No. 53

The Kaiser's train arrives at the Knopischt station.

“Why the Magyars?” asked Herbie with feigned innocence.
 

Wilhelm rubbed his chin for a moment, glad for a chance to express his command of history. “The Magyars settled in Hungary around the seventh century. With Saint Stephen, who introduced Christianity, the history of Hungary began. Stephen was the first King of that country. A feudal society arose with the Magyars gaining great power. After the 1848 revolutions, Hungary became a constitutional kingdom in union with Austria. The Magyars remain ball-busters in the politics of the Dual Monarchy.”


Herbie hung his head down. “In preparation for our trip, I should have read something about the history of Austria-Hungary!”

“Not to worry, old fellow,” laughed Eric. “The finest social scientists can’t seem to make head or tail of that conundrum!”

Willy smiled and asked, “What’s the difference between a Magyar and a wurst?”

Falkenhayn took the bait. “I surely do not know and do not want to know. However, I am certain that my Liege will tell me!”

“The answer, my friend, is that the wurst tastes good, but the Magyar doesn’t!”
 

Herbie and Eric forced a giggle just to please the Kaiser.

"Please, Chief,” beseeched his A.D.C., “may we return to the subject of the

Archduke?”
 

“Yes, yes, of course,” said Wilhelm. “His bad temper frequently gets him into trouble, for he possesses a complete disregard for anyone’s rights when they infringe on his own whims. Hunting for Ferdie is his catharsis. He has a passion for slaughtering game and I’ve seen him gloating over the agonies of dying animals. He shoots everything in sight, male and female animals alike. He never gives any of his kills to the local people. He shoots and moves on. I have watched towns people sneak up after he has gone away and take the animals back to their homes.”

“On the other hand, Ferdie grew into a man with a strong and energetic personality. He is intelligent and very, very religious. By temperament, he is excitable. He is self-contained and has few intimate friends. I consider him a friend, but not for more than a few hours! Particularly after listening to him spout his Catholic beliefs.”

The special train slowed down as it approached the small station of Beneschau. Herbie peered out of his window. On a nearby hillside rose a three-storied, gleaming white Schloss, its huge double towers with its red conical roofs gave it a Grimm’s fairy tale appearance.

“Excuse me Chief, I just wondered if Rapunzel lives in one of those towers brushing her long golden hair!”

Eric stepped on Herbie’s foot.

Franz Ferdinand, accompanied by two colonels, waited at the train station. All three wore full dress uniforms. The archduke’s blue tunic and kepi, was simple in design. His medals were limited to a Saint Steven’s cross and a colored bar of awards. An honor guard of a dozen dragoons stood at rigid attention. Each man’s uniform consisted of light blue tunics, crimson riding pants, and highly polished black leather boots. Their gray helmets looked like overturned flowerpots.
As the Kaiser stepped from the train, the officers snapped to attention. They held their salute until returned by their guest. Medals and gold cord, down to the waist, clustered Wilhelm’s field-gray Dragoon uniform. With his left hand, he grasped a gold-handled sword. He sported a tan Pickelhaube topped with a golden Prussian spread eagle embossed with Mit Gott für König und Vaterland.

Schornstein gave the Archduke the once over and was impressed with the man's
strange appearance. First of all, his face did remind Herbie of a potato. His bushy eyebrows and high forehead emphasized his deep-set eyes. From behind dark shadows, bright blue eyes stared at the visitors. His full mustache remained stiff as he spoke suggesting that he did not move his upper lip. His articulation was so rapid that he went from one sentence to the next without a pause. Only an occasional cough interrupted his train of thought.

The fifty-year old Ferdinand kissed the fifty-four year old Wilhelm on both cheeks while shaking his hand vigorously. “Thank goodness you are here,” he whispered to his cousin. “Willy, you are about the only person of authority that I can trust and with whom I can get things off my mind. We will spend time tramping in the woods where there is much game to shoot. You and I will renew our friendship!” Then the Archduke grabbed his cousin tightly and kissed him several more times.
Wilhelm jokingly cautioned his greeter that if he held him any tighter, he might become the new Kaiser of Germany!
A red-faced host loosened his grip and laughed at his own excitability. After
introductions, a chauffer led the group to two limousines. The group settled in their automobiles, Ferdie and Willy in the lead car and the Aides brought up the rear. The entourage moved slowly from the one-room railway station down an elm tree-lined avenue. Cheering on-lookers lined the roadside. Most of them waved Austrian and German flags.

Francis Ferdinand paid little heed to the boisterous crowd. Instead, he pressed Wilhelm for information about his family. “What is Empress Dona up to and how are your sons and your daughter? Have they bred you any new grandchildren? What schools do they attend? How is everyone’s health?”

Wilhelm patted Ferdie’s hand. “Relax, old man, we will have plenty of time to talk about such matters in the comfort of your home!”

From the railway station, it was but a short distance to Knopischt Schloss.
At the palace gate, the automobile came to a halt. An elegantly uniformed military
band blared music quite unfamiliar to the visitors. When the band concluded its greeting, providentially a brief one, Franz Ferdinand told his chauffeur to continue on his way. Once inside the palace grounds, the scenery changed into a new world. Peacocks strutted around everywhere. Statues of Greek gods popped into vision every few yards. Diana, goddess of the hunt retained a central place near the palace. In several odd-shaped ponds,
ducks and geese flitted about quacking as though the Archduke’s entourage intruded upon their privacy. Several chained black bears lazed beneath trees in the nearby woods. Nurserymen attended flower gardens that were in full bloom. Horses lay in the sunlight, totally ignoring the noisy automobiles. Completing the scene were dozens of water fountains, their crystal murmurs reminding one of life that is calm and placid. Each fountain gave off different shaped outpourings. Some shot straight as an arrow into the air forming plumes at their highest point and then plummeting back to their basin. Others gracefully arched and flapped like the wings of a bird. Several sloped gently down and formed cascading water falls.