stitutional forms, than a despotic gallows régime. During the first years of his rule there were frequent executions. Some of them had no substantial reason. Such was the legal murder of thirteen Hungarian generals in Arad. That was an incident explained by the disorder and bitterness of the period, and it should not be charged against the young man of eighteen years who then was on the throne but was in no sense the real ruler. Nor should he be held responsible for the executions which the ruthless military masters of the Empire carried out during the war in Galicia, Bosnia, and Serbia.

Equally untrue is a statement that he was the instigator of the World War. That is a charge specifically made by the Social Democrats. Nothing betrays the unscrupulous campaign of slander and fanatical distortion which these people have employed more glaringly than this unfounded charge. No monarch was more desirous of peace than Francis Joseph. This was not merely sentiment with him but almost a superstition, burned into his being by bitter experiences with unsuccessful wars. He temperamentally disliked making serious decisions and he personally wanted repose, nothing but repose. So characteristic was the latter sentiment that his impatient courtiers used to complain bitterly that the only sentence he knew was: 'I want to be left in peace.'

Comparing this consciously distorted picture of Francis Joseph with its opposite we find some traits in the more flattering portrait that are justified. He did possess a profound sense of duty and great industry; he had the polish and dignity of a ruler. His memory remained remarkable to advanced years. In short, Emperor Francis Joseph was a grand seigneur in the fullest sense of the word, and his

personality was beyond question one to inspire sympathy and respect.

But after saying this we cannot justly overlook the darker side of the man's character. First of all he possessed an exaggerated sense of his own position. His belief that he was monarch by the grace of God, and was of different clay than other men, permeated his entire being. He never condescended to equality or to anything approaching equality with other men. Even in his own domestic circle he never came down to a familiar footing. The necessity he occasionally felt to be a human being found complete satisfaction in his rare intercourse with a few familiar friends and his grandchildren.

This deeply rooted belief in his own majesty made him intolerant and contradictory, especially when he was young, and disinclined him to give his ear to what was not personally pleasant. This disposition is illustrated by a characteristic scene, where the Emperor took great offense with one of his generals who, returning from the campaign against Denmark in 1864, made a report emphasizing the vast superiority of the Prussian needle rifle to the Austrian muzzle loader. The Emperor took this as a personal affront, and would not listen to the possibility that the Prussian weapon was superior. He dismissed the embarrassed officer with every evidence of his displeasure.

Of course, this natural tendency was encouraged by the attitude of his courtiers. On one occasion, when the Emperor was present at the opening of a great hospital, instructions were given that some extra doors should be made in order that he might not be obliged to retrace his steps in passing through the institution. On the same occasion the Emperor made a little speech- that is, he read it from a memorandum and stuck the paper in his pocket afterwards. This caused

great concern to the committee in charge who wanted his remarks for the newspapers. So they requested the Emperor's adjutant to ask him for the manuscript; but the latter refused, saying that such a request would be disrespectful. Thereupon the founder of the institution, a famous Vienna physician, who though a perfect gentleman was not a courtier, himself approached the Emperor to request the manuscript. The latter handed it to him without further comment.

While Francis Joseph was just as fully convinced of his divine appointment as ruler of his people as was William II, his native courtesy and courtly training prevented his advertising his sentiments in the offensive way so characteristic of the latter. His ideas were the same, but he knew how to repress their manifestation; and his feeling of duty forbade him as a constitutional monarch to express absolutist sentiments, although he cherished them in the bottom of his heart.

Self-control characterized the old Emperor, not only in his political acts, but also in private relations. For instance, when he visited art galleries he never criticized the new school paintings which he so abhorred. His comment was merely, 'That is rather extreme for me.' This reticence in expressing judgments characterized his political utterances and made his views seem commonplace. The public made a joke of his stereotype remarks, 'It pleases me very much,' 'It seems very beautiful to me.' But the sarcasm was not really just. His observations were mere commonplaces, to be sure, but the most brilliant of men could not have

spent a half century visiting exhibitions, knowing beforehand that every remark he made would receive serious attention, without acquiring a habit of being non-committal. We can be quite certain that he would have liked

often to say spicier things, but his sense of duty forbade. It was only in regard to military matters that he felt it incumbent upon himself to express positive opinions. At manœuvres and reviews he could be stern and exacting. He had an extraordinarily quick eye for military externals, and consequently was rather feared by his officers.

Not only did the old Emperor lack all trace of real originality, but he was deficient in scientific and artistic training. He never improved by subsequent reading the scanty knowledge he had acquired as a very young man, before ascending the throne. Books played practically no part in his life.

