ARCHDUKE CARL FRANCIS JOSEPH
Archduke Carl Francis Joseph resembles the present Emperor of Austria
and King of Hungary very closely, though the resemblance is apparent
rather in a certain peculiar charm of manner than in a similarity of
features. Their colouring is identical, and when on the outbreak of war
the aged Emperor made a triumphal entry into Vienna amid enthusiastic
crowds such as the capital had never seen, with the heir to the throne
by his side in an open carriage, everyone remarked on a resemblance
that had escaped them before. “He might be the Emperor’s grandson,”
was heard on every side, as the two men who held the destinies of the
land in their hands went by. They sat stiffly upright, for both have
the carriage that marks a thorough military training; both acknowledged
the frenzied acclamations of the crowd with a truly royal reserve,
in contrast with the eagerness of Ferdinand of Bulgaria or Wilhelm of
Prussia, who could not conceal their extreme delight at the shouts of
the populace. Both Emperor and Archduke have always been popular.
[Illustration: ARCHDUKE CARL FRANCIS JOSEPH.]
[Illustration: PRINCESS ZITA OF PARMA.]
The Archduke had received the careful training that is given to one
who is expected to fill a high place in life. He learned English at
the same time as he learned German from an English governess, who
succeeded in implanting a love for her native land in the heart of the
young Archduke. The Austrians considered that he was too British in his
tastes in many ways, and much too inclined to go in for games of every
kind instead of attending to the more serious studies that took up so
large a part of his time already. While the young Archduke showed great
enthusiasm for tennis, for dancing and skating, he cared but little for
abstruse studies. None of the Habsburgs ever gave evidence of great
mental powers, and the Archduke was true to the family traditions in
this respect. Educated in Vienna, where dancing and music are regarded
as the chief end of life, it was natural that he should enjoy both. It
is also a debatable point whether accomplishments of this kind are not
more desirable for the young man who wishes to get into touch with his
subjects and with foreign diplomatists than a taste for discussion.
Unfortunately, the Archduke was encouraged to pursue a very frivolous
life. The wicked uncle of the fairy tale is frequently seen in real
life. In this case he enjoyed unusual powers. When Archduke Otto died
he left his brother, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, guardian to his two
boys. The heir to the throne and his ambitious morganatic wife thus
had the care of educating the boy who was to succeed to the throne
instead of their own boys. It is doubtful whether they could have felt
kindly towards him in any case. Being what they were, both ambitious
and unscrupulous, they did everything they could to ruin the boy. He
was surrounded by persons who turned his thoughts towards subjects
unfit for him, and who led him astray at an age when he should have
been attending to his schoolbooks. The sudden change from a life of
convent-like severity to one of the greatest dissipation and licence
was sufficient to turn the head of any young man, and much more so that
of the heir-presumptive to a brilliant throne. When he appeared in a
ballroom the women flattered him, not for position perhaps so much as
for his youthful grace and manners. The Archduke and his wife threw
in the way of the Archduke people of vicious life, who did their best
to ruin him in every way. The frivolity of his disposition, mingled
with a certain lightheartedness that led him to take nothing seriously,
saved him from these snares. The Archduke had him removed from the
Vienna Court, where he was far too popular, on the pretext that he was
“going the pace” too fast. The Emperor made inquiries, and discovered
that the Archduke was leading a comparatively simple life compared
with that of many of his elders. He was banished to his regiment
garrisoned on the Elbe; however, he got frequent leave to come to
Vienna _incognito_, when he could not interfere with his uncle, who was
so unpopular that he never ventured to walk about the streets like the
rest of the Imperial family. It is probable that, instead of lessening
his popularity, these long periods of enforced absence endeared the
young Archduke to the hearts of his future subjects. He, too, knew
how to speak a number of languages and dialects. Italian he spoke
like his native tongue, and he knew French, the diplomatic language
of the Balkans, thoroughly. He knew Czech really well, and also spoke
Hungarian, having learnt both languages as a child. The heir to the
throne knew neither, not having learnt them when young, as there were
several lives between him and the throne. All these facts made him less
inclined to love his nephew, who seemed to possess all the graces that
he lacked. All the machinations against him, although actuated by the
deepest hate, had no result because of his simplicity of character.
