My own story
\.^* **^\ v.*** ■i>S' **'\ *;fc.Q« .^^°- ^^-^K 5 .•iii.% "^^ % 1^ '>6' 0*0 '•«o' "- • • A ^V <\ » • • • » ▼ ■^ 'bV "^^^ • ••' 4C^ .'Ml* ^6 A b/ :;a^'- ^^0^ ^'. *^ .*" .-Ji^/;;.-. %- .**' /ie«s-. '«. .*" .ti%/;< 4Y OWN STORy BY LOUISA OF TUSCANY EX-GROWN PRINCESS OF SAXONY TRANSLA VISION OF WITH 19 ILLUSTRATIONS a p. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON Xtbc Itnfcfterbocfter press 1911 MY OWN STORY BY LOUISA OF TUSCANY EX-GROWN PRINCESS OF SAXONY TRANSLATED UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE AUTHOR WITH 19 ILLUSTRATIONS G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON XLbc •Rnfcfterbocfter ptess 1911 -^ Copyright, igii BY G. P, PUTNAM'S SONS Copyright for the British Empire and the other countries signatory to the Berne Convention by EvELEiGH Nash i Ube 'Rnicftetbocbec press. I^ew ISotb 11 ICI.A295984 PREFATORY STATEMENT I HAVE frequently been urged to make a public repudiation of the various inaccurate state- ments which, for nearly ten years, have been circulated regarding my life and actions. Hitherto I have maintained silence, because I have disdained to reply to those who have maligned me. It has, however, been indicated to me that as my sons are now approaching an age when the mendacious assertions in question may be communicated to them, it is my duty, as their mother, to make public the actual reasons which led to my leaving Dresden, and to my ultimate banishment from Saxony. That is my principal motive in publishing my own recital of the facts, and I am likewise desirous that future historians of the Houses of Saxony and Habsburg should not perpetuate errors through lack of contradiction on my part. I also wish to give an unqualified denial to the prevalent assumption that I am the author of Confessions of a Princess. I neither wrote 5 6 PREFA TOR Y ST A TEMENT the work, nor supplied, directly or indirectly, any of the material it contains, and I am at a loss to understand how any woman could be credited with writing such a revolting account of her amours. In conclusion my thanks are due to my dear friend Mrs. Maude Mary Chester ffoulkes for her kindness in helping me to prepare my book for the press. LOUISA OF TUSCANY CONTENTS CHAPTER I My birth and parentage — The Grand Dukes of Tuscany — How a princess became the mother- in-law of her own sister — My father's childhood — The Pitti Palace — Gloomy grandeur — Love laughs at locksmiths — My father's first mar- riage; his wife's death — The Grand Ducal family leave Florence — " One longing, lingering look behind" — My father's second marriage — My mother and her family. 19-36 CHAPTER II Salzburg — The Palace — Early days — My father — His genius for organisation — The education of a princess — ^An impromptu bath — Lessons — A dull life — The power of the priests — Palace tyranny 37-54 CHAPTER III All about my relations — My uncles — Duke Charles 7 8 CONTENTS PAGES of Parma — His collection of watches — A rare specimen — The teeth that did not fit — A ducal wardrobe — " All-a-blooming " — Visits and visi- tors— Vienna — The Empress Elizabeth — How her hair was dressed — ^A long walk — The Empress presents me with the Stem Kreuz Order — Our last meeting. 55-70 CHAPTER IV Marriage projects — Much of a muchness — Dom Pedro — My first visit to Saxony — The Castle of Moritzburg — The Coburg alliance — "Aunt Coffee- Mill ' ' — ^A screaming interview. 71-88 CHAPTER V Domestic scenes — Arrival of Prince Frederick- August of Saxony — I accept him as my future husband — Our betrothal — "A chevalier sans reproche" — Marriage formalities — My trous- seau and jewels — I bid good-bye to Salzburg — The Hofburg — The act of renunciation — My wedding day — " Golden Roses " — My little train-bearer — An old superstition — How it came true — We leave for Prague — The Emper- or's train de luxe. ,. 89-106 CHAPTER VI Hradschin and its surroundings — The Ghetto at CONTENTS 9 PAGES Prague — ^A discourse on the chosen people — We go to Dresden — Popular excitement — Our State entry — Roses everywhere — The Taschenberg Palace — Rococo furniture and bad taste pre- dominant— The dog that bit every one — Excite- ment and fatigue — ^We begin to settle down — I resolve to make the best of my life. 107-116 CHAPTER VII A royal family — My father-in-law — His fanaticism — Princess Mathilde — Her love of ants — Her piety — Dress and appearance — Her curiosity — Prince John George — Lives of the Popes — Prince Max of Saxony — CleanHness and godli- ness— Mutual antagonism — " C'estmalheureux que tu sois venue dans notre famille". 1 17-134 CHAPTER VIII My first visit to Berlin — The Emperor William — What I think of him — The green chiffon dress — Customs and ceremonies — The ghostly car- riage at the Royal castle — The treasure-house — Some stories about August the Strong — His ugly daughter-in-law — ^A defiant Electress — Carried away in earnest — The fate of a prac- tical joker — The frightened blacksmith — The strong man indeed .... 