg were counted in thou
sands of Hungarian households, and
as one after the other of violent
deaths, strange and unexplained
catastrophes were recorded, whole
nations hand wiped the score of
the slate of history.
Heavy Hand of Fate
Fourteen was the number Of VIC
tins murdered by the Hapsburg ex-
ecutioners on October 6, 1949. Four
teen was the number Of blows in
f1icted by fate on the House Of Haps.
burg, and the last of these was final.
On October 81, 1918, sixty-nine
years after the bloody 9Th of Oc-
tober, the Hapsburg Empire ceased
to exist-the glory of the oldest
, reigning house in the world came to
an inglorious end.
Here is the record of how Cour-
> tess Ilona Batthyany's curse worked !:
The Archduchcss Sophie, hrst-born
daughter Of the Emperor Francis Jo-
seph, died at the age Of two.
The Emperor Maxmilian of Mex
8 leo, Francis Joseph's brother, was
. executed by rebel soldiers at Quere-
taro in 1866.
e The Empress Charlotte, Maximil-
st ian's wife. lost her mind upon hear-
:, ing Of his execution.
The Duchess of Alencon, beloved
l. sister Of the Empress Elizabeth, lost
her life in the great fire at the
Charity Bazaar at Paris.
The Archduke Wilhelm was thrown
y by his horse and killed at Baden
IN near Vienna.
:: The Archduchess Hedvig, daughter
- of the Archduke Albrecht, was burned
es to death at Schonbrunn Palace while
III dressing for dance. Her gown
caught fire from curling iron.
D The Archduke Johann Salvador,
I'd better kncwn as Johannes Orth-- he
to had resigned his position to marry
commoner's daughter--disapp
IL with his ship in the Southern At
OF lantic. 1t Is assumed that he went
-. down in a storm off La Plata estuary
The Archduke Ladislas, son Of the
OF elder Archduke Joseph, ard brothe
b. Of the present Archduke Joseph, pre-
-, tender to the Hungarian throne, los,
his life while hunting when his CUR
ne went off by accident
he The Empress Elizabeth was stabbed
to death at Geneva by the Italian
anarchist Luccheni.
The Crown Prince Rudolph lost
rd his life in the mysterious affair a
Mayerling.
d. The Archduke Franz Ferdinand
li9 after the death OF Crown Primo,
,o- Rudolph. heir-apparent to the thrones
Of Austria and Hungary. was as
as sassinated at Sarajevo, Bosnia, OF
ng June %, 1914, the murder precpltat
sI ing the greatest war in history.
~ These were the personal tragedi,
Of the House of Hapsburg-eleve
'o' in number. To them must be addt
IN the historic blows that first dimil
iu- ishcd and then eliminated IIapsbul
~ power from European politics:
,uf In 1889 Austria lott Lombard
to the Italian Kingdom
''' In 1866 Austria was driven b.
sf- Prussia from the German Empire.
ir- And in 1913 the Hapsburg Empir,
.ss ccased TO exist.
ICE AS said above, OF the violent deaf