Monsters and Gargoyles 01 5 Their Own

Sanctuary 1st Edition Lacey Carter

Andersen
Visit to download the full and correct content document:
https://textbookfull.com/product/monsters-and-gargoyles-01-5-their-own-sanctuary-1s
t-edition-lacey-carter-andersen/
More products digital (pdf, epub, mobi) instant
download maybe you interests ...

Medusa s Destiny 1st Edition Lacey Carter Andersen

https://textbookfull.com/product/medusa-s-destiny-1st-edition-
lacey-carter-andersen/

House of Berserkers 02.0 - Unknown 1st Edition Lacey

Carter Andersen

https://textbookfull.com/product/house-of-
berserkers-02-0-unknown-1st-edition-lacey-carter-andersen/

House of Berserkers 01.0 - Untamed 1st Edition Lacey

Carter Andersen

https://textbookfull.com/product/house-of-
berserkers-01-0-untamed-1st-edition-lacey-carter-andersen/

Leather and Lace Gold Sky 5 1st Edition Rebel Carter

https://textbookfull.com/product/leather-and-lace-gold-sky-5-1st-
edition-rebel-carter/
Platypus Between the Sheets An Anthology by Some
Freaking Weird Authors L A Boruff Laura Greenwood Skye
Mackinnon Lacey Carter Andersen Jaliza A Burwell E E
Andrews Edeline Wrigh Nova Blake
https://textbookfull.com/product/platypus-between-the-sheets-an-
anthology-by-some-freaking-weird-authors-l-a-boruff-laura-
greenwood-skye-mackinnon-lacey-carter-andersen-jaliza-a-burwell-
e-e-andrews-edeline-wrigh-nova-blake/

Falling for Shifters: A Limited Edition Autumn Shifters

Collection Lacey Carter Andersen & Thea Atkinson &
Margo Bond Collins & Elizabeth Dunlap & Stephany
Wallace & Kat Parrish & Zoey Xolton & Tiegan Clyne &
Meghyn King & J. P. Uvalle
https://textbookfull.com/product/falling-for-shifters-a-limited-
edition-autumn-shifters-collection-lacey-carter-andersen-thea-
atkinson-margo-bond-collins-elizabeth-dunlap-stephany-wallace-
kat-parrish-zoey-xolton-tiegan/

Dare You to Chase the Soccer Player Rock Valley High 5

1st Edition Lacy Andersen

https://textbookfull.com/product/dare-you-to-chase-the-soccer-
player-rock-valley-high-5-1st-edition-lacy-andersen/

For the common good and their own well being social
estates in Imperial Russia 1st Edition Smith

https://textbookfull.com/product/for-the-common-good-and-their-
own-well-being-social-estates-in-imperial-russia-1st-edition-
smith/

Combatting Disruptive Change: Beating Unruly

Competition at Their Own Game 1st Edition Ian I.
Mitroff

https://textbookfull.com/product/combatting-disruptive-change-
beating-unruly-competition-at-their-own-game-1st-edition-ian-i-
mitroff/
Their Own Sanctuary
Lacey Carter Andersen
 Copyright 2019
Published by Lacey Carter Andersen
Editing by Melissa
This work of fiction is intended for mature audience only. All
characters are over the age of eighteen. Names, characters, places,
and incidents are either a product of the author's imagination or are
used fictitiously. Any resemblance to any persons, living or dead,
business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States
of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the
material or artwork herein is prohibited without the express written
permission of the author.
Table of Contents
Title Page

Disclaimer

Their Own Sanctuary (Monsters and Gargoyles, #1)

Want more from Lacey Carter Andersen?

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

A Note From The Author

More by Lacey Carter Andersen

About the Author

 To every animal lover—thanks for making room in your heart for
creatures who need you more than most people could even imagine.
~ Lacey Carter Andersen
 Want more from Lacey Carter
Andersen?

S ign up for exclusive first looks at my hot new releases,

exclusives, and contests from Lacey Carter Andersen!

WANT TO BE PART OF the writing process? Maybe even get a taste

of my sense of humor? Teasers for my new releases? And more?
Join Lacey’s Realm on Facebook!
 Chapter One

