A ROYAL TRAGEDY

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 89, 14 April 1917, Page 11

A ROYAL TRAGEDY

HEIR TO AUSTRIAN THRONE

WHO MURDERED THE ARCH-

DUKE?

Grant, Richards, and Co., London, have recently published a book on the tragedy of MeyezUng, when th« Austrian Archduke Ruaolph was found dead. The Suggestion ithat the book makes, and fche facts and circumstances it produces in' support of it, are. of absorbing interest and high importance, and; at the finish one is inevitably led to deep anduneasy reflections, according to the Daily Telegraph. Within these covers the great Royal mystery of the death at Meyerling,' near Vienna, in 1889, of the Archduke Rudolph, Crown Prince of Anstria, is examined afresh, and an abundance of new and most remarkable evidence is produced. As everybody knows, the- official verdict on this tragedy, issued at the time; and included in the books of reference still, is that Rudolph, in company inth. Marie Vetsera —who died at the same time and place— committed suicide. The old formula of love ia. sufficient to solve many mysteries o£ life, especially ■when life is young, and, strange as were the circumstances, it 'was considered enough even in this case, especially when applied by Royal command. Bat as time went on, vague uneasiness arose in regard to this matter. Points in international politics came to ibe considered; doubts were forced^ And from the first .accepted and still prevailing official decision that Rridohph shot himself, there was a tendency in the-minds of people to regard it as a mystery, with no special effort to define ' exactly the nature of that mystery. It is necessary to remind ourselves of these ' circumstances of not very distant history to appreciate properly the case presented by this book, the work of one who was for a period and at the time of his death the_ personal private secretary. and most intimate associate of ithe Archdnke himself, with ■whom he was in continual and mo3t confidential companionship.

A GERMAN MURDER?

Now, let it be stated simply that the clear and definite suggestion made in this book is thai the Crown Prince did not commit suicide, but that he was assassinated by four Germans who went to Meyerling specially for the purpose; that it was an international State conspiracy, engineered . and prepared for many years, and not unknown to the present .Kaiser himself/ who was, indeed, opposed. in the matter by Bismarck; and that the reasons for it were the Kaiser's fear that Rudolph's enlightened policy and democratic views, and his strong popularity with his people, might lead to a great development of Austria which would be at the expense' of Germany. For the benefit of the new Germany, therefore,, : Rudolph was to be blotted out! What the author of this book, or the diarist as he, is termed, does is- to lay before his readers a long sequence of facts which.piece with each other in the most remarkable manner, and make' the circumstantial evidence against Berlin appear of the most damning character. The diarist does not labour his direct accusation; in fact, he never exactly in so many words accuses the Potsdam Court of the assassination, but just places his evidence quietly and in a highly entertaining and anecdotal form before us, with, as it seems; not: a link missing; and then when the bodies are found and the official explanation is given,' he simply points to a few discrepancies that are not only a little peculiar in themselves, but are fatal to the official story. To bo plain, the question is whether we are to believe wholly and completely—for- them* can- be no half-measure*—thw secretary's story ac not. This witness is obviously and excusably partial, but that very fact assists us in our ■ judgment, because it enables us to discount altogether his animadversions on William and ' some others, and' be fully fair ,to them. Again,: the •witness's memory for the long speeches made to him by life friends and distinguished people whom he met is auspiciously acute, and he has anecdotes for everybody and everything. AMAZING CIRCUMSTANCE.

La. essence its evidence comes- toi-^hisre^ We have a long, and, carefully-constructed statement showing the Archduke's- popularity, hia attainments and his ambitions, and, again, something in the nature of a corresponding statement of the German policy.,; indicating how the latter is threatened by the former. This is written from withm, and' with much anecdote. As time went on there were vagne feelings about the existence of international jealousies upon the higher scale, and Rudolph was continually warned. When the dead bodies were' found at Meyerling some farewell' letters, supposed to have been written by Rudolph just before suicide, were discovered in "the room. : This_ was" the best and most convincing point in the official' explanation, for the- writing was exactly that of the Archdnke. But the:witness gives here an account or the way nrwbich he had discovered long'before that for some unknown purpose the*'copying: of Rudolph's writing was being ]Kacttsed mast assiduously by certain agents in Germany, and that RudolphV private stationery had come into ■•■ their hands. As to Marie Vetsera and the lqVe-despair theory he shows that the old liaison was broken off, and that the girl's sudden ■viast to him at Meyerling the night before the tragedy took Rudolph completely by surprise. When she showed him a letter from him in boa own hand-wxitang, asking her to come, he. toH her it was a, forgery. The «uggestion here, Jhen,.» that the conspirators adopted this way of getting the girl to Meyerling because .her presence' and death 'would afford such a simple and satisfying explanation of the whole affair.. • The witness had- been, with Rudolph right up to the*time when thelatter went to Meyerling for.some shooting, and reports that he was cheerful and happy. He did not accompany Rudolph tins time, but was staying-at an inn not far distant on the night before the tragedy. The landlord' reported to him that four strange Germans had just been lodging there, and these Germans were prowling in the vicinity in a mysterious manner 'just before the tragedy. ... Other suspicious characters were also about. And, finally, the witness, who saw the bodies i immediately after-ine tragedy,, urges that the position of tfea- wounds and that in which, the bodies weee found were quite inconsistent with the.fiuicide explanation; wJiile, on the other hand, all the facts pointed' to the window of the apartment, which was on the ground floor, having been opened, and to assassins having done, their work.

The. Telegraph balds tha* no more remarkable story of its kind" has ever* been advanced, but after what we- have seen and discovered in. the last two or three yeaia it cannot be considered" too remarkable. It must be remembered also that there has been every reason for the author's suppression of it hitherto. He assnres us that ere long he will be justified.