Above: Attila Horbiger as Bratfisch dissuades a drunken Rudolf from hurling himself over a balustrade in the 1956 film Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe (Crown Prince Rudolf's Last Love). In real life, Josef probably never set foot in the Hofburg.

Source: Kronprinz Rudolfs letzte Liebe - Spielfilm - Rudolf Prack ... via YouTube.

21. Aftermath: Josef (continued)

Nevertheless, the rumours refused to die and whatever modest success Josef achieved through his own effort was inevitably attributed to imperial bribery. In most of the stories Josef either fled Vienna or was forcibly removed, as in this typical newspaper report:

"Pensioned to Hold His Tongue. Bratasfisch (sic), the cab driver who is one of the few persons in possession of the truth about the catastrophe, has been allowed to return from Russia to Vienna, and he is to receive a pension from the Emperor Francis Joseph, which is to be paid daily, and which is to be continued for so long a time as he holds his tongue" (Manitoba Free Press).

There were even Bratfisch impersonators. One pseudo-Bratfisch, performing at a meeting of an academic society in Berlin soon after the tragedy "recounted that he had been removed from Austria immediately after the catastrophe and was en route to Paris" (Washington Journal).

The strangest impersonator appeared In New York in May, 1895. A pauper named Tranquilini, near death in the insane asylum on Ward's Island, claimed that he was none other than Josef Bratfisch. Two weeks after Rudolf's suicide he was supposedly hurried to New York "with his pockets filled with gold." Unfortunately he lost all his money and became a patient in Bellevue Hospital before winding up on Ward's Island.

After his death Tranquilini was buried on the island in Potter's Field. Seven years later, in 1902, he experienced a resurrection: well wishers reportedly planned to have him exhumed and sent back to Vienna (Ogden Standard).

The tradition carries on. The Mayerling tragedy presents an irresistible opportunity to repackage the age-old Romeo and Juliet theme of star-crossed lovers. The result has been several movies and even a ballet. Where Josef appears as the character Bratfisch he is reconstituted to fit the needs of the script.

The Web, of course, is a happy hunting ground for Mayerling afficionados, with a profusion of sites offering, collectively, a tangled mix of fact and myth: old myths recycled and new ones invented.