M edusa
I swear I can hear the twins laughing, even this far away
from our little house in the trees. I’m sure they coaxed their dads
into piggy back rides. The stinkers just have to give my guys a smile,
and four giant gargoyles are tumbling over each other to give them
the moon. I can actually picture our two dark-haired daughters
pulling on their dads’ hair, giggling like maniacs.
Damn it, maybe they have me under their little thumbs too...
Smiling, I spread my arms out in the water. I’m sure I can’t
actually hear them laughing, but I’ve seen exactly this scenario a
thousand times. It’s funny though. This is my time to relax. This is
my time to drift in the warmest lake in the gargoyles’ sanctuary,
relaxing to the sound of the rushing water from the waterfall.
Despite that, all I can do is think about are the four sexy gargoyles I
left behind and our beautiful daughters.
There must be something wrong with me.
Sighing, I force my eyes closed and try to keep my breathing
even. Harold thinks if I can learn to meditate, I might not be so high
strung. Of course, he's too sweet to actually say high strung, but
freaking Bryon does.
So, here I am. I finished my bath and I'm meditating in the most
peaceful place imaginable, and still, I can’t relax. I feel like
something under my skin is always buzzing, as if my pulse can’t stop
racing. Maybe it’s from all my years being hunted as a monster and
attacked by idiot heroes. Or maybe it’s just that I have children.
That’s its own kind of never-ending, exhausting battle.
Or maybe I am a little high strung after all.
My hand brushes something soft in the water. I freeze and my
eyes pop open. There, floating on its back, is the strangest creature
imaginable.
 Is it some little beaver, cursed by magic?
An ugly duckling kind of thing?
I stand up in the water, trying not to move too quickly or make
too much noise. I study the animal a little more carefully. I still don’t
know what it is... but it might be dead.
Frowning, I lean over a little closer. Sure enough, its little chest is
rising and falling.
Thank goodness!
It’s got almost a duck-bill on its furry face, strange webbed feet,
and a sleek body—almost like a beaver. Like three animals smashed
together. Something tingles the back of my thoughts. I know what it
is! A platypus!
And the poor thing looks sick. Or hurt.
I touch its smooth fur, and the creature’s eyes open. Sure
enough, there’s pain in its gaze.
For a while, I just pet it gently until it very slowly flips around in
the water. It comes closer. One of its back legs barely moving as it
does so. In fact, it holds that leg tightly against its body, and then
presses its face against my arm, rubbing softly. This creature really
is a sweet little thing!
My mind goes to the hundreds of cats and dogs I’ve befriended
over my two thousand years. I’m usually too much of a mess to
have an actual pet, but I’ve missed all my furry-friends. This little
guy might be a bit strange, but I find that I instantly like him.
He’s got a sweet nature.
Wrapping my arms around it, I’m relieved when it snuggles more
closely. I can’t help it if it won’t let me, so I'm relieved that it seems
to accept that I’m not a threat.
Maybe the healer can help figure out what’s wrong with it.
I lift it out of the water and it snuggles between my naked
breasts. As it looks up at me with those big, sad eyes, I walk onto
the shore. Almost instantly, a shadow falls over me. A familiar
shadow.
Bryon hits the ground in front of me, shifting from his gargoyle
form into that of a man in seconds. As always, I enjoy watching the
change. There’s just something sexy about him when his flesh is the
color of wet stone, and he resembles a very hot statue of a man.
And also something so sexy about the tall human-looking version of
himself, with big muscles, a dark beard, and a face that’s always just
a tad grumpy.
His dark gaze narrows as he looks from me to the creature I
hold. “What the hell is that?”
Mr. Grumpy isn’t happy about my new pet? Surprise, surprise!
I smile and look down at it, hiding my amusement at his
reaction. “A platypus, and I think it’s hurt.”
Noticing how little it moves, I feel my smile falter. I hope it isn’t
hurt that badly.
“Hurt?” Bryon repeats. “Who the fuck cares if it’s hurt? Drop it,
and move away. It could be dangerous!”
Glancing up, I meet his dark gaze, trying not to laugh. Is he
really worried about this little creature? I mean, Bryon’s the size of a
mountain. Does he actually think that he can’t protect me if the furry
animal suddenly becomes a danger to me?
“Are you actually scared of it?” I ask, in a teasing voice.
He puffs himself up. “I’m not scared of anything! But I don’t want
some freaky creature touching my woman!”
I pet its head, and it makes a soft sound, almost like it's purring.
“Relax, it’s sweet!”
Bryon advances and glares down at it. “Look at those talons on
its claws! It’s probably poisonous!”
I raise my eyebrows. “Yeah, and cats are dangerous too.” I give a
mockingly frightened look at the sky. “Careful, those song birds are
making me nervous! They might just be plotting to overthrow
mankind!”
If looks could kill, I’d be dead right now. “Put it down.”
I shake my head, leveling him with the same stubborn glare that
my daughters have perfected. “I’m going to bring it to the healer,
and you’re not going to stop me.”
A tense moment stretches between us. I know Bryon’s natural
instinct is to protect me at any cost, but he’s been working on giving
me more freedom. We have talked at length about him learning to
trust my judgment. I know right now he’s arguing with himself
whether or not he can stop me without this becoming a big thing.
Which he’s absolutely right to worry about. It’ll be a cold day in
hades before I abandon an injured animal.
I used to try to hide this “softer” side of myself. I mean, all
people saw was Medusa, a woman who could kill with just a glance.
But now that I’m in a sanctuary, without any humans to accidentally
kill, and only gargoyles and magical creatures who are immune to
my powers, my sunglasses are stowed away and my softer side is
coming out a little more often.
And if Bryon doesn’t like it... too bad.
Bryon folds his arms over his chest, but I can already see I’ve
won this fight. Score one for me! “You at least plan to get dressed
first...?”
Giving him my most innocent look, I say. “But how am I going to
choose my next Brotherhood of Gargoyles if I’m not sure who finds
me attractive?”
That look comes over his face, the one that turns me on. He
stomps toward me, completely ignoring the creature in my arms,
and grabs me by the back of the head. His possessive mouth
captures mine, crushing my lips with his passion and his anger.
For a minute, I’m lost. I'm lost in the way he feels, the way he
sends fire racing through my body.
When his lips part, I stick my tongue in.
He groans and tears his lips from mine. “You were not supposed
to enjoy that,” he says, panting.
I reach down with one hand and cup his erection through his
pants. “I enjoy every fucking inch of you.”
A shudder moves through his body. “Either get dressed, or I’m
tossing that little beast back in the lake and taking you home.”
I grin. “I’ll get dressed, but you’ll have to hold it while I do.”
Before he can argue, I dump the little creature into his arms.
He scowls down at it. “I don’t like this.”
I dress quickly, trying to ignore my heated body. I have to forget
how good Bryon’s hard dick felt through his pants, and focus on our
argument.
 Easier said than done. “You don’t like the platypus?” I ask, and
hate that my words are a little breathless.
The little creature is rubbing against Bryon, looking about as
innocent as a creature could look.
“Don’t these things only exist in Australia? How the hell did it end
up here? How did it get through the sanctuary wards and into one of
our rivers?”
I raise a brow, taking a deep breath to clear my head. “Does it
matter? It needs our help?”
He scoffs. “Of course it matters!”
Shaking my head, I can’t help but grin. I love my gargoyles, but
they’ve got to be the only people in this world who actually think
Medusa is fragile and in need of protection.
When I'm dressed, I reach for the creature again, but Bryon
simply holds it tighter. “If you’re going to insist on this, then I’m
holding it.”
An argument forms on my lips, but I let it die. Bryon is as
stubborn as I am. If I don’t want him chucking the creature, I might
have to meet him halfway on this.
“Okay, let’s go!”
He doesn’t look relieved as we head for the gargoyle village. “You
know the others won’t like this.”
I think of my husbands. Marcus will flip. Forrest will probably
want to keep the little guy as a pet, and Harold will want to nurse it
back to health, but keep it far from me.
I guess we’ll see.
 Chapter Two