The sixty-eight years of Francis Joseph's reign were no blessing to his Empire. He had the excuse, so far as his personal responsibility went, that the problem presented by an empire composed of nations rent by violent national discord was a supremely difficult one. Not only did he lack well pondered statesmanship, but he lacked a happy knack of doing things. He was always involuntarily blundering and hitting upon the most unsuitable people for important posts. In spite of vast experience with public affairs he never learned to know his fellow men. In his youth he was unstable in his opinions, swinging from one extreme to another: in his old age he acquired a distaste for making decisions, and postponed action upon questions affecting the vital interests of his realm. So finally the avalanche that had accumulated from these untouched problems, overwhelmed his country.

[Berliner Tageblatt (Radical Liberal Daily), January 3]

the most absurd fictions get into circulation. A recent conspicuous example of this is the tale being circulated by a prominent gentleman who recently returned from Amerongen to Vienna. He was the first Austrian to have a story. He had been more or less of a guest at Amerongen. Why should not his stories be correct, then? The world has no special reason to be interested in the matter, but the fact is that several guests have been received at Amerongen who were not at all the kind of people who should have enjoyed its hospitality. They proved this subsequently by spreading tactless gossip evidently employed in default of more substantial facts. The Emperor, of old habit, likes to see a great many people. An effort is being made to relieve his loneliness and unhealthy musing by keeping him surrounded with company. Possibly, an effort is made to get visitors. No one of his household is particularly experienced in the affairs of the world particularly in the affairs of the world of to-day-consequently a number of mere adventurers have received an audience. Some of them have turned out either hostile or inconceivably stupid. It will be better to receive there neither the Kaiser's devoted followers from the time when he held high position, nor empty-headed curiosity seekers who have a knack for procuring recommendations. As I said before, the best thing the world could do would be to forget Amerongen. It is simply not true that the people there are elated by hope. The Kaiser himself has aged greatly and shows signs of declining vitality. The trembling of his right limbs, which was hardly noticeable in the old days, has increased so as to be very obvious and rather to hold one's attention during an interview. The Kaiser has become corpulent, although he eats very little. He

still retains his military bearing. It is noticeable that he speaks very slowly, quite in contrast to his former habit. He displays vivacity only when he talks of old times. People comment that he will suddenly lose interest in the midst of a lively conversation and allow his glances to roam vacantly about the room. At such moments he inspires only pity. The world of which he is least conscious is the world of the present. No person who has interviewed the Kaiser at Amerongen and is competent to form a reliable impression, doubts for a moment but what this man, mentally distraught and physically weakened, will never again be able to engage in active service of any sort. When he is at his best he seems to enjoy for a brief interval whatever attracts his interest. He reads articles, discusses them, and exhibits solid information regarding many topics. But the grind of the war, the shock of defeat, and the constant thought of the future that may threaten him, have weakened his vigor of mind and will.

It is generally known that the Kaiser proposes to move to Doorn House, which he has purchased from Baroness Heemskerk. It is not far removed from Amerongen Castle. The large structure is near the edge of the Doorn Estate and hardly one hundred metres from the highway, so that it is exposed to the view of curiosity seekers. It is surrounded, like most other estates of the old Holland nobility, by a beautiful park. Some tenant houses are to be built in the vicinity. Work upon them is already started. The furniture has arrived and the roads now bear evidence of the heavy trucks that delivered it. It is stored for the time being in some vacant houses in the vicinity. The Kaiser paid a high price for the property. These preparations seem to indicate

that the former Emperor does not consider his stay in Holland a temporary episode. Quite the contrary. He no longer expresses the desire ever to return to Germany. That is all over. He considers Germany lost. The idea has become fixed with him that he was deceived, tricked, and deserted by his advisers and by the whole nation. He lets no opportunity pass to prove this in great detail. Simultaneously, he has developed an abnormal suspicion of other people.

Probably the plan is to enlarge the family circle by having some of the other relatives reside with him. At present the group is very small. Alsmall. Although the Crown Prince is in rather serious financial straits, he will not live with the Kaiser permanently. He remains at Wieriengen. The former Emperor's companions are General von Winterfeld-the former military attaché, not the general who was chairman of the Armistice Commission Captain von Ilsemann, one or two younger officers, and now, very frequently, Mr. Kriege, formerly an official in the Foreign Office, a man well known during his official life as a pedantic stickler for the observance of international law down to the smallest letter. The former Empress is in much better health. Her companion is Countess Keller. In addition to these, there are the servants—not many of them. Probably the whole personnel of the establishment counts a scant forty people. To all outward appearances, life passes on this estate much as it does at the neighboring country seats of this idyllic region.

