Woman's World.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 127, 22 October 1914, Page 6

Woman's World.

I LIFTING THE VEIL SECRET CHILD OF AN EMPRESS. ROMANTIC CLAM OF A COUNTESS. A new chapter in the chequered history of the House of Hapsburg will be given, to the world in the course of the next few weeks in the form of a work entitled, "The Secret of an Empress.'' Die authoress, the Countess Zariardi l.andi, claims to be the unacknowledged 'laughter of the Empress Elisabeth .jf Austria, and in her book she explains how and why her Royal mother decided to bring her up in a human way, out of reach of Court intrigue and Papal influence. It had been arranged, she say*, that on the occasion of the jubilee of the Emperor Francis Joseph in IS9B she should be publicly acknowledged by the Emperor and the Court, but the untimely death of the Empress at the assassin's hands, almost at the moment when arrangements to this end wer* to be completed, kept her from the position that she asserts to he hers by right. REASON FOR CONCEALMENT.

The Countess, who is a lady of striking appearance, outlined to a London Daily News interviewer something of her history and tho purpose vrJiic.h had prompted the publication of the volume. "I quite realise," she said, "that two quite understandable questions will be asked by the public: Why was my birth concealed; and why did tho Emperor refuse me recognition? In the first place, it must be remembered that the extraordinarily circumscribed atmosphere of the Court in Vienna precluded any interchange of natural affection or solicitude between any Empress and her children. What more natural than that a true mother, with high maternal instincts, should wish to train her chill as her very own? In short, it was a victory of mother love over narrow Court restrictions. Her first four I children had been taken from her, and she decided that her fifth should be brought up as her own, in order that it might have scope to develop personality and power under her own guidance." Tho Countess, it seems, was born in Normandy in ISB2. The Emperor, she says, was about to undertake tho journey to Switzerland to meat her mother, in order to complete the arrangements for her public acknowledgment, when the Empress met her death the hand of the assassin Lucceni. She attributes the subsequent refusal of recognition to Court influences in general, and, more particularly, to Papal pressure brought to'bear upon an aged man. OFFER OF A MILLION IIARKS. Only a year ago, according to h f ;r statement, whilst in Vienna, striving to secure recognition of her claim, she was offered one million marks if she would promise to relinquish that claim. The sum, sho says, was indignantly refused. At every turn, she declares, the power of the Court lias hampered the presentation of her case, prohibited the attend-

aiice of witnesses in support of her claim, and tarred all access to thoso proofs of tlie birth in Normandy -which might establish it beyond doubt. As confidante of the Empress the Countess has some striking revelations of historical interest to offer to the world. '1 want to tell you," she remarked, "that the most entire freedom existed between my mother and myself. She explained to mo many things that I can on'y characterise as carefully guarded Court secrets. Take, for instance, the heartbreaking tragedy that resulted in the death of King I.udwig 11. of Bavaria. She told me the story in all detail a» it was toM to her hardly an hour aft-ir the event by cue who was there. NEW LICIIT OX OLD TRAGEDIES.

'•Without divulging,too much of th.e circumstances, I may say that in pathos and in reality the story differs entirely fi'Mn the popular belief. Again, when the world was thrilled with the horror of the tragedy at Meycrling, the death of the Crown Prince Rudolf, the Empress' only son, a garbled Tersion, very far from the truth, was all that was allowed to descend to/ current history, lint niy mother's narrative, as relate! to me, still fills me with horror at its implying relentlessness. My life's Wood," concluded the Countess, ",'s in this book, the contouts of which will be discovered to be the best proof that I urn what 1 claim to be."

SYDXEY Gmi.'S STORY. WEEKS ()]•' SURVEII.r.AN'CE. 'I'KOI'LK I/)\'K THE KAISER. London, October '). .Miss Dora Holmes, \rlio wiu for two years connected with the Voting Women's Christian Association in Sydmy. ''«* returned from Berlin.