M arcus
I don’t like that damn creature.
The four of us glare at the little animal swimming playfully
around in the river beneath our house. One of its back legs is still
wrapped, but I’ve watched it grow stronger over the past two
weeks. Now, I’m sure it’s just faking it.
Any wild animal would be gone. So why is this one still hanging
around?
Medusa is kneeling down beside the pool with the twins, tossing
the platypus little fish. Bryon, Harold, and Forrest are all right next to
them. I told them to be nearby to make sure the platypus doesn't
get too close to our women. If it does, it will regret it.
The platypus turns, and our eyes meet. For a second too long
our gazes lock, and then it goes back to playfully splashing around.
There’s something wrong with that fucking thing.
And yet, Medusa won’t hear a bad word about it. She and the
twins just carry on, as if it’s their new pet. Which it is not.
When the healer’s shadow crosses over the pond, I watch as she
lands near my family. For a minute, I just observe her. The older
woman looks happy today, which is a good thing for all of us. Since
she’s gifted with The Sight, a foul mood often means she’s seen
something dangerous in our future. And now that the future includes
our woman and children, Gelena’s moods are even more important
to me.
Taking a deep breath, I feel a little weight leave my shoulders.
Now, to deal with the weird creature. I lift off from the balcony of
our treehouse and fly down until I land beside her.
“You’ve come to check its injury?” I ask, and even I know I
sound a bit grumpy.
 Galena grins, watching Medusa and the creature. “As asked,” she
says, her tone far too chipper.
Why does she have to enjoy how much we hate this so much? Or
maybe Galena just likes seeing our village women happy. They are
the future of our people, after all. And Galena’s Sight stuff makes
her pretty obsessed with the future, which I guess I understand.
But either way, I find this whole thing irritating as hell.
When Galena shifts out of her gargoyle form, her large wings
disappear, and her beautiful grey skin turns back to a human-color.
She wordlessly takes a fish from Medusa and lures the platypus
closer, dangling the fish. It takes the bait, and while it snacks, the
healer unwraps its legs and studies it.
“How is he?” Medusa asks, a little too worried for my taste.
The healer stands. “I think the beast is all better.”
Medusa looks sad. Probably imagining how it’ll soon be gone. “I
guess... that’s good.”
But the twins clap, their tiny pigtails bouncing. Despite how wary
I am of the little beast, I’m suddenly overwhelmed by my daughters’
happiness. Their entire eyes light up when they smile, and their tiny
dimples form in their cheeks.
Kneeling down, I smile at my three-year-old angels. “You girls
happy it’s all better?”
Bella’s smile widens. “Platty better!”
“Platty so cute!” Trinity chimes in.
Damn it all to hell, I’ve been wanting this thing gone since the
first time I saw it, but now, I’m imagining how much it’ll hurt my
little girls when it leaves. My grumpy heart seems to grow four sizes
bigger. If they cry when this thing leaves, we’re never getting a pet
again.
“Now that he’s all better, he probably has to find his family and
go home,” I say in my softest, gentlest voice.
Oh crap, Bella has that look in her eyes. Her mouth narrows, and
her arms cross in front of her chest. “He’s not going!”
Trinity, on the other hand, looks like she wants to cry. “Platty is
going?”
 I look to Forrest and Harold. They’re usually the ones who handle
the twins when they get emotional. Bryon and I have already
decided that we’ll be the ones beating the crap out of anyone who’s
unkind to them in the future. That’s what we’re good at—fighting,
not emotions.
Harold comes over and kneels down beside the girls, radiating his
usual calmness. “We know you both love Platty.”
Bella eyes him suspiciously. “Yes.”
“And that you want Platty to be happy,” he continues.
A little of the fire goes out of Bella’s eyes, and Trinity comes over
and curls up against Harold.
“But Platty is a wild animal. Now that he’s all better, he needs to
go back to his home.”
Bella’s arms tighten against her little chest. “No!”
“But—“ Harold begins.
“No!” she shouts her favorite word again.
Harold looks to Forrest.
Forrest's green eyes twinkle with amusement, and he trots over.
Before any of us know what he has planned, he hoists Bella up onto
his shoulders. She squeals and uncrosses her angry little arms to
grab his hair. Then, with his free arm, he pulls Trinity in front of him.
All three of them are laughing as Forrest takes off, racing around.
I realize I’m smiling when my gaze locks with Bryon’s, and so is
he. Immediately, our smiles fade.
“Medusa...” I begin.
She looks up, frowning. “I know he has to go, but I’m going to
miss him.”
Harold wraps an arm around her and says nothing. They simply
feed the little beast together.
A thousand words spring to my lips, about how keeping a
Platypus is illogical in every way. I even make it through five
different arguments in my mind about the logistics of it, before I
give in and sigh. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that Medusa
doesn’t appreciate my careful planning in things like this. Harold’s
words always ring in my head. “Don’t try to fix it. Just be there for
her.”
 So, fighting all of my natural instincts, I sit down beside Medusa
and help feed the platypus. Immediately, I know I’ve made the right
decision, because Medusa turns to me with that smile, the one that
reminds me so much of our daughters. Because there are no
humans in our sanctuary, or weak magical creatures, Medusa
doesn’t have to wear her sunglasses here. That means I get to see
how her smile reaches her eyes.
It’s the most beautiful thing in this world.
Reaching out, I brush back the hair from her face and lean closer.
Our lips touch in an instant, and the world drifts away around us. My
dick hardens, and my heart races. It’s been two days... I need more
than a kiss from my sexy woman.
When we break apart, panting, I realize everyone is watching us,
including Galena.
The older gargoyle smiles. “Perhaps I could bring the girls to help
pick herbs for a few hours, after they’ve gotten a chance to say
goodbye to their pet. You guys could have some alone time, and
some time to take the creature some place safe.”
I almost say, fuck yes, but I’m learning.
Harold looks at Medusa. “What do you think? Are you ready to
say goodbye?”
I hold my breath, all of the arguments forming in my mind once
more.
She looks back at the creature, her eyes sad. “It’s what’s best for
him.”
Behind her back, Bryon and I give a long distant high-five. As
much as we don’t want to see our girls sad, we’re more than done
with this suspicious little creature.
“I guess we should go tell Bella and Trinity then.” Harold looks to
where Forrest is still racing around with them, all laughing.
This part won’t be fun. But like pulling off a bandage, we need to
do it quickly. Then we’ll be rewarded with sex. Not a bad day at all,
if I do say so myself.
 Chapter Three