135-150 10 CONTENTS PAGES CHAPTER IX Motherhood — Birth of the Crown Prince — ^A quar- rel with my father-in-law — Popular enthusiasm — "Our Louisa" — Domesticity — Country life — Mathilde and the strawberries — An " enfant terrible" — The creche — The Socialist's baby 1 51-172 CHAPTER X The Court circle — "Noah's Ark" — Calico and crochet — Drink and gambling — The German Emperor — His power in Saxony — The invasion of England — The Archduke Franz-Ferdinand as a possible ally — The Opera at Dresden — I see it from the gallery — The affair of the Collier — Faust at the Court theatre — Royal visitors 173-186 CHAPTER XI Why and wherefore — Explanations — Mixed blood — ^A story of the French Revolution — The bicycle craze — I am reprimanded — Petty tyranny — The pearl necklace — The recipe for a popular Queen of Saxony. 187-202 CHAPTER XII Sturm und Drang — Death of King Albert — An un- comfortable journey — The woman in black — At Sibyllenort — Family disputes — " Le Roi est il CONTENTS II PAGES mort" — We return to Dresden — ^A thirsty princess — I meet the German Emperor — " My political friend " — King Albert's funeral — A wreath of water-lilies — The spectral cat — The midwife's prophecy .... 203-214 CHAPTER XIII J'accuse 215-230 CHAPTER XIV I leave Dresden ..... 231-250 CHAPTER XV My arrival at Salzburg — A fruitless interview — My brother protects me — We agree to fly together — A night adventure — We start for Switzerland ..... 251-262 CHAPTER XVI I arrive at Zurich — My future sister-in-law — A rude awakening — My terrible position — The only way — M. Giron joins me — A wild-goose chase — The secret police — Their fruitless journey — Legal proceedings commence. 263-278 CHAPTER XVII Apr^s moi le deluge — The people's sympathy — The 12 CONTENTS PAGES stone throwers — Blind justice — ^Money versus honour — The letter that never reached me — I enter La Maiterie — Bolts and bars — A plague of nurses — Cold food but comforting chocolate — A spirit in prison — I look far back — ^My awakening ..... 279-296 CHAPTER XVIII I leave La Maiterie — A reconciliation with my parents — Birth of Monica — The chalet at Wartegg — I interview the Socialist leaders — The Red Queen — Death of my father-in-law; his remorse — Hope deferred — The eccentrici- ties of the Habsburgs — The story of John Orth — " I will return ". 297-320 CHAPTER XIX The Emperor Francis- Joseph — His power in family afEairs — The tragedy of Meyerling — What I know about it — ^The body under the cover — The Story of Isabella of Parma — "Three hours, three days, three years " — ^I resolve on a coup de tete — Once again in Dresden — I am arrested outside the palace — The attitude of the people — I leave for Leipzig — A wonderful reception — I learn the value of disinterested affection 321-346 CHAPTER XX Popular feeling in Saxony — Life at St. Domenico — CONTENTS 13 PAGES I am not allowed to remain in peace — Alma Muth, spy — The King of Saxony's lawyer arrives in Florence — An interview at the Con- sulate— I refuse to surrender Monica — The siege of the villa — I turn Alma Muth out of the house — She goes to Pegli  London, W. MY OWN STORY CHAPTER I My birth and parentage — The Grand Dukes of Tuscany — How a princess became the mother-in-law of her own sister — My father's childhood — The Pitti Palace — Gloomy grandeur — Love laughs at locksmiths — My father's first marriage; his wife's death — The Grand Ducal family leave Florence — " One longing, lingering look behind" — My father's second marriage — My mother and her family. 19 CHAPTER I T WAS born at the Imperial Castle of Salz- biirg on September 2, 1870. My father was Ferdinand IV., Grand Duke of Tuscany, and my mother was Princess Alice of Parma. Genealogical details are frequently dull, so I do not propose to write at any great length about my family history. My father's ances- tors had reigned in Tuscany since the death of Giovan Gastone, the last Medicean Grand Duke, in 1737, when Francis, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife the Archduchess Maria-Theresa, assumed the sovereignty until the death of Charles VI. made them Emperor and Empress of Austria. Their second son, Pietro-Leopoldo, then took the title of Grand Duke, and he was succeeded by his son Ferdinand III., who had married Princess Louisa- Maria- Amalia of Na- ples. Ferdinand, who was the first sovereign to enter into diplomatic relations with the French Republic, died in 1824, and his son, afterwards Leopold II., was my paternal grandfather. 22 MY OWN STORY Leopold being very delicate as a young man, it was considered desirable that he should marry early, with the object of securing the succession. Princess Maria-Anna-Carolina of Saxony was chosen for his future wife, and negotiations between the two Courts resulted in a marriage by proxy taking place at Dresden in 1817. The Princess, a highly nervous girl, was so terrified at the idea of meeting her unknown bridegroom that she refused to leave Dresden unless accompanied by her sister, to whom she was devotedly attached; and cajoleries and threats failed to change her decision. The two girls, therefore, arrived at Florence, and the unexpected happened, for the old Grand Duke Ferdinand III., who was a widower of sixty-nine, fell in love with the unmarried princess. He shortly afterwards married her, and in this way she became the mother-in-law of her own sister. Two daughters were born of my grandfather's first