27 DECEMBER 1902, Page 2

An extraordinary scandal has occurred at the Court of Saxony.

The Crown Princess, daughter of the Austrian Grand Duke of Tuscany, a young woman of strongly pro- nounced artistic and intellectual tastes, and with a full measure of Austrian vivacity, finding the formality of Court life asphyxiating, and deeply resenting the conduct of her husband, has fled to Geneva in the company of a dismissed French tutor and her brother, the Archduke Leopold Ferdinand, who has renounced his rank and is, it is said, about to marry an actress of humble origin. The attitude of the fugitives is so uncompromising as to negative all prospect of reconciliation or return, and their position is further compromised by their religion and lack of re- sources. Revolt against the restrictions of Court life evidently runs in the blood of this branch, for the Princess and her brother are niece and nephew of "Johann Orth," the Archduke who turned sea-captain. General sympathy is expressed with the Emperor of Austria, whose family troubles seem never-ending, but it is curious to note that in Germany popular feeling is largely on the side of the Crown Princess.