M edusa
I’m glad we were able to cheer the girls up and get them to
understand that it’s time for our pet to leave, but it still broke my
heart. I wonder if I can convince the guys we need a puppy. A
puppy could be good in the sanctuary, right?
Forrest rubs my shoulders softly. “Why don’t we go take a little
dip in the river?”
I’ve just bathed, but we all know these boys aren’t just in the
mood for a nude swim. Their dicks have been hard most of the day,
and their little touches have more than warmed my engine up. Plus,
it means we aren’t getting rid of Platty. Not yet.
So, I stand from my spot beside the little inlet our pet likes to
swim in. “Let’s go up a little more to where the water is extra warm.”
My men follow me, and I’m more than a little pleased when I can
feel their eyes glued to my ass. This mom’s still got it!
When we reach the right spot, concealed fairly well with thick
foliage around it, I seat myself down on a rock.
Bryon raises a brow. “Shouldn’t you be getting naked?”
I grin. “I’d rather... watch you guys get naked.”
Bryon shakes his head, but I know he’s smiling underneath that
tough exterior. “What exactly are you expecting here?”
“A little bit of this!” Forrest shouts.
He climbs on top of another rock and begins to shake his ass like
a male stripper. He slowly removes his shirt, inch by inch revealing
his six pack, and then tosses his shirt at me. I’m laughing, even
while my gaze is glued to his hands as they slide to his belt.
“Oh yeah! You want some of this!” he says, then spins around
and sticks his ass out, smacking it.
I’m laughing harder. I don’t know if I’m turned on or just falling
more in love with this man, but I’m liking it, either way.
 He yanks off his belt and spins around. Putting it between his
legs, he pretends to ride it like a horse. “Oh yes, you like this, don’t
you?”
“You’re an idiot!” Bryon says, shaking his head, but Forrest isn’t
the least bit discouraged.
Marcus just stares. “I’m not doing that.”
Forrest takes off his pants, throws that at me too. Then, in one
movement, he yanks off his boxers. I'm not smiling when his
massive erection appears. Damn, this boy might be a joker, but he
has such a nice package...
“How about a little bit of this?” he asks, then starts rotating his
hips so that his dick is moving around in circles.
“Come here,” I say.
He leaps down from the rock and comes to stand in front of me.
Without hesitating, I lean forward and take him into my mouth.
“Fuck,” he groans, all amusement draining from his face.
“That worked for her?” Bryon asks, sounding incredulous.
I don’t answer him, because my mouth is full of cock. But I reach
forward and cup Forrest's balls, taking him deeper and deeper.
Forrest’s hand digs into the back of my hair, and he starts to fuck my
mouth slowly and deliciously.
My entire body is heating up. There’s just something sexy about
a man working so hard to turn a woman on. There’s something I
love about how much he goes out of his way to make me smile.
“Hold on,” Marcus says, from somewhere behind Forrest. “We
didn’t get our turn to, uh, strip for you.”
I let Forrest’s dick slip out of my mouth, then lean forward and
lick the tip, just to watch those brilliant green eyes of his turn darker.
He very reluctantly moves to my side, but his hand is on his dick
and he’s stroking himself, eyes closed.
Fuck, that’s hot.
Turning to my other men, I wait.
“We’re really going to do this?” Bryon asks, grumpily.
Marcus doesn’t answer. He starts to remove his clothes, starting
with his shirt. Even though he’s not dancing or trying to make it hot,
I don’t mind seeing his chiseled body one bit. When his shirt’s
unbuttoned, he folds it and places it on the rock behind him. I have
to hide my grin behind my hand. He’s so careful about not wrinkling
anything, and I think it's just adorable.
Next he removes his socks and shoes and sets them beside the
rock, then takes off his pants and boxers. When he’s done, he looks
between my mouth and his dick.
“Want something, sailor?” I ask.
He raises a brow. “You know I do.”
I wave him over, reach out, and start stroking his thick erection.
His eyes close, and his head tilts back. He'd better believe I’ll be
sucking him soon, but not yet, not when I have a show to watch.
Bryon looks at Harold. My blond gargoyle is blushing like mad,
but he starts to take off his clothes in a hurry, like he’s trying to get
it over with. Again, I try not to laugh.
At last, Bryon throws his hands up in the air. “Fine, if it leads to
sex!”
I can’t help but laugh, and he glares at me as he rips his clothes
off one piece at a time.
My gaze goes to his cock, because, well, these four have made
me a bit dick-obsessed.
Much to my happiness, he’s hard.
“Were you enjoying Forrest’s dance?” I ask, trying to sound
serious.
His glare deepens. He walks over to me and says, “No, I was
excited about this!”
I open my mouth to argue right back, and his shaft slides inside.
Oh fuck, I love when he gets all demanding and possessive like
this. I love it when he uses me like I’m made for his pleasure and his
pleasure alone.
Harold walks up beside him, and I watch him, curiously out of
the corner of my eye. He kneels down in front of me, a massive
blond god of a man. He tugs off my pants, tears off my underwear,
and suddenly his mouth is between my legs.
I groan and Bryon tilts me back further, holding my head securely
as he forces himself deeper in and out of my mouth. Marcus closes
his hand around mine and reminds me to keep stroking, then his
hand moves to my breast, stroking my nipples, rolling them between
his thumb and finger.
My system is overloading. Harold is sucking and pressing
between my folds like a man on a mission, and the way Bryon has
taken control of me makes me feel like a creature made for sex. Not
a mother. Not a woman with a list of things to do and no time to get
them done. I’m just—me. A woman. Desired by my men.
When Bryon starts to speed up inside my mouth, I suck harder,
knowing he’s close. His grip on my hair tightens. I gag slightly as his
big shaft fills me entirely, and then, he comes, hard, shouting my
name.
It takes several long seconds before his grip loosens ever so
slightly. He takes his shaft and draws it slowly out of my mouth,
then, holding my gaze, he pumps it in and out a few more times,
letting me suck every inch of it.
Forrest appears at my side. He turns my head, and then his dick
takes the place of Bryon’s. His grip is slightly looser, his movements
less frantic and more deliberate. And I love it! There’s nothing better
than my sexy men taking turns with me... other than maybe when
they all take me at once.
Fuck. I think I just want them touching me, one way or another.
At that moment, Harold pulls his mouth from between my legs.
What? No!
I let Forrest’s dick pop out of my mouth and look down, trying
not to whimper. But Harold has other plans. He picks me up and
Marcus seats himself on the rock. Harold sets me onto the other
man’s lap. Then, holding my gaze, Harold grabs Marcus’ shaft and
steers it into my ass.
Which is hot as hell.
I’m so wet, but Marcus is a big man. A big man who loves my ass
more than anything in this world and knows just how to fill up every
inch of me. Breathing hard, I’m overwhelmed by the sheer size of
him as he sinks inch by inch deeper. It’s the most exquisite feeling,
like I’m perfectly hugging that line between pleasure and pain.
When he’s all the way inside, there’s one second when everyone
is just staring and panting, before Harold stands up and places
himself at my other entrance. Marcus pulls my legs further apart and
leans back further, making more room for the man in front of me.
Harold’s big cock sinks deeper inside of me, and my nails dig harder
into his shoulders as every bit of air leaves my chest.
As he reaches his hilt, I let loose a string of curses.
“That’s one dirty mouth,” Forrest says, his voice thick with desire.
I look at where he’s standing at my side. His gaze is glued to my
mouth, and he still has one hand gripping his shaft. His free hand
slides into my hair, and he leans me back further and further on top
of Marcus, who wordlessly complies, then dangles himself over my
mouth. One of my hands goes up to hold his shaft, and I lower him
so that I can suck his balls.
“Oh fuck, Medusa,” he groans.
Encouraged, I suck harder, and then forget every damn thing as
the two men inside of me start thrusting.
I swear I can’t think or function. I’m just a million nerves
screaming in pleasure. When Forrest tilts his dick down and starts to
thrust into my mouth like a wild animal, I can only groan around him
and let it happen. When Harold starts to suck my nipples and thrust
