History of the American Negro in the Great World War | Page 8

gave utterance to a remarkable prophecy. Tolstoy was a mystic, and it was not unusual for him to go into a semi-trance state in which he professed to peer far into the future and obtain visions of things beyond the ken of average men. The Russian czar was superstitious and it is said that the German emperor had a strong leaning towards the mystic and psychic. In fact, it has been stated that the Kaiser's claim to a partnership with The Almighty was the result of delusions formed in his consultations with mediums--the modern descendants of the soothsayers of olden times.
Tolstoy stated that both the Czar and the Kaiser desired to consult with him and test his powers of divination. The three had a memorable sitting. Some time afterwards the results were given to the world. Tolstoy predicted the great war, and he stated his belief that the torch which would start the conflagration would be lighted in the Balkans about 1913.
Tolstoy was not a friend of either Russian or German autocracy, hence his seance may have been but a clever ruse to discover what was in the minds of the two rulers. Germany probably was not ready to start the war in 1913, but there is abundant warrant for the belief that she was trimming the torch at that time, and, who knows, the deluded Prinzip may have been the torch.
The old dotard Francis Joseph who occupied the throne of Austria-Hungary, was completely under the domination of the Germans. He could be relied upon to further any designs which the Kaiser and the German war lords might have.
The younger man, Francis Ferdinand, was not so easy to handle as his aged uncle. Accounts agree that he was arrogant, ambitious and had a will of his own. He was unpopular in his country and probably unpopular with the Germans. Being of the disposition he was, it is very likely that the Kaiser found it difficult to bend him completely to his will. Being a stumbling block in the way of German aims, is it not reasonably probable that Germany desired to get rid of him, thus leaving Austria-Hungary completely in the power of its tool and puppet, Francis Joseph, and in the event of his death, in the power of the young and suppliant Karl; another instrument easily bent to the German will?
The wife of the archduke, assassinated with him, was a Bohemian, her maiden name being Sophie Chotek. She was not of noble blood as Bohemia had no nobles. They had been driven out of the country centuries before and their titles and estates conferred on indigent Spanish and Austrian adventurers. Not being of noble birth, she was but the morgantic wife of the Austrian heir. Titles were afterwards conferred upon her. She was made a countess and then a duchess. Some say she had been an actress; not unlikely, for actresses possessed an especial appeal to Austrian royalty. The cruel Hapsburgs rendered dull witted and inefficient by generations of inbreeding, were fascinated by the bright and handsome women of the stage. At any rate, Sophie Chotek belonged to that virile, practical race Bohemians, (also called Czechs) that gave to the world John Huss, who lighted the fires of religious and civil liberty in Central Europe, giving advent later to the work of Martin Luther.
Bohemians had always been liberty-loving. They had been anxious for three centuries to throw off the yoke of Austria. There is no record that Sophie Chotek sympathized with the aims of her countrymen or that she was not in complete accord with the views of her husband and the political interests of the empire. But the experiences of the Germans and Austrians had taught them that a Bohemian was likely to remain always a Bohemian and that his freedom-loving people would not countenance plans having in view the enslavement of other nations. The Germans may have looked with suspicion upon the Bohemian wife of the archduke and thought it advisable to remove her also.
Prinzip was thrown into prison and kept there until he died. No statement he may have made ever had a chance to reach the world. No one knows whether he was a German or a Serbian tool. He does not seem to have been an anarchist; neither does he seem to have been of the type that would commit such a crime voluntarily, knowing full well the consequences. It is not hard to believe that he was under pay and promised full protection.
Probably no Bohemian considers Sophie Chotek a martyr; indeed, the evidence is strong that she was not. Her heart and soul probably were with her royal spouse. But an interesting outcome is, that her assassination, a contributing cause to the war, finally led to the downfall of Germany, the wreck