When he returned to Vienna after a long, enforced absence, he went at
once to the Belvedere and thanked his uncle and aunt for the kind care
that held him far from the capital. He did not say that he had all the
amusement that he needed. He had been present at every _première_ of
importance, assisted at many balls that did not figure in the columns
of the papers devoted to Court news, and generally had an amusing
time without being trammelled by the strict etiquette that would have
regulated his movements had he been in the capital on an official
visit. Always smiling and good-humoured, he never even noticed the
machinations that were directed against him. He was high in favour
with the Emperor, who often expressed the wish that the younger man
were coming to the throne instead of the next heir, for Archduke Carl
had never caused him a moment’s uneasiness. This was saying much at a
Court where most of the youthful members had committed some breach
of etiquette at least, many of them having caused the Emperor much
trouble by their love affairs. Archduke Carl, instead of a variety of
_affaires_, had offered all the warmth of his youthful devotion on the
shrine of one of the most amusing and accomplished Vienna actresses.
He carried flowers and flung them on the stage at her feet very often,
and showed his preference in many ways. As the lady was already a woman
far on in years, she accepted his boyish devotion without allowing him
to do anything compromising for his future. She acted the _rôle_ of
the good fairy who saved the prince from all the snares spread for his
undoing. When the Archduke fell in love with an old playmate at a Court
ball, he made his actress friend his first _confidante_. The Archduke,
like most of his relations, married solely for love, and was able to
accomplish his desire, although there was much opposition in some
quarters. Princess Zita, of Parma, the daughter of an old and decaying
race, was a child of the Vienna Court. She had been convent-bred, and,
like her husband, she was educated partly on English lines. She had
spent some years at the convent at the Isle of Wight, where several of
her near relatives occupy important positions among the Sisters. She
lives part of the year in Italy, and is essentially Italian in type and
character. Her great charm of manner fitted her to become an Empress;
the only objection that could be made to the match was that she came
of a family of worn-out stock already related to the Habsburgs, and
not likely to improve that degenerate line. This objection would have
been considered fatal at some Courts. At Vienna the fact that Princess
Zita was distinguished for her piety and was completely in the hands
of the Church over-rode all other considerations, and the match was
allowed to proceed. It has turned out most happily. The Viennese were
pleased to have a Princess that they knew. They made no secret of the
fact that it was a grave mistake to import princesses. They said that
such young women did not know enough to hold their own against the
intrigues of the family, who were invariably jealous of the “first lady
at the Court.” The women did their best to poison the young lives of
imported princesses with tales of scandal and by other less reputable
means. Princess Zita had a crowd of powerful relations to stand by her
and protect her from the harm that befell the late Empress Elizabeth.
She was well acquainted with the atmosphere of the Court, and, like
a child at home, knew how to avoid all the pitfalls spread for her
undoing. Princess Zita accompanied her husband everywhere when it was
possible. Before the war she travelled over the whole of the Galician
frontier in his company. With deep understanding of the character of
the peasants, she purchased their livestock at the exorbitant prices
they demanded for her poultry farm. Unlike Duchess Hohenberg, who
complained that she was overcharged when the peasants asked too much,
she threw away sums of money, small intrinsically, but large in the
eyes of the poor inhabitants of the land. The progress made by the
newly-married pair was a great success. The birth of a son, while
putting a seal upon the popularity of both, undid the hopes and plans
nourished at the Belvedere. Duchess Hohenberg despaired of seeing
either of her fine boys upon the throne. The remainder of the Court
held a brief for Archduke Carl and Princess Zita, and protected them
against Duchess Hohenberg. Little Zita had grown up among them, and no
one grudged her the high place she occupied. She did not even displace
the “first lady of the Court.” Archduchess Annunziata, the niece of the
Emperor, immediately resigned her place to the younger woman who was
to be the future Empress, but the little Princess was too much taken
up by her duties as mother to learn the whole of the strict etiquette
that the “first lady” is called upon to observe. Her aunt arranged,
therefore, to preside at the more formal functions, where the Princess,
who was nothing but a child, might make some dreadful mistake, and
to instruct her gradually. This simplified matters greatly for the
Princess, who thus made no enemies. Archduchess Annunziata had presided
at the Court ever since the tragic death of Empress Elizabeth. She was
tired of the burden, and wished to retire to her convent at Prague
for the remainder of her life. She took no pleasure in standing erect
and gracious on a platform at the top of the ballroom and saying the
appropriate thing to each of the dignitaries presented to her notice.