more rapidly into my pussy, I just wrap my arms around his head
and hold him closely to my breasts. When I can feel Marcus’s dick
swelling in my ass, I’m craving the feeling of him exploding inside of
me.
And then it does... and damn does it feel good.
My orgasm builds like something untamable, my inner-muscles
swelling around Harold’s dick. I’m like a light, burning brighter and
brighter, waiting to shatter. I’m not afraid... I’m reaching it for it like
a person desperate for that brilliant release.
And at last, I do...
I break into a million pieces, riding the men inside of me as the
ripples of pleasure sweep over me. When Forrest explodes into my
mouth, and Harold fills my pussy, I swear I’m experiencing complete
and utter bliss. The kind that makes me feel like every bone in my
body has turned to mush and my head is finally, finally quiet.
After several long moments, Forrest pulls out of my mouth and
collapses beside me. Harold strokes my face, kisses my cheek, and
holds me close.
This moment... I wish it could last forever.
And then shadows pass over us. All our gazes go to the sky at
once, to the handful of gargoyles flying so rapidly to the town. My
men pull out of me and hurry to their clothes.
“What’s going on?” I ask, hating how quickly our perfect moment
slipped away.
Marcus looks troubled. “Probably nothing, but a Brotherhood has
just returned from monster-hunting.”
My good mood dims just a bit. I wonder if this monster was one
of the lucky ones to survive. Silently, I give a prayer that my
monster-sisters, the women I’ve gotten to know in one way or other
over my two thousand years, are all safe.
Harold kisses my cheek. “We’ll be back soon.”
“Do you need us to help you release the platypus?” Forrest asks,
already shifting into his gargoyle form.
I shake my head.
“We’ll be back soon,” Forrest promises.
All my men have turned the stunning color of wet-stone, and
their massive wings stretch behind their bodies. They flap their
wings and in seconds shoot into the sky.
For a minute I just watch them, and then I sigh and go to find
my clothes. My gargoyles have got to be the most attentive partners
and fathers I’ve ever seen, so I can’t be too upset when they have
to attend to business, even if I miss them when they are gone.
But as I pick up my clothes, I freeze. Something’s wrong. I’m
being watched.
Casually, I let my gaze slide around me, even as my hands curl
into fists. If someone thinks this is the first time I’ve been attacked,
or that I’ll go down without a fight, they’re wrong.
Where are you, you bastard?
Then I see the platypus hiding behind the grass, watching me...
too closely. Weird.
How long has he been there? And why does his gaze cause
goose bumps to erupt along my skin? He’s just an animal, right? But
then, I’ve never seen an animal watch a person like that before.
 He doesn’t blink. He just stares and stares. And for the first time,
I think my gargoyles were right. There’s something off about this
animal.
I dress quickly, trying to keep my eye on him as I do so.
When at last I’m done, I speak, even though I feel silly. “You’re
not actually a platypus, are you?”
A blue glow surrounds him, and the creature shifts, growing
bigger and more humanoid with each passing second. At last, a blue
man with fins on his head regards me.
Oh fuck, what the hell is this?
“Lady Medusa,” he greets, bowing his head.
I stand up taller. This creature must be powerful, or else my
powers would have instantly turned him into stone. But if he tries
anything, he’ll learn very quickly that I’m dangerous, with or without
my stone-glare.
“What are you doing here? And why the fuck did you pretend to
be that animal?”
A slow smile spreads his lips. “A certain sea queen has heard a
rumor that the gargoyles are collecting female monsters. She
wanted to see if it was true, and more so, what happens to the
women who are taken.”
I stare. I know the sea queen, and I’m never sure about her
motives. “It seems to me you learned the truth pretty quickly but
continued to hang around...”
That smile of his stretches even further. “I was injured during my
travels, so at first I stayed simply until I healed. Yet it became
increasingly more difficult to leave. You’re a very beautiful woman
naked. And watching your gargoyles fuck you like that... I’ll never
forget the sight. In fact, it’ll warm my cock for many years to come.”
My hands curl tighter. “Have you ever had a woman beat the shit
out of you?”
He raised a brow, the scales on his flesh shimmering with the
movement. “More times than I can count.”
Then, he reaches down, and I can see his cock peeking between
the grass. He wraps his hand around his swollen length.
“Don’t even think about it,” I say.
 He frowns. “Surely you’d enjoy seeing me pleasure myself to the
sight of you?”
I take a step forward. “I’m a taken woman, shifter. And I swear
to all that’s powerful in this world that if you’re here when my
gargoyles get back, they’ll rip you limb-to-limb.”
He sighs, too loudly. “I guess you’re right. My mission has been
accomplished, and so, I must go.” But his gaze slides over me very
slowly yet again, and his cock jerks. “As much as I’ll miss you.”
“Pervert,” I mutter, glaring at him.
He laughs. “You’re just lucky that my queen would kill me for
failing this mission, or when you pressed me between those sweet
breasts of yours, I would’ve shifted and made us both very happy.”
I stomp up to him and kick him as hard as I can in the crotch.
His eyes widen, he grabs himself, and falls over in the water
groaning.
“Next time, think twice before you take advantage of my fucking
sweet disposition.”
After he stops looking like he’s going to cry, he pulls his knees up
to his chest in the water. “Lesson learned.” And I’m glad that his
voice comes out high and frightened.
I take a step closer to him.
His eyes widen. In an instant, he shifts into a platypus once
more. The creature looks at me with longing and then he dives into
the river. I follow along the shore until I’m sure he’s left the
sanctuary. Then, and only then, do I breathe easy. Yes, I’m hot. And
yes, I’d enjoy watching gargoyles as sexy as mine fucking anyone.
But that creepy little shifter is going to have a beating of a lifetime if
I ever see him again.
Walking back to our treehouse, I briefly wonder if I should tell
my gargoyles the truth. Could the creature have learned anything
from watching us that could be dangerous? And what will the sea
queen do with her spy’s information? And then, I think about how
much my men will gloat if they discover they were right about the
little beast being dangerous.
“I’ll never hear the end of it,” I mutter to myself.
 So maybe I’ll tell them, and maybe I won’t. Because everyone
knows that gargoyles are annoying as hell about this kind of stuff.
Being immortal, I’ll truly be hearing about this for thousands of
years to come.
Damn that little platypus and his horn-dog ways.
Up ahead, I hear my daughters’ laughter and my thoughts fade
away. Walking faster, I smile. Four hot men and two wonderful
children? I couldn’t ask for anything more.
So it’s probably okay to keep one little secret.
The End.
Have you read Medusa’s Destiny yet, the tale of how
Medusa meets her gargoyles? If not, pick it up! And if you
already have, check out Keto’s Tale. This series is full of sexy
gargoyles and head-strong women, so I think you’ll enjoy it!
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
all say it; they say it every day, and it is the sole detail
upon which they all agree. There is some approach to agreement
upon another point: that there will be no revolution. … Nearly
every day some one explains to me that a revolution would not
succeed here. 'It couldn't, you know. Broadly speaking, all
the nations in the empire hate the government—but they all
hate each other too, and with devoted and enthusiastic
bitterness; no two of them can combine; the nation that rises
must rise alone; then the others would joyfully join the
government against her, and she would have just a fly's chance
against a combination of spiders. This government is entirely
independent. It can go its own road, and do as it pleases; it
has nothing to fear. In countries like England and America,
where there is one tongue and the public interests are common,
the government must take account of public opinion; but in
Austria-Hungary there are nineteen public opinions—one for
each state. No—two or three for each state, since there are
two or three nationalities in each. A government cannot
satisfy all these public opinions; it can only go through the
motions of trying. This government does that. It goes through
the motions, and they do not succeed; but that does not worry
the government much.' …