Every visitor at Amerongen has to present an admission card from which a coupon is detached when he enters and another when he departs. All the former Emperor's letters, as well as those of his companions, are subject to censorship. The Kaiser himself is

interned. Dutch officialdom is not harsh, but scrupulously exacting in these matters.

[Germania (Clerical Daily), January 9]

IV. A Royal Traitor

'THE French Prime Minister, driven into a corner, seeks to escape from the net of lies which he has woven about himself, and does not hesitate to have recourse to the absolutely false and untruthful assertion that I have recognized, either directly or indirectly, the justice of France's claim for the return of Alsace-Lorraine. I repudiate this lying assertion with indignation.'

This is the telegram which Emperor Charles sent when Clemenceau made public the first information which the world received concerning the peace mission of Prince Sixtus, the brother of the Empress Zita. Compare this telegram with the letter which the last of the Hapsburgs wrote on March 24, 1917, and which he transmitted to President Poincaré. We see that Mr. Clemenceau's statement was not false; for we have a facsimile of the letter in the Daily Telegraph.

It was no secret that Austria-Hungary was an unstable ally, even before the death of Francis Joseph. The economic condition of the old Empire was rapidly growing worse. The sacrifice of life it was called upon to make continued to mount. Its constituent nationalities were striving to sunder the political ties that united them under the Hapsburg crown. Under such circumstances who would blame Emperor Charles for exerting all the influence in his power upon German headquarters to terminate the war? But even if his wishes found no hearing, he was not justified in taking the steps he did at Paris. Quite possibly, the former Emperor at first planned

merely to prepare the world for a general peace. But the revelations recently made prove that in the course of the negotiations through Prince Sixtus with the leading men of France, he made the decision to sacrifice Germany to his own interests.

Poincaré wrote the Emperor: 'It is for the interest of France, not only to preserve Austria-Hungary, but to enlarge that country if necessary at the cost of Germany by adding to it Bavaria or Silesia.' Among the four points which the Prince transmitted to Vienna as France's conditions, the first was that Austria-Hungary should recognize the right of France to Alsace Lorraine and do everything in its power to support those claims. Emperor Charles accepted this condition in his letter of March 24. He made no objection to the suggested enlargement of his own territories at the expense of Germany. He stated in an interview with his brother-in-law that he would even consent to have the left bank of the Rhine neutralized. A Catholic newspaper in Vienna is quite justified in commenting upon this dishonorable and faithless proceeding as follows: "The former Emperor Charles was a traitor to the German nation. He betrayed the nation both in the German Empire and in the Austro-Hungarian Empire: for Austrian Germans would never have supported him in such a treason.'

The next question is, what rôle did Count Czernin play in this attempt to obtain a separate peace? In the War Memoirs which he has recently published, he asserts that in spite of his opposition to the political views of the German military leaders, he always rejected the idea of a separate peace and strove only for a general peace. The mission of Prince Sixtus appears to have been entirely an affair of the former Emperor. In reporting an interview

which Prince Sixtus had on March 23, 1917, in Laxenburg, with the Emperor-where Czernin also was present later, the Prince says that the latter gentleman was very frosty and blunt; but that he did say that the Germans would never in his opinion give up Alsace-Lorraine and it might eventually be necessary to separate from them. This statement makes us infer that Czernin did not share fully the attitude of the Emperor. The next question is whether he knew the contents and wording of the Emperor's letter of March 24, 1917, where the latter speaks of 'the just claims of France to Alsace-Lorraine.' These words, it will be recalled, were the subject of a bitter controversy between Clemenceau and Czernin. They were repudiated by the latter. In a note which the Count appended to the letter of Emperor Charles, dated May 9, 1917, the former demanded that Austria should not be called upon to cede any territories except in exchange for other territories, but asserted that Austria was always ready to conclude an honorable peace with the Entente. Since the compensations were never named, one cannot reproach Graf Czernin with betraying his ally in demanding them.

These revelations affect not only Germany and Austria but also Italy. The Italian press is foaming at the mouth with indignation because England and France conducted these negotiations in March and April, 1917, without consulting Italy. The statement of the Emperor to Prince Sixtus, that a representative of General Cadorna had been in Bern early in May to offer Austria peace in return for the cession of Trent, has been vigorously denied by the former Italian commander. He says he would never have approved a settlement on that basis. The Italian newspapers back up this