marriage; one died when she was sixteen; and the other, Princess Augustine, married the present Prince Regent of Bavaria, who recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday. In 1833, my grandfather married again, his second wife being Marie-Antoinette, daughter of Ferdinand MY OWN STORY 23 III., King of Naples, and his wife Caroline, a sister of the ill-fated Marie-Antoinette of France. Queen Caroline seems to have possessed con- siderable individuality, and she must have been a woman of exceptional courage and iron constitution, for she insisted on accompanying her husband to the wars, and rode by his side, indifferent to discomfort and fatigue. She had sixteen children and nursed them all herself; the youngest infant went through these cam- paigns with her, in charge of a nurse, and the Queen used to dismount at intervals and suckle her baby, sitting by the roadside, undisturbed by wars or rumours of wars. Her last child was in fact almost born on horseback. Napoleon Bonaparte found an unexpected champion in this strange woman, who was the grandmother of Marie-Louise. She had always regarded him as her peculiar enemy, but after his downfall she was touched with compassion, and strongly resented the efforts made by the Viennese Court to separate him from his wife. "II fallait, " she declared, "que Marie-Louise attach^t les draps de son lit a sa fen^tre et s'echappat sous un deguisement. " My grandmother had ten children, my father 24 MY OWN STORY being the eldest. I have dim recollections of her, but she did not emulate her mother, the redoubtable Caroline, in a single trait; she was stiff, a slave to etiquette, and a bigoted Catholic, entirely in the hands of the priests. She was, however, intelligent. We were always very much afraid of her, and she was mean to miser- liness; indeed, to dine with grandmother meant getting hardly anything to eat. She died near Salzburg in 1898, a lonely, coloiu'less woman; and heredity, so strong in our family, gave to her children the individuality she had been denied. My father's childhood was passed in Florence at the Pitti Palace, which George Eliot has described as "a wonderful union of Cyclopean massiveness with stately regularity." The story goes that Luca Pitti, the opponent of the Medici, built it to outrival the Strozzi Palace, and he is said to have boasted during a banquet that he would build a palace with a court-yard which would alone be able to contain the whole of the Palazzo Strozzi. The build- ing was not completed until the middle of the sixteenth century, when it came into the pos- session of Eleanor of Toledo, the wife of Duke Cosimo I., and it was thenceforward the home MY OWN STORY 25 o£ the Medici until my ancestors became Grand Dukes of Tuscany. The Pitti is too well known to need detailed description. It has always struck me as im- posing in its cold way, but I do not think it could ever have been a "home" for its occu- pants. The salons are splendid, the art trea- siu^es are wonderful; but it is cheerless, and the only rooms in it which I ever covet are the tiny boudoir and bathroom of Marie-Louise, which are decorated and furnished in the best Empire style. My grandfather's Court was as gloomy as the Palazzo Pitti itself, and the Grand Ducal children were brought up most strictly. At five o'clock every morning they were expected to say "Bon jour" to their parents, a proceed- ing which entailed much ceremony. They were taken to an anteroom adjoining their parents' bedroom, and with their governesses and tutors in close attendance the little princes stood on one side of the salon and the little princesses on the other. All conversation was forbidden, and when five o'clock struck, the Groom of the Chambers threw open the great doors and they walked in solemnly and kissed their par- ents' hands. Coffee was then served, and the 26 MY OWN STORY children took formal leave and went to their lessons. Ten o'clock was the luncheon hour, when all the family met, and my great-aunt, Princess Louisa, was always much in evidence. She was a dwarf, with the crooked, malicious mind that so often goes with a crooked body. She had very long, monkey-like arms, and when- ever she was displeased she woiild fling them out like the sails of a windmill and hit which- ever of her ladies-in-waiting happened to be standing nearest to her. She was an odious little creature and hated everybody who was young and pretty, with the result that she was cordially detested even by her own relations. After lunch the children played in the Boboli Gardens, which were then better kept up than they are to-day. I shall always remember how disappointed an English friend of mine was when I took her to see the gardens for the first time. She is a romantic person, who quite expected to see something very beautiful and not the badly trimmed hedges and ragged grass which met her horrified gaze. At eight o'clock came the diner de ceremonie, which the children heartily enjoyed, as they had had no food since ten o'clock in the morning, Photo by Kollertanar, Budapest. MY father: FERDINAND IV, GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY 27 MY OWN STORY 29 and my father has often told me how raven- ously