"The recent troubles have grown out of Count Badeni's

necessities. He could not carry on his government without a
majority vote in the House at his back, and in order to secure
it he had to make a trade of some sort. He made it with the
Czechs—the Bohemians. The terms were not easy for him: he must
pass a bill making the Czech tongue the official language in
Bohemia in place of the German. This created a storm. All the
Germans in Austria' were incensed. In numbers they form but a
fourth part of the empire's population, but they urge that the
country's public business should be conducted in one common
tongue, and that tongue a world language—which German is.
However, Badeni secured his majority. The German element was
apparently become helpless. The Czech deputies were exultant.
Then the music began. Badeni's voyage, instead of being
smooth, was disappointingly rough from the start. The
government must get the 'Ausgleich' through. It must not fail.
Badeni's majority was ready to carry it through; but the
minority was determined to obstruct it and delay it until the
obnoxious Czech-language measure should be shelved.

"The 'Ausgleich' is an Adjustment, Arrangement, Settlement,

which holds Austria and Hungary together [see above; also, in
volume 1, AUSTRIA: A. D. 1866-1867]. It dates from 1867, and
has to be renewed every ten years. It establishes the share
which Hungary must pay toward the expenses of the imperial
government. Hungary is a kingdom (the Emperor of Austria is
its King), and has its own parliament and governmental
machinery. But it has no foreign office, and it has no army—at
least its army is a part of the imperial army, is paid out of
the imperial treasury, and is under the control of the
imperial war office. The ten-year rearrangement was due a year
ago, but failed to connect. At least completely. A year's
compromise was arranged. A new arrangement must be effected
before the last day of this year. Otherwise the two countries
become separate entities. The Emperor would still be King of
Hungary—that is, King of an independent foreign country. There
would be Hungarian custom-houses on the Austrian frontier, and
there would be a Hungarian army and a Hungarian foreign
office. Both countries would be weakened by this, both would
suffer damage. The Opposition in the House, although in the
minority, had a good weapon to fight with in the pending
'Ausgleich.' If it could delay the 'Ausgleich' a few weeks,
the government would doubtless have to withdraw the hated
language bill or lose Hungary.

