In his seemingly endless old age Franz Joseph was a kindly but inflexible man, devoted to preserving the traditions of his ancestors, ardently hoping to live out his remaining days in peace. He remained doggedly faithful to his responsibilities if only because they were his heritage and he had no one to share them with. Once, reminiscing with Field Marshal Conrad about a general both of them had known, he said plaintively that “all are dying, only I can’t die.” When Conrad offered a courtly response, expressing gratitude for the emperor’s long life, Franz Joseph replied, “Yes, yes, but one is
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