THE HOODOOED HOUSE OF HAPSBURG Edwin Emerson Jr. 'Author of "A History of the Nineteenth*^ Century**: V I "ZS2 &s etnplr«i asd nation* hay« I t!KO> rise and fall, so &b faalUea % I snfl dynasties. In was. !nstano«» both go together..^ . " ; * \u25a0 A case In point Is the present low . fortunes of. the empire of Anstrta, which' have f olloTred. cteadlly - upon \u25a0 the . «uc cesslve misfortunes, mistakes and tragic catastrophes that hare " befallen, the . ruling Imperial house of Kaps burg. From the point of ; view of : poetlo ! Justice perhaps this Is but as it should be, since the rise of the house! of Hapsburg from Its first beginnings In the early middle ages was never gained by personal effort or military prowess, but almost invariably by well calcu lated matrimonial matches, supple mented by cold,, diplomatic cunning. Thus it was that the descendants of t^ie first count of Hapsburg In Switz erland, whose six daughters all mar ried ruling princes," ultimately became Jc'ngs and, emperors, ruling all v- the 'richest domains . of Europe and of* America as well until one of them, the great Charles V, could boast* that the sun never set on his dominions. . Yet no sooner was this' high zenith reached when the imperial- sun begun, to set even faster than it had risen. The mighty Emperor . Charles V ' him self was the first to weary of .his scepter, and, letting it fall \u25a0•. from his listless fingers, hid himself away in a monk's cowl behind the 'walls"; of T» Defeats in the Field . After that followed disaster after disaster for Hapsburg, signalized by defeats on land and on sea, from -the loss of the armada and the- loss of the Netherlands down to th» ruinous wars for the Austrian succession and "Maria" Theresa's seven years' war with.Fred erick the Great. After' the loss of. Silesia to Prussia, came the loss of the Italian provinces to the French, fol lowed shortly by the crushing defeats inflicted by . Moreau and. Napoleon at Hohenlinden, at Marcngo,.Ulm, Austcr litz and W'agram, followed by the. loss of the Tyrol, the Illyrian" provinces and Dalmatia. . . Yet those disastrous losses of the best blood and lands of Austria werc^not a«' Serious to the pride of Hapsburg •as 'thfi loss of personal prestige sustained from the unavenged- murder of the Princess Marie Antoinette;* from the unbroken record, of military, failures achieved by tbw Austrian archdukes in the field nnd from the- shameful mar riage of the Princess Marie Louise to the upstart Corsican. The beginning of the end came v.ith the enforced abdication of Francis as emperor of Rome and of Germany. XVith his remaining subjects in_ Aus tria, Bohemia and Hungary, this -> 111 starred ruler was made thoroughly-un popular by the odious misrule of his prime minister. Metterhich. Under Fer-*- idinand matters went from bad to worse. When the storm broke 'Metternich - went down -in disgrace, dragging his master down with him. Thanks to the - renunciation of his father, the -crown of St. Stephen descended upon Francis Joseph, then "a beardless princeling. "With it went an ominous heritage of Siapsburg — hatred °a»a Inco"rnpetence. If these reigns "were^ill starred, what Is to be said of the reign' of his suc bessor, Francis Joseph, -as __viewed through the vista of the.last 60 years? Beginning In revolution. and hatred, !t has endedj in such, truly a record; xeign not only in years, but In dis-/ asters and trasedies.% . . : '*::'&} While there seems to have been "no \u25a0. tangible connection : between the ,- prl- ; vate misfortunes of the' family of Haps bury and the public disasters that have befallen the patchworic empire of; rso one can fail- to see *\ that private and public calamities have i always stalked hand in handi until ; it^* became an open" question which was --'"' the worst sufferer/ the ' stricken head of the empire ;or the worse stricken* ] head of the house. \u0084 .'