hungry they used to become. Papa was a handsome young man with black curling hair, brown eyes, and an amiable expres- sion. He was of medium height, slender and well knit, full of energy, and possessed the best disposition in the world. He was very clever, and acquired any number of accom- plishments, as well as being proficient in the more serious studies which his future position required. Like most of the Habsburgs, papa was al- ways attracted by a beautiful woman, and he fell in and out of love very easily. At the age of eighteen he had an affaire de cosur with a petite hourgeoise, who lived near the Pitti Palace ; but directly it was discovered he was shut up in his rooms for a fortnight, and forbidden to see or to correspond with the fair one. At last the youthful lover discovered a means of com- municating with his inamorata. He procured a large sheet of cardboard, on which he cut out the letters of the alphabet, and covered over the cut-out portions with transparent paper. When night fell he placed the sheet of card- board before his open window, put a lighted candle behind certain letters until he had 30 MY OWN STORY completed a word, and in this ingenious way conveyed his messages to the girl, who stood in the street facing the palace. Papa was only twenty-one when he married Princess Anna, the daughter of King John of Saxony, who translated Dante under the nom de plume of " Philaletes. " Anna's mother, Queen Amelia, was a daughter of Prince Maxi- milian of Bavaria, and a twin out of two sets of twin girls. Her own twin, Princess Eliza- beth, married Frederick William IV., King of Prussia; the other twins, Sophia and Marie, married respectively the Archduke Franz-Karl (father of the present Emperor of Austria) and Frederick- August II., King of Saxony, and it is thus remarkable that two sisters became in turn Queens of the same country. Princess Anna captured all hearts on her arrival in Florence, and when she died in Naples, three years after her marriage, from typhoid fever contracted through eating oysters, she was universally and unfeignedly lamented. Her little daughter, Marie- Antoinette, was taken to Saxony and brought up by her grandparents at Dresden until she was fourteen, when her father remarried. She was a gifted girl with a charming talent for versifying, but she died MY OWN STORY 31 of consumption at Cannes in all the promise of her youth and beauty. My family's connection with Tuscany as reigning Grand Dukes terminated after the defeat of the Austrians at Solferino. The terms of the Peace of Villafranca compelled the Emperor to surrender Lombardy to Victor Emmanuel and also to consent to the incor- poration of Tuscany into the Italian dominion. My grandfather was intensely Austrian at heart, and he refused to consider any decree which made him a constitutional sovereign. The political situation became so menacing that the Grand Ducal family had to leave Florence in precipitate haste on April 27, 1859. The fugi- tives were my grandfather and grandmother, my father, then a widower of twenty-four, and his little one-year-old girl, my aunts and uncles, and the widow of the old Grand Duke. It was a magnificent day, intensely hot, with cloud- less azure skies, and as the carriages containing the Royal Family left the Pitti Palace, crowds thronged the streets and impeded the horses' progress. The Florentines viewed their Grand Duke's departure quite calmly, many saying with smiling affability which greatly enraged my grandfather, "Addio, Babbo Leopoldo. " 32 MY OWN STORY The travelling carriages soon left Florence far behind, and only clouds of dust showed the road taken. The state of the Grand Ducal family was not an enviable one, for they had left home so hurriedly that they had no personal belongings of any kind, and everything, even to baby clothes, had to be bought en route. The gorgeous tapestries, exquisite pictures, jewels, enamels, gold and silver plate, and art treasures of every description were left behind at the Pitti; and when King Victor Emmanuel went to the palace he slept between sheets embroidered with the arms of the fugitive Duke. When the unhappy exiles reached the heights from which a beautiful view of Florence is obtained, my grandfather ordered the carriages to stop, and he and his family alighted in order to take a last farewell look at their home. They were all very much affected, and with one accord broke down and wept bitterly. They sat by the roadside in a tearful row and endeavoured to recover their composure, but when my aunt proceeded to dry her tears the awful fact was discovered that no one in the party had a pocket handkerchief. This was certainly unpleasant, for the tears, coursing down cheeks already MY OWN STORY 33 covered with dust, had left dirty and gritty channels which did not improve the appearance of the "illustrious" family who were in despair at their ridiculous position. The situation, how- ever, was saved by my grandmother, who on this occasion displayed a little of her mother's originality. Lifting her voluminous skirts, she took a corner of her equally voluminous lace petticoat and with extreme care and delicacy proceeded to wipe away the tears and dust from the