When war broke out she was engaged in an oflien in the city, an I the lirst intimation she had was a tapping at the window by a Gorman neighbor, followed by the remark in English, "You get on J."' She was living in a hostelry like that she was living in Sydney. The matron of the institution, hearing the warning, dismissed her instantly with the remark: "You must leave." Miss Holmes was supported by Iho American Embassy for seVMi weeks. ond she had lo report to the police every third day. Gorman victories meant pleasant greetings at the police station while German reverses brought sharp taunts. The English, she stated, are positively haled. When Englishmen and women are seen in the streets, the police touch them on the shoulder and ejaculate: "You conic." whereupon they were lakeu to the station and placed in

x cell. They were given no explanation. Australians wero al owed their liberty, the Germans saying: "You are not English—you are totally different." An Australian family, who had been incarcerated, stated their nationality, and they were immediately released. "Hundreds of thousands of troops are endlessly passing through Berlin, but it is always at night," Miss Holmes went on, "because women encumbered them

when the marching was done in the day time. The Bpirit of militarism impregnates the whole population. Next door to where I lived a boy of eight formed * little army of children and drilled them until they wero as perfect as the Prussian Guard. They had captains, lieutenants, and sergeants. "A German ofliccr said: 'lf England had only waited six years we would havs had a navy equal to hers, and we would have become masters of the world.' "One afternoon I saw a German officer in the Unter den Linden. The boys quizzed him, and asserted that he was a spy. The police seized him and discovered that he was a Frenchman in a German uniform. The crowd . thumpod and kicked him, and the police took him away. Tic was instantly sTiot." Miss Holmes, who has no money, is seeking employment. ' She said that the people loved the Kaiser and they even considered him before their own parents.

Miss Holmes is a native of Sydney, and for two years was chief stenographer and typist for tho Young Women's Christian Association in Castlercagh Street. Last April, she left to gain a general business experience in Germany. TO WOMEN And through the boundless night of tears, That have foreknown the utter price, Your hearts turn upward as a flame Of splendor and of sacrifice.

Eor you, you, too, to battle go, Not with the marching drums and cheers, But in the watch of solitude And through the kindless night of tears.

Swift, swifter than those hawks of war, Those threatening wings that pulse the

Far as tho vanward ranks are set You are gone before them, you we there!

And not a shot comes blind with death, And not a stab of steel is pressed Home, but invisibly it tore And entered first a woman's breast.

Amid the thunder of the guns, The lightning of the lance and sword, Your hope, your dread, your throbbing pride, You infinite passion it outpoured.

From hearts that are a3 one high heart Withholding naught from doom and bale, Burningly offered up—to bleed, To bear, to break, but not to fail. —Lawrence Binyon, in the Times. DEMON OP DISCONTENT One often finds tlio modem young man dubious about asking a successful business girl to share his fortunes. Thcrt is a reason for this, too, perhaps. ! He realises, that she can afford to dress as her fancy pleases; and to pay for her pleasures as site chooses. He realises that if she marries him her expenditure must bo curtailed very considerably, and he fears that diseo»tont may arise.

Many of these men, however, reckon I without considering the one great lea- j turc of the average business girl—adaptability. In the course of her career she lias to adapt herself to various environments. Her experience bus given her a wider outlook on life. . A business girl who is happily married sends a very interesting letter on the subject:— "In my wage-earning capacity, like every other business gir!, I learned to look facts in the face. Method, confidence and a cheerful demeanor were part of tin; discipline. ''l learned, too, the value of money just how far a shilling would go. I had no delusions that married life would lw one long, pleasant holiday. "A business girl's instinct forces 'her to realise that she will have to proviih foi two on an income that formerly suiliced for one.

"Many a girl has considered this question, and, foreseeing that dissatisfaction would arise on her part, has very wisely admitted the fact and has remained unniii rried.

"Hut, just like every other businej-3 girl who truly loves a man, I was quite willing to foresako my career in order to make a home. And I found, to), that a real deep love can compensate for many of the lesser things of life. "f don't think any man need worry as to the future of the business girl as 'us wife. Her adaptability and her sen»e of fairness will put to flight the demon? of discontent."