\u25a0. ' ' , Long protracted as Francis Joseph's* rule has been, the history t of its , 60 ' years can be told-by, a^Jjrief cnumera-' lion of Its most signal setbacks.: ' ' At tlie outset.of 'tl«e rolgn In 184S came the . revolution •In , Hungary, in Bohemia and at tho v very doors of --tho '• Imperial palace In Vienna.- When the mob broKe- into the reichs rath and surged up to tWc portals of the kalserburg Prince Metternich,'. the • author of it all,- took to hls^heels and]. Emperor. Ferdinand abdicated." His* brother did not care to. take .up. the.: crown. The hopes of- the empire were centered on the brother's oldest son, Francis Joseph. By a conciliatory policy Francis -, Joseph might have won all the love /of • the Czechs and Magyars and could thus have cemented his crumbling, empire. * Instead of that he chose* to use re- ; pressh;e measures. With the: help'of ; a Russian army, Hungary was devas- \u25a0 tated and beaten-Into- submission, f The - Hungansn patriots, men like Kossuth, Deak, Goorgey ,,.and\Batthyanl, were '. either driven into, exlle'or put todeath.' . The -result of it all was a \u25a0 heritage" of " : /fierce' resentment and racial \ antipathy' which haslasted until the present day. r • The'.*rev6lution In Italy was}. put- I down: in' the -same ruthless, manner.. tjliT " the: name lot "Austria . in Italy ' spelled v only ; hatred. - Italy's j hour lof I deliver- ' » ance % struck «» ln •-' 1859, when.' Cavbur; ; gained j, thej alliance of France. ;" Then c Emperor ' I^rancis "Joseph \u25a0 took the field. , '.Hevwas defeated- decisively on the :disV - : " astro us /day' of • Solferino. when . 25,000 . : of !hls' loyal,A.ustrian^s6idiers'lost 'their. : ; lives.. Further battles, at Magenta and* Nbverp.w«e, equally 'disastrous. North- {' l eni* Italy was lost' to "Austria, all- but ; , Venetla*// -: _: \u25a0.- - ' Maxirhilian's^Tragic Death' .- \u25a0. :- y .-• Francis. Josoph's ''brother, .Tiinximilian,'; , had > been {-Austria's .stake - holder , in . • .'ltaly. Now he -was: without, a Job. By . '.way '^ot, ''compensation r' Napoleon fill /a ; '. few 4 years', later.' offered him th* iiii-' perlal.crown of -Mexic*, which was^be- *~ Ing invaded ! by/ a ; French army : aiiiedv' /by,' Austrian .'"and^ Belgian V auxiliaries. ' ': Maximiiian's /.wife, r 'Carjotta, '\u25a0'\u25a0 was 'a i "Belgian, r > the "sister /of 'the scapegrace ; \u25a0Leopold. ' ':' . I ' '."'•' : . Maximilian ; was .». allowed to \ accept-; the Mexican < crown < only^ : on ;" - condition * of;; abdicating '• his » rights ? of ;' : succession'^ to .Uhe"; throne; of iHapsburg;^ * though » ln V a ;. secret » document", he u-:re- :-. i pudlated • this agreement ' as T. obtained - lunde^/ duress., ; : ' \ : ;"\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0, ; : "" ji -- ; ; j >"AU' Americans 4 ' are f familiar.' with* the';* ' sequel.' \u25a0• Maximilian, 'after 'paying} the •> - third ''Napoleon '• his ' : price, i-T^.OOOjOOO lco» on? a>perernp^ory^hlnHfroms;ou TJ>w r clecfi?e';condcmning: Jo death ;as:an.^ul- ' \u25a0 I;}v/U1 ;} v/Ui n>y rn a n j takVpl i h*' arms'- i nVM^sicK 1 7 SS JIJ II I.?1 '.'? i Mi^""cicqu t ion • 'of ;iio,ui>" X VlOwl \u25a0 II 1l1 ls '; Austrian/, wife \u0084no 'js.uchr tragic',- fate : hayi^fallenanyjreisninpr.house of Eu-' * tP' p . e ;';.?^ A3t '™JU* n .'s {widow,* the ' Empress jlost^her^reason'.and lisTstiU * c . o t n ? ne ?\ a . s /AvV.iolent^maniac^'in|an':ln- • • '/ i^l^r \u25a0 - > **?**J" * - *. an ' s .kod y v.vf as .• tak en j home ; tb^Trieste'/byjAdmiral^Teg^thoffionithe i Austrian ' roan^of fwar ?Npvara;v the 3 ship r on f which] Maxim! lian 'in* his? you thN had Balled^arounla3thViglbbe^,^. wvV-'w vV - ' t . f ; '-/v ßoth;'; the i names iof 4the V commander and '\u25a0J~'\Otf's the* ~-\, ship .