faces of her family, until, at last, somewhat more soignes they re-entered their carriages and continued their flight. After leaving Tuscany, my grandfather bought the Castle of Brandeis in Bohemia, and another residence near Carlsbad, called Schlakenwerth, where he spent much of his time. My father visited Schonbrunn, but he was very unsettled and miserable, and finally went to Bavaria. He spent his summers on the Lake of Con- stance, where Princess Luitpold had a villa, and eventually built a villa for himself, on quite original lines, at Lindau. He would not employ an architect, but had the work car- ried out under his directions by an engineer and a few workmen. Papa's interest in house- building did not, however, commend itself to 34 MY OWN STORY my grandfather, who wished him to marry again. The Grand Duke always hoped to be re-estab- Hshed in Tuscany, so he strongly urged my father to look out for an eligible princess, and he, like a dutiful son, at once commenced a roimd of visits "with a view to matrimony." His choice fell on Princess Alice of Parma, whom he met at the house of her uncle, the Comte de Chambord, who resided at Frohsdorf near Vienna. Princess Alice was the daughter of Louisa, Duchess of Parma, whose mother was the Duchesse de Berri. She had married Duke Charles of Parma when a mere girl, and her handsome but flighty husband was murdered (some say at the instigation of a gentleman jealous of his wife's honour) at the early age of thirty-two. Troubles broke out in Parma which event- ually ended in a revolution, and the Duchess with her four children fled in disguise to Switzer- land, where they lived for two years, practi- cally penniless, in a tiny house near Zurich. Things changed, however, for the better, and the Duchess bought the Castle of Wartegg near Rorschach on the Lake of Constance; but she MY OWN STORY 35 did not like Switzerland, possibly on account of some unpleasant memories, so she went to Venice, where she bought the Palazzo Cavalli in order to be near her half-brother, who lived there. The Duchess died at Venice of typhoid fever at the age of forty-two, and her illness was so sudden that she did not see her children before her death, as the girls were at the Sacre Coeur Con- vent near Bregenz, and the boys at the Jesuit Seminary of Feldkirch. When the education of the young princesses was completed, the eternal question arose of marrying them as quickly as possible. One married the late Don Carlos, Duke of Madrid, and the Princess Alice became my father's wife. The marriage took place on January 11, 1868, and on December 2d, of the same year, a son, the first child of a family of ten, was bom. My mother was a pretty, petite, fair girl at the time of her marriage, full of energy, and quite ready to enjoy life thoroughly after her dull upbringing at the convent. She danced exquisitely, was a fine shot, a good horsewoman, and before the babies followed fast on each other's heels, she lived solely for amusement. Her jewels are wonderful; she has some of the finest diamonds in Europe, and possesses what 36 MY OWN STORY to my mind is worth more than all — a famous necklace of Marie-Antoinette on the design of which Boehmer lavished all his skill. After my father's second marriage, the Em- peror of Austria, his third cousin, gave him part of the Imperial Castle of Salzburg for a residence, and there I spent my childhood and girlhood. CHAPTER II Salzburg; the Palace — Early days — My father; his genius for organisation — The education of a princess — An impromptu bath — Lessons — A dull life — The power of the priests — Palace tyranny. 37 CHAPTER II TN 1870, my grandfather died, and my father, the Archduke Ferdinand, became Grand Duke of Tuscany. He had previously promised the Emperor Francis-Joseph that he would never attempt to go near Florence on account of the political situation, and the title of Grand Duke was conferred upon him for life ; after his death it was stipulated that his children should be known as Princes and Princesses of Tuscany, as well as Archdukes and Archduchesses with the style of Imperial and Royal Highnesses. The Emperor, as I have before stated, placed part of the Imperial Castle of Salzburg at my father's disposal, and there we spent our child- hood. Salzburg is a picturesque town, about seventy-three miles from Munich, surrounded by mountains, and its only claim to fame seems to be that it was the birthplace of Mozart. The palace, which is so extensive that it is possible to reach three different churches with- out leaving its precincts, was built by the 39 40 MY OWN STORY Archbishops of Salzburg, about 1600, and these prelates were grands viveurs in every sense of the word. When they tired of the restraint and gloom of the castle, they quietly disappeared down a subterranean passage which led to a charming villa called Hellbrunn, and there they were able to pass the time more pleasantly than at the episcopal palace. When I was a child, the palace was the sad- dest and gloomiest place imaginable. It was certainly very imposing, but it was also ex- tremely uncomfortable as a residence, and there was nothing artistic about it, inside or out. It was not properly kept up; it