The Empire of Austria; Its Rise and Present PowerAbbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
History
The Empire of Austria; Its Rise and Present Power
Abbott, John S. C. (John Stevens Cabot)
Austria -- History
In the meantime, Albert, at Vienna, apparently happy in being relieved
of all care of the Swiss provinces, was devoting himself to the arts of
peace. He reared new buildings, encouraged learning, repressed all
disorders, and cultivated friendly relations with the neighboring
powers. His life was as a summer's day--serene and bright. He and his
family were happy, and his realms in prosperity. He died at his rural
residence at Laxendorf, two miles out from Vienna, on the 29th of
August, 1395. All Austria mourned his death. Thousands gathered at his
burial, exclaiming, "We have lost our friend, our father!" He was a
studious, peace-loving, warm-hearted man, devoted to his family and his
friends, fond of books and the society of the learned, and enjoying the
cultivation of his garden with his own hands. He left, at his death, an
only son, Albert, sixteen years of age.
William, the eldest son of Leopold, had been brought up in the court of
Vienna. He was a young man of fascinating character and easily won all
hearts. After his bitter disappointment in Poland he returned to Vienna,
and now, upon the death of his uncle Albert, he claimed the reins of
government as the oldest member of the family. His cousin Albert, of
course, resisted this claim, demanding that he himself should enter upon
the post which his father had occupied. A violent dissension ensued
which resulted in an agreement that they should administer the
government of the Austrian States, jointly, during their lives, and that
then the government should be vested in the eldest surviving member of
the family.
Having effected this arrangement, quite to the satisfaction of both
parties, Albert, who inherited much of the studious thoughtful turn of
mind of his father, set out on a pilgrimage to the holy land, leaving
the government during his absence in the hands of William. After
wanderings and adventures so full of romance as to entitle him to the
appellation of the "Wonder of the World," he returned to Vienna. He
married a daughter of the Duke of Holland, and settled down to a monkish
life. He entered a monastery of Carthusian monks, and took an active
part in all their discipline and devotions. No one was more punctual
than he at matins and vespers, or more devout in confessions, prayers,
genuflexions and the divine service in the choir. Regarding himself as
one of the fraternity, he called himself brother Albert, and left
William untrammeled in the cares of state. His life was short, for he
died the 14th of September, 1404, in the twenty-seventh year of his age,
leaving a son Albert, seven years old. William, who married a daughter
of the King of Naples, survived him but two years, when he died
childless.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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