Evening star., 1923-05-09

spent a considerable time in a species
or receiving vault i'll the mausoIeun
IN inc myers Of the corpse are placed
formerly stringS-but now electric
wires which communicate with an
alarm. In fact. the least pul.ation OF
life Will start the ringing of a. bell in
an adjoining chamber. where a guard =
ian Is always on watch, and who at
! once secures, by means of telephone,
Immediate medical attendance.
1t is not until after resting two
! or three weeks in the receiving vault
tnat tho strings or wires connecting
the remains with the alarm bell are
severed. the corpse finally placed in
sealed
dhere is a gruesome tradition in
the royal house Of SAKE Weimer to
the enect that one OF its members
was buried alive. and whether this
! Is true or not, the fact remains that
the Fyrstengruft is the onIv rowai
mausoleum in Europe. where these
precautionary measures have been
ADOPTED for the last hundred years. in
spite of which several Of the scions
IN ~ the aynasty have given in their
wills special instructions that stems
snouid be taken by their medical men
10 pc absolutely sure that they were
really dead before the entombment
took place.
The late grand duke was twice
married-the first time. unhappily
Indeed, his consort. q princess of
the house Of Reuss. had been forced
against her will into the marriage
tor political purposes by former En-
peror William. and died, il has ALWAYS
been understood. by her own hand
though every effort was made TO CON
ceal the fact.
Until the birth Of Princess Juliana Of
! the Netherlands in 1909. the ,ats GRAND
ouhe was through his Dutch grand
n'o'her the next heir to the throne of
Holland. and this caused him TO be
regarded with marked ill will by the
SUBJECTS Of Queen Wilhelmine. For
eney were convinced that in the event
W WoniS ms shucceeding to their throne he
YOU'D bring the Netherlands into
the confederation known as the Ger
man empire at the cost Of their noIit-
ical. and above ALL Of their economic
Independence.
,hs. moreover. e, they. were convinced
any attempt to oppose his succe ssion
FORMER Emperor William would in
yade Holland in support Of the grand
tba guse nrtoh claims: AS soon. however, as
Of
Emperor William had set0for ali ali
tlme-they hastened to enact an
amendment of their national consti-
sucnau; sudion and laws; excluding from the
German prince. They considered this
necessary. in view of the fact thai
the life Of Princess Juliana, now only
fourteen. is all that stood between
~ osesa Sara crown and the late grand duke
AS the matter stands now. in the
event Of anything untoward happen
ing to Princess Juliana-the hope Of
sion will be determined by q con-
stituent assembly composed of both
houses Of the national legislature:
which will undoubtedly decide in
time republic. the rise" Of which has
been recorded in so inspiring and
popular fashion by that eminent
american diplomat and historian.
John Lathrop Motley.
* X x X
1t may be recalled in conclusion.
that the. formerly reigning house of
Sake Weimar is more widely known
on this side Of the Atlantic than that
of any of the other petty sovereign
ties of the Germany of the past, not
only through the association of the
great grandfather Of the late grand
duke with Goethe and Schiller, and
of the patronage accorded by his
grandfather to the Abbe Liszt, but
also through the visit of Prince Max
imillian OF Sake Weimef for scientific
purposes as the friend of Humboldt
q hundred wears, and the adventures
Of Prince William as a waiter, and as
q riding master in New York under
the name Of Rohde. and the unpleasant
notoriety achieved here by his son,
Prince Herman, now Count Ostheim.