looked fast falling into decay, and in some rooms the once expen- sive wall coverings hung in damp discoloured strips which were never replaced. Grim stories of secret murders clung round this depressing place, and I remember how frightened we were as children when we were told that the pictures in the Grand Gallery came to life at night, and that the dead and gone princes and princesses got out of their frames and wandered from room to room. My father, who was quite Florentine in his ways, kept up an Italian entourage as much as possible and preferred Italian servants to any MY OWN STORY 43 others. He had a wonderful personality, and I feel it is only right for me to pay tribute here to the memory of this best of fathers and most charming of men. I loved him devotedly; he was our playmate and entered into our nursery life before we commenced the dreary treadmill existence which was called education for our future positions. My happiest recollections of my dear father are of the times when I sat by his side with my brothers, listening to marvel- lous fairy tales for which he painted illustra- tions, and cooking all kinds of sweet "messes" over the nursery fire. He was often away from Salzburg, as he used to shoot with the Emperor Francis-Joseph and the Crown Prince Rudolph, who was his especial friend and confidant. When he was at home he was an indefatigable worker; he managed all his Tuscan properties (the Grand Dukes were great landowners and some of their Italian estates are still in the family), but since his death they are under the jurisdiction of the Emperor, who now sees to nearly everything in connection with them. Papa was up and about every morning at four; he worked all day, and only allowed himself the relaxation of a walk or drive. He had a strong constitution and an iron will, though 44 MY OWN STORY his temperament was emotional and excitable, and lie was adored by his seventy-five servants, for he was a just master who entered into all their personal interests and did not know the meaning of false pride. Religion, as practised in Roman Catholic Courts, was regarded by my father with good- humoured contempt. "Religion," he used to say, ''est seulement religion d'6tiquette. " He lived in a world of his own ideals, but was, with all his imaginative tendency, a very prac- tical man, orderly and punctilious to a fault, and quite as business-like as any banker or lawyer. He liked to know how every detail in his household arrangements was carried out, from the decoration of the State apartments down to the management of the kitchens; he was at home everywhere' — and he made his presence felt. He and I were absolutely in sympathy with each other; we were not demon- strative, but a perfect understanding prevailed, and all I know that is useful I learnt from him. Our nursery days were over when we reached the age of seven, and when the knell of that happy time sounded we commenced our educa- tion. Since I have left Palaces and Courts I have been greatly amused at the interest taken MY OWN STORY 45 by the public in the doings of royalty, and especially of royal children. The English news- papers teem with the sayings and doings of little princes and princesses, and display breath- less interest in their pony-riding, boat-sailing, and other amusements, which are, after all, only the usual occupations of well-bred healthy children; but I take it that these accounts are inserted to please that worthy British middle- class whose gods are respectability and royalty. I wonder if the public has the faintest idea of what the "education de prince" really means. As the Christian's life is supposed to be a con- stant preparation for eternity, so the life of young princes and princesses is a constant preparation for their future position. The day when we bade good-bye to oiu" nurses, we also bade good-bye to childish things, and were handed over to tutors and governesses to be moulded into the most approved patterns of deportment. We were supposed never to ques- tion anything, but merely to become clever automata. How tired I used to get of hearing, "Don't get into a carriage in that way;" or, "Imperial Highness , if ever you wish to become a queen, it will never do to enter a room as you do — practise repose. " It was always the 46 MY OWN STORY same; we were not educated for ourselves, but merely to live in the eyes of the world ; our young lives were sacrificed to position, and we were not supposed to possess any individuality or display any emotion. Those who possess a grain of understanding will realise how awful such a life is to the un- fortunate possessors of temperaments, and I think some of the Habsburgs, myself included, have suffered martyrdom through the tortures of this restricted and artificial upbringing. On the other hand, there are placid unimaginative royalties, who take everything that comes with complete indifference. I have cousins who are quite content to possess distasteful husbands who were chosen for them. They seem quite happy on the royal treadmill, and no doubt their lives are in many ways preferable to the storm and stress which comes to those who try to open palace-gates and find the road to free- dom. "What