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By Root 494 0

king surrounded and defenceless. This was how they themselves saw the situation in 1912. Their reasoning was thus: who needs an army? The country? Not at all: only the king needed an army. Who needs a navy? Well, the king needed a navy; and if he wanted it all that much then he must be made to pay for it and pay for it by conceding the opposition’s just demands. Of course he would give in because the pressure of world affairs would make it imperative for him. The worse the international situation became, the more they would insist on their demands being met, and they would squeeze the old sovereign until he would be forced to concede all they asked. Now, just as they had come to believe that this policy was working and that the government was preparing to surrender, what happens? The king announces that he is going to quit the game and let his successor take his place at the chessboard. It was a hard blow; and as unfair and as unsporting as the player who slams his fist down on the table. It was more: it was not the act of a gentleman.

Though that is what everyone thought, no one said it openly.

Fredi Wuelffenstein came as close as any to saying frankly what was in his mind. He was standing in the doorway of the Szechenyi Room holding forth to a group of younger men in the belief, not entirely justified, that they admired him. Noisily advancing the left-wing view, he said, ‘We mustn’t fall for this! The King is only bluffing. He just wants to scare us, which isn’t at all what we might expect of him. Of course he won’t abdicate! Never! Not he! It’s bluff, nothing but bluff! He believes we’ll all be so scared of what the Heir’ll do that we’ll just give in; but we won’t. Anyhow, what would happen if Franz-Ferdinand did become King? All he could do would be to come to some arrangement with us. We wouldn’t crown him if he didn’t; and without a coronation there’d be no King! Even the Belvedere must accept that. It’s one of Hungary’s most sacred traditions…’ and he went on, ever more loudly and brashly, and always repeating himself, as people do who have only a meagre vocabulary at their command. Each time he said the same thing again he beat his fist like a hammer as if this would serve to convince his audience.

Then Niki Kollonich intervened. At the last elections he had come into the house on the Popular Party ticket. He was just as prying, insolent and insincere a man as he had been a boy; and he loved to stir up trouble. Now, he asked mildly: ‘Surely I remember you saying last autumn that we ought to pay court to the Heir, to His Highness the Archduke Franz-Ferdinand?’

Wuelffenstein nearly exploded with rage because what Niki had said was only too true. Not long before, through his sister the beautiful Countess Breezy, he had managed to wangle an invitation to shoot at the Archduke’s place at More; and all that had happened had been that his host had completely ignored him, failed even to give him the time of day and indeed had not appeared even to notice his presence despite the smart English clothes he wore each day. This had continued for the whole three days of the shooting party – not a word, not even a glance. The only result of the whole expedition had been that back in Budapest, where the news of his presence in the enemy’s camp had been widely trumpeted, poor Fredi now found himself an object of suspicion in his own party.

‘I never said any such thing!’ he shouted. ‘All I said was that the Heir should be kept informed, that we should see that he knew what we wanted. Someone ought to tell him that we’ll never give in, and that we won’t yield an inch. He’s got to know that without our co-operation the Crown gets nothing! That’s what I said. Without us there’ll be nothing, no army, nothing, just nothing!’

Niki then added, in admiring tones, ‘Of course you told him that when you were shooting together, didn’t you?’

‘I’ve always said it, and to him too … at least I would have done if the occasion had arisen … but he doesn’t impress me, I can tell you that! Nor anyone else either for that matter. And as for the Archduke,