MEMOIRS OF PRINCESS LOUISA.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXI, Issue 58, 23 October 1911, Page 2

MEMOIRS OF PRINCESS LOUISA.

INTRIGUES OF A ROYAL PALACE. : ' A HUMAN DOCUMENT. Princess Louisa of Tuscany, exCiown Princess of Saxony, has written the story of her life, which slio calls “My Own Story.” 'lhe book is written in the English language and edited by an English friend of the author. ‘ It has been translated into German, ; French, and Italian, and each of these editions has been edited by the Princess Louisa herself. The copy is written in most fluent Euglisn", absolutely up-to-date, and almost -American in its . colloquialism. The English publisher of the book, it is said, was offered a large sum for its suppression. It is certainly outspoken. There is nothing that'the Princess waiited to say that she has not said, and in good round terms. . Everyone knows that the Princess Louisa ofTuscany was, at the age of 21, married: to Frederick August, Crown Prince of Saxony. This was in 1891. I They lived together for ten years,-and five children were born to them, three boys and two girls. The Crown Princess "was young, full of animal spirits, unconventional, and affectionate. Court life was irksome to : her, and she chafed under it. All might have gone well if it had not been for her father-in-laW, the late King George of Saxony, and her sis-ter-in-law,' the Princess Mathilda, who was never her friend. The Crown Princess says in .her introduction that she has written this book that her children may read end know the true story of their u.Ollier's life, and that for her flight from , Saxony and the royal palace she had good cause. She .does not quite explain the episode of M. (lion, flic French tutor of her children, who she isent for <to join her in Switzerland, but she' exonerates him from any faulty land says that it was only because hey promised to stand by " her •if she ever needed his protection in time ■ of need that he came., 11 ;While her personal glimpses ofEuropean Courts and ruling personages are-: interesting, she does not fnake • any very, remarkable revelations, and the portion of the volume that will attract most attention is her story of her own downfall. The , following extracts .suffice to give the outlines of the tragedy:— “My worries really began when the bicycle craze affected Dresden society. I was very anxious -to learn, and ask-, ed my husband whether he had any objection to my doing so. He * was quite'in favour of-, it, and I arranged to take private lessons, always, ’of course, acconpanied by , a lady-in-wait- • ‘The Queen objected, but later, when she learned that itr had become a royal sport, she withdrew her opposition. In the meantime she ‘had accused the Princess Louisa of riding in public in the, company of actors. The story was absolutely untrue, but the Queen wanted to believe it. and did. PETTY TYRANNY MADE HER SOFT SOUL CARIOUS. “These petty tyrannies soon began to have a bad effect on me; I grew hard and regardless of what I said, and occasionally did things out of sheer defiance to the existing powers. My father-in-law never lost an opportunity of goading me to desperation, ' and he was usually most vulgar in his methods. /“When, the King of Saxony died and Prince George was elevated to the throne he made no concealment of. his delight. “My father-in-law simply revelled in his new dignity, and kept-on ringing- -the-bell furiously,, sojely 1 for the pleasure of heating the fawning flunkeys address him as ‘Your Majesty’-; it was life to him, and he seemed to me positively indecent in his unrestrained joy' ■ “During an interval of taking coffee, he turned to us and said coarsely: ‘Well, goodness knows I’ve waited long enough to become King; in fact, I was tired of waiting. I would have 1 made you Regent, .Frederick August, but you are a useless creature, and as for you,- Louisa, you may'as well understand that you have all your work cut out before you can become a Queen.” “Yes,” chimed in Mathilda, “Louisa is indeed far too democratic; she takes- a ridiculous interest in the. people, and never remembers the duties .of her station.’ “I did not answer, and she continued : ‘ / “ ‘Now we must clearly understand our respective positions." I, as the King’s eldest daughter, shall naturally take precedence of you, Louisa.’ “ ‘Certainly not,’ said, my husband angrily. ‘Louisa is Crown Princess, and she will therefore pre'cede you.’ “I was heartily sick of the discussion, so I said earnestly: ‘Have- it your -own way. Gela m’est Men egah’ The whole proceedings 'Were disgusting to anyone with a grain of sentiment or self-respect. Here' was the Royal family quarrelling and disputing over precedence and money matters .before the late King, had been dead twelve hours. Even his old servants seemed to have forgotten him - and redoubled their efforts to please the new sovereign. It was, indeed, a case of ‘Le roi est mort. Vive le roi f> ” • ‘One' chapter of this book is after the manner' bf Zola, entitled “J’accuse,” ; and in it the Princess Louisa says emphatically:— “I accuse Baron George von Metzsch, now Controller of the Royal Household, of being the active instigator of the intrigues which led to my leaving Dresden ■ and to my ultimate expulsion from Saxony. .. . . “Von Metzsch was hand in glove with King Albert and my father-in-law, who took him unreservedly into his confidence and never did anything without consulting him. Mathilda, too, was his alley, and she reported to him all my doings and enlarged and commented on my harmless ' eccentricities, unmindful of the fact that her own peculiarities made her the butt of the Socialist newspapers, and that 1 she was regarded as a huge joke ' -all over Saxony. “George ron Metzsch laid his plans with diabolical icunning; his !spies wore everywhere, and Tie was so skilful that ,1 was at that time never able positively to identify him as the instigator of the infernal machinery which was slowly but surely set in motion to undermine my reputation and my happiness. “My husband was the only useless item in von Metzsch’s schemes, for Tiis line character and purity of mind made him incapable of believing ill of anyone and lie steadfastly discountenanced malicious gossiji. 1 was surrounded by enemies, and were it ant that my father-in-law is dead and unable to answer my accusations I would not hesitate to produce th* proofs that I possess of his relentless, vindictive methods towards mo. “Oh, how I suffered in those days! 1 have often tried to show some nobility of character and forgive those who injured me so deeply, but I cannot. The iron has entered far too deeply into my soul; forgiveness may come later, but at present 1 have banished it from my heart. I was like .-.ome wiid bird .that lias fallen into