will the people say? What will the people think?" That was the parrot-cry that we heard from morning to night, till at last we learnt to look on the people as a sort of fetish, to be placated at any cost, and if ever one said, "Bother the people," one was told of the fate which overtook unconventional MY OWN STORY 47 royalties who dared to trifle with the populace, and my own beautifiil ancestress, Marie- An- toinette, was always held up as an example to me. My governess persisted in saying that if Marie-Antoinette had never played at being a farmer's wife she would never have been guillotined. On the other hand, the docility of Marie-Louise was always quoted as the proper spirit for a princess. If she had defied the Emperor of Austria and joined Napoleon in his lonely exile, she would have had . a very uncomfortable time, and would have found Longwood far less pleasant than Parma; but as she obeyed her family, she was made Duchess of Parma, had plenty of money, unlimited toilettes, and her subsequent marriage ventures with semi-plebeian husbands met with no active disapproval. I felt somehow that I should never become a Marie-Louise. My inner self was always strug- gling for mastery over outward forms and ceremonies, and my father was the only person in whom I was able to confide; but even he, with all his large ideas, was a little borne by tradition. I remember when I asked him if I might learn the violin, he replied, "No, it is not decent for a princess to play the violin." 48 MY OWN STORY Fortunately for myself, however, I was par- tially enlightened, when still a child, about the boredom of society at other Courts, for at the age of fourteen, part of my training consisted in having to attend the State dinners, where I was ptirposely placed next uninteresting people, in order to teach me the art of making conver- sation, a valuable accomplishment for any royal personage to acquire. My first defiance of authority happened when I was delivered into the hands of my governess. I was sisterless for eight years, and had there- fore been the close associate and playmate of my four brothers, who always aided and abetted me in mischief. One day I had been unusually troublesome, and as a punishment I was told I should not be allowed to have my swimming lesson, which was indeed a deprivation, as I thoroughly enjoyed swimming. That afternoon I went out for a walk with my governess and my brothers to a small lake near Salzburg, which was a favourite summer rendezvous of the ''smart" Salzburgers. There were a number of small pleasure-boats on the lake, and we had our own boat waiting for us. My governess sat in it, looking the picture of pompous responsi- MY OWN STORY 49 bility, and outwardly we were the best be- haved royal children in the world. Our progress greatly interested the crowd, and probably this was what led to my brother Leopold whis- pering to me, ''Let's do something." An inspiration seized me. Turning to my governess I said, "May I bathe, please?" ''What, Imperial Highness? No — quite im- possible." "May I jump in now, please?" I asked again, to the subdued accompaniment of joyous giggles from my brothers. "No." I wasted no more time, but dived out of the boat, fully dressed as I was, and swam about, to the consternation of the spectators on shore, and to the furious dismay of my worthy govern- ess, who screamed: "Come out, you bad girl!" one moment, and scolded my delighted brothers the next. However, I was able to get back without accident, and arrived at the palace wet but still defiant. As I went up the great marble staircase, I met the Emperor's brother, the Archduke Ludwig- Victor, who stared at me in great astonishment, and finally burst out laughing. 50 MY OWN STORY "Well, Louisa," he said, "what on earth have you been doing?" "I 've been taking my bath, " I replied. "It looks like it," he answered, surveying me, while pools from my dripping clothes were rapidly forming on the stairs; "and it seems to me," he continued, "that you always will do as you like," and giving me a good-natured pat on my wet shoulders he went his way. When I reached my bedroom I had an exces- sively unpleasant interview with mamma. She, too, looked at me in astonishment, and when she found words she said: "Only one thing is possible, Louisa, and that is to send for the doctors at once, for you must certainly be mad." Left alone with my governess I remarked: "You see what your 'punishment' has done. It was quite useless, and you need never try and stop my swimming lessons again." My education was indeed a strenuous one. I worked nine hours a day, and was obliged to go in for the regular university course. Every year I had to attend the examinations at Salz- burg, and I well remember a particular history examination when I was about fourteen. I was asked some questions about Maria-Theresa, MY OWN STORY 51 and to everybody's astonishment I said loudly: "I think Maria-Theresa was quite right to choose a husband for love, and not be forced into marrying any one — that 's a stupid thing to do." But I stopped abruptly, awed by the genuine dismay of the horrified professors, and my own historj?