"The Opposition began its fight. Its arms were the Rules of
the House. It was soon manifest that by applying these Rules
ingeniously, it could make the majority helpless, and keep it
so as long as it pleased. It could shut off business every now
and then with a motion to adjourn. It could require the ayes
and noes on the motion, and use up thirty minutes on that
 detail. It could call for the reading and verification of the
minutes of the preceding meeting, and use up half a day in
that way.
{40}
It could require that several of its members be entered upon
the list of permitted speakers previously to the opening of a
sitting; and as there is no time limit, further delays could
thus be accomplished. These were all lawful weapons, and the
men of the Opposition (technically called the Left) were
within their rights in using them. They used them to such dire
purpose that all parliamentary business was paralyzed. The
Right (the government side) could accomplish nothing. Then it
had a saving idea. This idea was a curious one. It was to have
the President and the Vice-Presidents of the parliament
trample the Rules under foot upon occasion! …

"And now took place that memorable sitting of the House which
broke two records. It lasted the best part of two days and a
night, surpassing by half an hour the longest sitting known to
the world's previous parliamentary history, and breaking the
long-speech record with Dr. Lecher's twelve-hour effort, the
longest flow of unbroken talk that ever came out of one mouth
since the world began. At 8.45, on the evening of the 28th of
October, when the House had been sitting a few minutes short
of ten hours, Dr. Lecher was granted the floor. … Then burst
out such another wild and frantic and deafening clamor as has
not been heard on this planet since the last time the
Comanches surprised a white settlement at midnight. Yells from
the Left, counter-yells from the Right, explosions of yells
from all sides at once, and all the air sawed and pawed and
clawed and cloven by a writhing confusion of gesturing arms
and hands. Out of the midst of this thunder and turmoil and
tempest rose Dr. Lecher, serene and collected, and the
providential length of him enabled his head to show out above
it. He began his twelve-hour speech. At any rate, his lips
could be seen to move, and that was evidence. On high sat the
President imploring order, with his long hands put together as
in prayer, and his lips visibly but not hearably speaking. At
intervals he grasped his bell and swung it up and down with
vigor, adding its keen clamor to the storm weltering there
below. Dr. Lecher went on with his pantomime speech,
contented, untroubled. … One of the interrupters who made
himself heard was a young fellow of slight build and neat
dress, who stood a little apart from the solid crowd and
leaned negligently, with folded arms and feet crossed, against
a desk. Trim and handsome; strong face and thin features;
black hair roughed up; parsimonious mustache; resonant great
voice, of good tone and pitch. It is Wolf, capable and
hospitable with sword and pistol. … Out of him came early this
thundering peal, audible above the storm:

"'I demand the floor. I wish to offer a motion.'

"In the sudden lull which followed, the President answered,

'Dr. Lecher has the floor.'

"Wolf. 'I move the close of the sitting!'

"President. 'Representative Lecher has the floor.'

[Stormy outburst from the Left—that is, the Opposition.]

"Wolf. 'I demand the floor for the introduction of a

formal motion. [Pause.] Mr. President, are you going to grant
it, or not? [Crash of approval from the Left.] I will keep on
demanding the floor till I get it.'

"President. 'I call Representative Wolf to order. Dr.

Lecher has the floor.' …

"'Which was true; and he was speaking, too, calmly, earnestly,

and argumentatively; and the official stenographers had left
their places and were at his elbows taking down his words, he
leaning and orating into their ears—a most curious and
interesting scene. … At this point a new and most effective
noisemaker was pressed into service. Each desk has an
extension, consisting of a removable board eighteen inches
long, six wide, and a half-inch thick. A member pulled one of
these out and began to belabor the top of his desk with it.
Instantly other members followed suit, and perhaps you can
imagine the result. Of all conceivable rackets it is the most
ear-splitting, intolerable, and altogether fiendish. … Wolf
went on with his noise and with his demands that he be granted
the floor, resting his board at intervals to discharge
criticisms and epithets at the Chair. … By-and-by he struck
the idea of beating out a tune with his board. Later he
decided to stop asking for the floor, and to confer it upon
himself. And so he and Dr. Lecher now spoke at the same time,
and mingled their speeches with the other noises, and nobody
heard either of them. Wolf rested himself now and then from
speech-making by reading, in his clarion voice, from a
pamphlet.

"I will explain that Dr. Lecher was not making a twelve-hour
speech for pastime, but for an important purpose. It was the
government's intention to push the 'Ausgleich' through its
preliminary stages in this one sitting (for which it was the
Order of the Day), and then by vote refer it to a select
committee. It was the Majority's scheme—as charged by the
Opposition—to drown debate upon the bill by pure noise—drown
it out and stop it. The debate being thus ended, the vote upon
the reference would follow—with victory for the government.
But into the government's calculations had not entered the
possibility of a single-barrelled speech which should occupy
the entire time-limit of the sitting, and also get itself
delivered in spite of all the noise. … In the English House an
obstructionist has held the floor with Bible-readings and
other outside matters; but Dr. Lecher could not have that
restful and recuperative privilege—he must confine himself
strictly to the subject before the House. More than once, when
the President could not hear him because of the general
tumult, he sent persons to listen and report as to whether the
 orator was speaking to the subject or not.