The _rôle_ that would have rejoiced Duchess Hohenberg beyond everything
annoyed her.
Archduke Francis Ferdinand and Duchess Hohenberg, sitting sullen and
gloomy at Konopischt, still tried to keep the heir-presumptive far from
the capital. He and Princess Zita were only allowed to show themselves
publicly in Vienna on rare occasions. This led to their being cheered
frantically whenever they did show themselves. Exaggerated stories
of the jealousy shown by the Archduke went all round the city. The
Emperor frequently called the younger man to his side, and was struck
by his modesty and mild demeanour. Archduke Carl was naturally most
unassuming. His personal attendants were much attached to him because
of his great generosity, but always said that he was impulsive to a
degree that made him difficult to arrange for; he made plans absolutely
upon the spur of the moment without stopping to consider.
Such was the young Archduke as he was known in Vienna when the
murder of Sarajevo altered the entire course of his life. The weight
of responsibility suddenly thrown upon his shoulders made him show
character--strength of character that must have been there all the
time, carefully concealed beneath the pleasant manners of a young
courtier. This was seen at the funeral of the victims of Sarajevo. He
insisted upon walking behind the funeral coach that bore his uncle and
aunt to their last rest. The Master of the Ceremonies at the Vienna
Court had arranged that no member of the House of Habsburg should
demean himself by paying this respect to the dead, and he represented
this to the Archduke on the steps of the railway station. The Archduke
became quite red in the face with excitement as he pointed out to the
amazed official that he was now heir to the throne, and that he would
decide upon what was the correct thing at Court. All Vienna saw and
applauded. He walked alone behind the coffins as first mourner with the
air of sadness and solemnity which the occasion demanded. At the same
time he freed himself from the domination of the much-dreaded Master of
the Ceremonies once and for all.
The Archduke and his wife were naturally pro-Italian. Even before his
marriage the Archduke had always shown more sympathy for the Italians
than was felt by other Habsburgs. The happiest days of his life had
been spent on Italian ground at Viareggio, where he was able to live on
the water far away from the Court and its exigencies. He was inclined
to trust the Italians, and, unlike his uncle, disliked the Slavs. He
was, too, decidedly pro-British before the war. When he was selected to
go to England to represent the Emperor, he made his preparations with
the greatest alacrity, pleased to think that he had been chosen for the
mission.
Kaiser Wilhelm regarded the heir-presumptive to the throne as a young
man of no importance in his schemes. He believed that a youth who
was so thoroughly under the influence of his mother had neither the
character nor the intelligence to oppose his plans. Kaiser Wilhelm,
perhaps, neglected that obstinacy which is a leading characteristic
of the Habsburgs, and which has enabled them to resist many an attack
upon their prerogative in the past, and may have an important and
unexpected influence on the future. While the late heir to the throne
of Austria-Hungary was entirely in the hands of the Jesuits, neither
Emperor Francis Joseph nor his present heir ever allowed them to
dictate in affairs of State. They held that religion and statecraft
were different matters that must be kept scrupulously apart.