- master turned pale at the thought of the interview with my parents, which was bound to follow as soon as they heard of my tirade. No outsider can imagine how uneventful my life was as a child and young girl. Salzburg itself is a dull town, but the palace was duller than a week of English Sundays. No light literature was allowed; we saw no newspapers except Catholic ones; we were never allowed to visit picture exhibitions, and only at rare inter- vals were we taken to concerts or to the theatre. It was an absolutely conventual existence, and its similarity to such a life was enhanced by the perpetual presence of the priestly element within our gates, while our collection of rosaries and prayer-books would have done credit to an ecclesiastical museimi. The whole atmosphere was redolent of reli- gion, and the Jesuits were the "Power behind the Throne" at Salzburg, as indeed they are at 52 MY OWN STORY most Catholic Courts — indeed it would be im- possible to give any idea in these pages of the influence and authority of the priests. They concern themselves in all the family affairs, and their influence is to be feared and deplored, as it is not always exerted for good. Their calling makes one apt to forget that, after all, they are only men, and so their advice is not infrequently sought on most intimate things, often with lamentable results. I have no wish to attack the priests, although I have suffered greatly at their hands. There are priests of the character that makes saints and martyrs, but there are others who take advantage of their calling to do and say things utterly abhorrent to good taste and decency, and many a young princess has to answer at confession questions which should not be asked. Should she ever hint that she will complain of these personal questions, she is met with the threat that her confessor would in that event inform her parents that he had sorrowfully observed evidences of a perverted nature, which would make the convent the proper place for her. Palace life is a network of petty tyranny, for everybody preys on and tries to rule over some MY OWN STORY 53 one else. The entourage seem to think that their mission in Hfe is to issue orders and to ape their masters, so that even as a child I was made aware that envy, hatred, and malice are greatly in evidence in a palace, and, in short, that the Christian virtues are rare there. CHAPTER III All about my relations — My uncles — Duke Charles of Parma; his collection of watches — A rare speci- men— The teeth that did not fit — A ducal wardrobe — " All-a- blowing ' ' — Visits and visitors — Vienna — The Empress Elizabeth; how her hair was dressed — A long walk — The Empress presents me with the Stern Kreuz Order — Our last meeting. 55 CHAPTER III T^HOUGH my paternal grandmother pos- sessed no pronounced characteristics, my father and his brothers were most interesting and uncommon personalities. My uncle, the Archduke Ludwig-Salvator, is a highly original person and a gifted and learned man. He has spent his entire life in research of every description, and is an authority on geography, natural history, and botany. He owns a beautiful villa on the island of Majorca, called ''Miramar" after the Emperor of Austria's castle; there he leads what he considers the ideal "simple life," the main element of which consists in doing exactly what he likes. He lives like a peasant, wears sandals and loose linen trousers; his skin is burnt a deep copper colour and he works indefatiga- bly in his vineyards and gardens. He has a boundless love of Nature, is perfectly pagan 57 58 MY OWN STORY in his theories, and I think I am right in saying that he is a Sun Worshipper. My Uncle Ludwig is on excellent terms with the country folk, but strangers are anathema to him. He was a great friend and kindred spirit of the late Empress Elizabeth, who occa- sionally came as a welcome guest to his mountain retreat. The Archduke loves his yacht, which is always kept in readiness lest at any moment he should decide to put to sea. He was once wrecked off the African coast, where he and the crew narrowly escaped capture by some of the hostile tribes. He wrote a book about this adventure, entitled Shipwreck: or a Midsummer Night's Dream, and in it he describes his yacht as being "the only place that I can call home." I think I am imbued with some of his love of solitude, for I am never so happy as when I am alone with Nature, "the world forgetting, by the world forgot." My father's second brother, the Archduke Charles-Salvator, also disliked the restrictions of Court life. His chief amusement consisted in riding about in omnibuses and trams, and these democratic tastes caused the municipal authorities many anxious moments. He was a wonderful craftsman, and his "locksmith" MY OWN STORY 59 work was a marvel of delicate ingenuity. His son, the Archduke Francis-Sal vat or, who is very clever, married the Emperor of Austria's daughter, the Archduchess Valerie, and my uncle died only nine days before his first little granddaughter was bom. The Archduke John, my father's youngest brother, better known to the world as "John Orth," has had such a romantic career that I shall later deal with it at length. My father's sisters were not so interesting as their brothers. 