^must'S have : ; had' Ja t ragicf rinar? tojAus tri ans;" since ' 111 1 'was :. at i JSoy*ra.J jthat^Napoleoft^ni^h'-ad.-'.liis' h ? n l?^ d *^ > Joseph.-jwhUeTlP^^^^iJ^ L^ho 1 < t w6n_' the -fruitless^ "ri.aval ivictory 'of 'I^ssa ; 'in-the?disastrbusiwarjOf ;1566. Vit .; was ;then^!that JdeflniteiyVlost >"herA ascendency »_in,; Germany rafter? the ' brief Salx-1:'- weeks' war' ' with " Prussia; .-• -v" ••• \u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0\u25a0?. -\u25a0",\u25a0\u25a0»•<-— A;-, sm-x: :\u25a0-_\u25a0."•'•--\u25a0 • ; \u25a0• \u25a0.which \ endedj in % the'j crushing ; defeat- of 1 Sadowa, ; \ As ') onej of I the', results^, of < this war", I^rancls f : 5 Joseph 5 lost r and s.Vcrietia- ' " r •"•'j'- : - 1 '- '"-* T^--:"!"''^; --,v-., v -. *' .-7 \u25a0 the. :_ so '- called v empire : qf second dominions -hostile to one> another. Its history; has been ' li ttle more: than- aTsuccession^ofiilliaajusted .uinerences^oetween; tho warring, races, J to? offset'; which - there -were * only - con :astantlyr;rcn?Tved;alliances^wlths Ger- 5 ;f many"=lin7\vhich 'Austrlavplaycd 'second /nUaie-to'herVowerful'neignbor. ; '-/ : < . "V f^Eye ri r now ' the kin gdom \u25a0of gary ?^. appears be - once . morefon * the* verge 1 '\u25a0•"•' V"'.-.- "•;* 3 and .» political:- events j in'jthe £hlstory*,*bf \* Austria-Hungary V during - "the * last'" 1 60 >years.^'. ;\u25a0; *."j^"' •'•'.','- •"\u25a0•"v'.'.'- i . ; iTcnf Decades -ibf i Disaster/ > r ; *V :^The ..'of; events f in "the. private i familyjhistory of^th'e Hapsburgs:iveven '^nibre;sinister;^thev'most^tragrlc-in^ r fact /ofVanyOriiling .: family/ of /Europe^' 1 \ '.'%:: *-,^Fraxicis Josopli.'i as»has{been'{'t6ld, as i cerided.*the *} throne »amld» : turnioilf I.and1 .and SreVolutfons/qn {Dqccrnberr 2. '* 1 S ißp when > \u25a0he|.was^a3nJere"jlad,.of^*lß.'"'i,The*Hunga frian?half ./of/his/ kingdom refused? to ;ack I nowle^ ma . r chedj> on*- Ki slcapi tal.^ Even . i n' "Vienna [.'. itself thV'peoplei rose against hinvf- The •; rebel '^flag >; was \\ raised f over ; the.'cathe i.dj^iror^' l sfephenrj'"The\younßr.e^pefpr' 'haditorfleelto ! lnnsbruck. His:flrstlmeas of *' government r we re : : acts Yof ~ ; civil ;.. war: V' ""!':' \u25a0"-.*'; -. ]':•" *.' : - * '\u25a0\u25a0'.I'". '\u25a0•'* ;. ' -. \u25a0'"'\u25a0 v \u25a0 Among j^the, revolutionists .a* price 'was rsettbnih'ls^head^pneVaVsasslh.^lJbenyi/ ,. managedt'to' plunge! \ into . the .; youngV^empeVor.'s >• breast,* 'and Y- came "'- wlthin r a : liair's breadth'of killing him".'.-'. /.. He' ( had '^sciirccly/ rec'overedf f rom his ; woundu when was by\ his * political » counselors"* tot marry PriiictM lirrJVfTTl^Jl7ffiff%^lir''JMßTMTggTMffMntfflJl liBI I • - • The^San^ Francisco / Sunday Call. =wrU^.of W^??y«?^ -™*4 a profoundly un, I 'harpy^miktchifrota'flrsl^to last. ElXza> ft^KT*'. 1 ?; I?'*:.with;he^cousto.1 ?'* : .with; he^cousto. youn* afterward ';.: «ndVVonamlttß4 Wkvlal&». r: : Ellxab%th's : older slater mars. Sa«l«.fi.ith6f Jetnj*p;of \u25a0 Naple«, whovnot only , \u0084E^«ltT*atedih«ratrcclousl7, but\lost hli )ptmre, r^«l3t«r.:: J tli« duchess . ,of Alcr.con, was I burned to death -in a 7 charity bazaar at was'^'so unhappy ta \u25a0. her t Eoa.r'fa^r.s •:: that she twico fled from :. her.j husband— afsf to Madeira and tha la«t:tlme : to'Corfu in the Mediterranean". ;\u25a0 She.- refused . to -be reconciled to him uritii^ the/ tragic death -of their only ;.sonV Crown; Prince Rudolph, who was rr.ufd*red'2 together with ,' hl3 mi3tre3s, "jj vi th a e?Barbness"Vetsera. at the castle of . \u25a0 Meyerling. j In ; 1 S 89. - Both . were mur dered after-an all night brawl. In which , the baroness-brothers are said to hays v.-flgured/r The>fficlal version was "heart * " failure*."