AUTHOR: “In the summer following Baby Valérie’s birth, the Empress spent several months with the Crown Prince and his two sisters.”
COMMENTATOR: “Baby Valérie was quite separated from the others, the Empress being very jealous about Valérie. Gisela and Rudolph were mostly kept in Laxenburg.”
AUTHOR: “Elizabeth walked over to a large harmonium which stood near the open window. She sat down before it, and after striking a few chords which echoed through the stillness of the chamber, she sang Schubert’s ‘Serenade.’ She was a great musician.”
COMMENTATOR: “The Empress never touched a harmonium nor a piano. She was not a bit musical, and never sang.”
AUTHOR: “‘Rudi,’ who was watching them, said suddenly——”
COMMENTATOR: “The Crown Prince was never called ‘Rudi,’ always ‘Rudolph.’ His pet name was ‘Nazi.’”