the snare of tlie fowler and is caged for evermore. Often 1 stood at my window at eventide and watched the happy hurrying people going on their homeward way, and 1 envied them so much. They' at any rate, could live as human beings—to me it seemed forbidden to do anything but suffer. WARNED HER HUSBAND. “I. was practically friendless, and how I longed for someone in whom 1 could confide! My husband was invariably kind, but when 1 endeavoured to tell him my troubles and explain how tilings really wore he could not, or would not, realise that such wickedness existed. . ‘To all my entreaties that he would test the truth, of any statements he answered: ‘But . . . why . . . what reason can there be for such a state, of things?,! don’t notice anything different;, why do you worry?’ “It was like .beating: my head against a wall, so little did 1 impress Frederick August,-, and at last I gave up in despair.”, . ). Slio bogged her husband to take her away—to Egypt,- anywhere. “‘Let us go ,to Egypt,! • I urged. ‘lf I am safe with: you J shall be at rest. You alone can I beg, I entreat you to protect me from those who are trying to ruin me.’ But all in vain. My husband merely said that I was over-imaginative and hysterical as a result of my condition, and that it was'quite impossible for him to leave Dresden on account of his father’s health. If I really wished it we; could travel later. .‘.‘‘Later.,’ T sobbed, ‘may he too late, Frederick.’ “Oil, if my husband had only been less of a good man! In his eyes a woman and a mother was so sacred that he could not conceive anyone culminating her, and the traditions ,of his house made him- think iV Jlmpossible that people: [would ever dare to hint evil of the Crowm Princess of Saxony.” ; -.u •»! >.t n.; t It was not until ■ she discovered that it was the scheme of: her enemies to put her -in! aii frisaine asylum that the Princess Louisa auade up her mind to flee from husband, children, and home. Frau von ■ Fritsch, who was a'favourite of the King, in a fit of rage confessed ithe plot: ■ i . ! “ ‘All—you talk bravely, Imperial Highness, but let me toll .you that your accouchement will take place in the Asylum of . Soniienstein; your father-in-law and I have arranged all the details, and your rooms! are even now prepared for you.’ LEFT NO ALTERNATIVE BUT FREEDOM OR A MADHOUSE. “Left alone, I tried to calm myself in orderTo look at my desperate situation in \ll its aspects, and I am sure few human beings have over been placed in such a terrible predicament. As I had anticipated, M. Giron’s sudden departure had forced the King’s hand; it had evidently been intended all along to brand me either as, an, ggfnithfu!. wife or as a lunatic; the first plan had failed, as there was not the faintest proof that any liaison existed between M. Giron and myself; so the other expedient was resorted _,to by my enemies.” Things went from, had to worse, and the Princess Louisa asked permission to visit her father at Sahdmrg. This was granted, but she did not find the. sympathy from her heretofore kind parent that she had. expected. She became desperate, and arranged with her good-natured brother to aid her in escaping to Switzerland. This he did, and . there she arrived penniless and alone, for he deserted her on the way, having become infatuated with ,a red-haired peasant girl.-----"WumWi her youngest child, , Monica, was born. Later she resigned the child to her husband. The vegsou the Princess gives for sending for M. Giron, with whom her name had been associated to her discredit, was to compromise herself that her husband might easily divorce her, which ho did at once. Now she is married to. a plain hut rich. Italian, and is trying to live the simple life which always appealed to her. In concluding the story of her strenuous Hfo, which ojjtromances romance, the Princess Lpgisa says.:— “1 have been described as a frivolous, woman and a heartless mother, who left her children-, in a most cruel manner ; but as I am now giving the whole truth to the world, I leave the world to judge who was the more cruel—a hunted, persecuted woman, who fought for her liberty, or the unscrupulous enemies who drove her from 'husband, home, and children.” Probably most correctly the solution of her conduct is easily summed up in the fact- that she was a HabsInirg!