Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1921-02-03

ROWN PRINCE RUDOLfd OIL AUS
~ tria-Hungary came to his death jan
uary 80, 1889, in his hunting lodge
at Meyerling, near Vienna. win
him died the young and beautiful
: : !: : !: ; !: !:
CEE16l Baroness Marie Vetsera. From tnat
lITGTT1T1llH day to this the manner OF their TAX
INNNllHUU inc off has been mystery as Wen
II WlHLN II as one of the grimmest of the many
III @A II grim tragedies that have Defallen
- the House of Hapsburg in the last
IN wears -1s mystery these deaths OF the her
TO q preat empire and his lovely 1namorata nave
ranked high among the great mysteries Oh hissoiy.
Rut s'murder will out" as the old saying main
it-and the truth of the killing Of Rudolph is tolo
at last Who tells it? None other than DlacK
eheen of the Hapsburgs-the Archduke Leopolu
Ferdinand son of the last reigning Grano LUKE VI
Tuscany, nephew of Emperor FRANCIS Joseph onu
a cousin of the murdered crown prince Ao oe
sure this black sheep now bears the name VI
Leopold Wolfing He ended his archducai ca
reer long before the Great War stripped the
Hapsburgs of place and power by denouncing MS
great rank to wed commonerS uaugneet'
whom he later divorced. And strangest OF oil,
this civilian Hapsburg tells the story OF the Kill
ing of Rudolph in newspaper the Berlin Moreen-
post
At the time of the tragedy all the power Of the
emperor was used to suppress the facts. Ihe
newspapers were allowed to state only that
Rudolph had died of natural causes. NO reter-
ence to the death of the baroness was permitted.
Nobody was prosecuted, but several men hlgh IN
court circles disappeared from public life. Every
body of inferior rank who could possibly have had
knowledge Of the facts vanished from the face
of the earth.
OF course the world talked. Half dozen YER
sons of the tragedy became current. One was
that the fiance of the baroness broke in and killed
both the prince and the young woman. Another
was that the prince forced by his father to give
n1p the baroness, killed her and himself. third
was that the prince and the baroness were killed
because they would not give up each other Out
of the mass of conjecture legend was finally
evolved to the effect that Rudolph, preferrng
death to separation, killed his companion with
her consent, and then followed her into the un-'
known. Romance and pathos, you see, as well
as tragedyi
First a word as to Rudolph, whom legend now
presents as liberal, likable, democratic sort of
young fellow Probably the correct picture is
that of the most dissipated Of the, Hapsburgs.
All the hereditary evils had set their mark on him.
OF frail physique, a neurotic his eyes bnked and
his hands trembed constantly. Drinking and
other excesses had increased his natural defects
Rudolph was married to Stephanie, daughter
of Leopold king of the Belgians. Apparently
they never knew a moments happiness He de-
ceived her shamefully and she did all in her
power to infuriate him. Rudolph made no secret
of his dislike and her failure to produce male
heir to the throne intensified the situation. From
his youth Rudolph had been noted in Vienna for
his shameless pursuit of virtue. He employed
many creatures of all ranks to minister to his
desires-from go-between countess to a private
cab driver, whose duty it to convey women
to the secret entrance In the lane back of the
Hofburg, which led to the princes apartments
Rudolph met Marie just about year before
the date of the tragedy. 1t was case of love
at first sight with both; at any rate the beautiful
young girl was completely infatuated with her
prncey admirer And the baroness vas young
beautiful and good. The vetseras of Greek
blood; the father of the baroness was a state
official. The family was not rich, but it's social
standing was good. Rudolph and Marie met fire.
.quenty and scandal soon got busy with their
names.
The affair became known at court and there
was much ado. Princess Stephanie ragged The
Vetseras demanded that the emperor should call
his son to account. Hektor Baltazzi, Marie's
11ance, furious. He was Vienna clubman
and horseman of Macedo-Greek origin, very rich,
and although no member Of the nobility proper,
a favorite in the highest society, his
brother Ars.,de The Baltazzis were dstantly