- '-The, most . charitable private • version^ was ;;'suicide." .. * Kin '.jg Leopold of: Belgium, .whoseidau'shter was mar rledT to .'Prince /Rudolph, :,wrote to th« ' pope: »**AII- reports are better than the \u25a0 knowledge 'ot .the . real. \ hideous truth." !./\u25a0>? After %'Rudolph's' "deaths Archduke John L Salvator,* one of' tire heirs pre sumptive-to. the throne. of Austria, lost falthfin-the fortunes of.:his house. He \u25a0 renounced his titles and all his rights tothe succession, and. droppln*sr the an r clent \u25a0 name -of Hapsburg \u25a0 for that of simple - John • Orth. : he 'V embarked on a \u25a0 -ship-i. bound for America. Neither h« • ; nor his ship were ever heard of again. With 'him 'perished the best ; brains* of the house:6f Hapsburgr. • A few years later the tide of misfor tune ; shifted 'to i another - scion \of tha .'HapSburg --.family, - Princess -Marl* T Christina, queen regent of Spain. The * war/with • America^ 1 fought -'flurln jr her '•_relgn, ended 'disastrously for Spain, and the last of her transoceanic possejßSlona j were' lost to* her infant son. It was the . tnd ' of ' his proud ; ancestors* boast thatj^" - the ; sun, never -:' set on his dominions. All rA'ustrik ''mourned wi.h Spain, ' \u25a0•- \u0084 Then Vcamafthe': startling of .-. the '-\u25a0 assassination -\u25a0 of Z Empress Eliza ' beth In ' Switzerland. : While" hoarding a steamer. on I the; lake'of Geneva slia was stabbed . to death by aa Italian anar £ chlst : named : Luig! ' LucchenL \u25ba: It was a v senseless Jmurde'r,'. inasmuch as the em *'Press^had r never' exercised the slightest ; influence^ over spoil tics. 1 either directly .- or^ Indirectly. » Down jtoj th« very day of^her^deathilt^wasnotorlous that sh» \ had 7no ; Influence • whatever over her 1 husband. -With her death vanished th« i : lastrpersjonal hold 1 that ' Francis Joseph } had ? over :!hls,; Hungarian- subjects^ for j Empress 'Elizabeth was the only mem , ber ; *of t ' the'!: emperor's household for whom the chivalrous Magyars had any " . Thus .tragically stripped by , fate of ; brother, son > and ~ wif o and < bereft as - well ; of. the loveVof his people, Francis VJoscph J" now, became a recluse. Thtts \u25a0 heihas /remained "' for ,. nearly] * '. decade, i a" broken down old man.'. ; " The last time '\u25a0 he .was called upon to . exercise- his prerogative as head of the house of. Hapsburg - was ; when his - cousin, the -Archduchess Louise Antoln l ette^jf Tuscany, the wife "ot the present /king of r Saxony, left her; husband and ..children to run_ off. with a; French mu sic' teacher, who has since abandpned ( -:hor. v '• > \^H|||BHff r - " T . I -vtThen the old emperor from | \u25a0 his .castle of Schoenbrunn Issued a 1 '.wrathful, 'imperial decree forbidding' -^the ? 'errln*r princess further: to bear tho j •'.name'. cr arms", oZ Hapsburg and de prtying her of all her princely title's, v MoreYannoying to the "countess of /Moritignoso, as she now. styfes herself, '\u25a0.undoubtedly was the fact that "the lm - perial/'ezchequer" and privy purse of been 'closed, to her for • gooiL^Htejragfißfl /i** t Eyen 'as.the'Jmperial throne of Haps- ', /burg.^has. proven but a;seiit of tragedy t. last incumbent, so the 'succession ! u to..tb.e;thfone -looms upas but another * "sourco i 'of 'distress t\ ' VWlro the Heritage?/ - -Under /the iold^ Hungarian la> th*' *throne;tbr.;rlghti should ' -Francla, Joseph's dead 'brother. Charles,' v Louis.*i But'the prince of Este. unfor-l \u25a0tunately : for., his ; right3 of * succession, f . married": a'i morgana tic wife." the Count-\ ;,ess^-Chotek. t*so that;- his , v childreSj .cannot^: succeed -him ?onVthe throne. {- -.Thereforej.iUls..*btlleved .that-he will ~i .^renounce £ the^crown *in .favor of his Charles Louis. - ? Sox much-vis^ certain: - whoever . ln-> heritaithe' throne- inherits with-it a full >»;up i of s grief, hatred ; arfd . unhapplness. j; for "r" r such.; is ; the .'latter day lot of all •i reigning: princes \of Hap3bur»> -