"The subject was a peculiarly difficult one, and it would have

troubled any other deputy to stick to it three hours without
exhausting his ammunition, because it required a vast and
intimate knowledge—detailed and particularized knowledge—of
the commercial, railroading, financial, and international
banking relations existing between two great sovereignties,
Hungary and the Empire. But Dr. Lecher is President of the
Board of Trade of his city of Brünn, and was master of the
situation. … He went steadily on with his speech; and always
it was strong, virile, felicitous, and to the point. He was
earning applause, and this enabled his party to turn that fact
to account. Now and then they applauded him a couple of
minutes on a stretch, and during that time he could stop
speaking and rest his voice without having the floor taken
from him. …

{41}

"The Minority staid loyally by their champion. Some

distinguished deputies of the Majority staid by him too,
compelled thereto by admiration of his great performance. When
a man has been speaking eight hours, is it conceivable that he
can still be interesting, still fascinating? When Dr. Lecher had
been speaking eight hours he was still compactly surrounded by
friends who would not leave him and by foes (of all parties)
who could not; and all hung enchanted and wondering upon his
words, and all testified their admiration with constant and
cordial outbursts of applause. Surely this was a triumph
without precedent in history. …

"In consequence of Dr. Lecher's twelve-hour speech and the

other obstructions furnished by the Minority, the famous
thirty-three-hour sitting of the House accomplished nothing. …
Parliament was adjourned for a week—to let the members cool
off, perhaps—a sacrifice of precious time, for but two months
remained in which to carry the all-important 'Ausgleich' to a
consummation. …

"During the whole of November things went from bad to worse.

The all-important 'Ausgleich' remained hard aground, and could
not be sparred off. Badeni's government could not withdraw the
Language Ordinance and keep its majority, and the Opposition
could not be placated on easier terms. One night, while the
customary pandemonium was crashing and thundering along at its
best, a fight broke out. … On Thanksgiving day the sitting was
a history-making one. On that day the harried, bedeviled and
despairing government went insane. In order to free itself
from the thraldom of the Opposition it committed this
curiously juvenile crime: it moved an important change of the
Rules of the House, forbade debate upon the motion, put it to
a stand-up vote instead of ayes and noes, and then gravely
claimed that it had been adopted. … The House was already
standing up; had been standing for an hour; and before a third
of it had found out what the President had been saying, he had
proclaimed the adoption of the motion! And only a few heard
that. In fact, when that House is legislating you can't tell
it from artillery-practice. You will realize what a happy idea
it was to sidetrack the lawful ayes and noes and substitute a
stand-up vote by this fact: that a little later, when a
deputation of deputies waited upon the President and asked him
if he was actually willing to claim that that measure had been
passed, he answered, 'Yes—and unanimously.' …

"The 'Lex Falkenhayn,' thus strangely born, gave the President

power to suspend for three days any deputy who should continue
to be disorderly after being called to order twice, and it
also placed at his disposal such force as might be necessary
to make the suspension effective. So the House had a
sergeant-at-arms at last, and a more formidable one, as to
power, than any other legislature in Christendom had ever
possessed. The Lex Falkenhayn also gave the House itself
authority to suspend members for thirty days. On these terms
the 'Ausgleich' could be put through in an hour—apparently.
The Opposition would have to sit meek and quiet, and stop
obstructing, or be turned into the street, deputy after
deputy, leaving the Majority an unvexed field for its work.

"Certainly the thing looked well. … [But next day, when the
President attempted to open the session, a band of the
Socialist members made a sudden charge upon him, drove him and
the Vice President from the House, took possession of the
tribune, and brought even the semblance of legislative
proceedings to an end. Then a body of sixty policemen was
brought in to clear the House.] Some of the results of this
wild freak followed instantly. The Badeni government came down
with a crash; there was a popular outbreak or two in Vienna;
there were three or four days of furious rioting in Prague,
followed by the establishing there of martial law; the Jews
and Germans were harried and plundered, and their houses
destroyed; in other Bohemian towns there was rioting—in some
cases the Germans being the rioters, in others the Czechs—and
in all cases the Jew had to roast, no matter which side he was
on. We are well along in December now; the new
Minister-President has not been able to patch up a peace among
the warring factions of the parliament, therefore there is no
use in calling it together again for the present; public
opinion believes that parliamentary government and the
Constitution are actually threatened with extinction, and that
the permanency of the monarchy itself is a not absolutely
certain thing!

"Yes, the Lex Falkenhayn was a great invention, and did what
was claimed for it—it got the government out of the
frying-pan."

S. L. Clemens (Mark Twain),

Stirring Times in Austria
(Harper's Magazine, March, 1898).
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1897 (December).
Imperial action.

On the last day of the year the Emperor closed the sittings of
the Austrian Reichsrath by proclamation and issued a rescript
continuing the "Ausgleich" provisionally for six months.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898.
Prolongation of factious disorders.
Paralysis of constitutional government.

Though scenes in the Austrian Chamber were not quite so

violent, perhaps, as they had become near the close of 1897,
the state of factious disorder continued much the same
throughout the year, and legislation was completely stopped.
The work of government could be carried on only by imperial
decrees. The ministry of Baron von Gautsch, which had
succeeded that of Count Badeni, attempted a compromise on the
language question in Bohemia by dividing the country into
three districts, according to the distribution of the several
races, in one of which German was to be the official tongue,
in another Czech, while both languages were to be used in the
third. But the Germans of the empire would accept no such
compromise. In March, Baron von Gautsch retired, and Count
Thun Hohenstein formed a Ministry made up to represent the
principal factions in the Reichsrath; but, the scheme brought
no peace. Nor did appeals by Count Thun, "in the name of
Austria," to the patriotism and the reason of all parties, to
suspend their warfare long enough for a little of the
necessary work of the state to be done, have any effect. The
turbulence in the legislature infected the whole community,
and especially, it would seem, the students in the schools,
whose disorder caused many lectures to be stopped. In Hungary,
too, there was an increase of violence in political agitation.
A party, led by the son of Louis Kossuth, struggled to improve
what seemed to be an opportunity for breaking the political
union of Hungary with Austria, and realizing the old ambition
 for an independent Hungarian state.
{42}
The ministry of Baron Banffy had this party against him, as
well as that of the clericals, who resented the civil marriage
laws, and legislation came to a deadlock nearly as complete in
the Hungarian as in the Austrian Parliament. There, as well as
in Austria, the extension of the Ausgleich, provisionally for
another year, had to be imposed by imperial decree.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (April).

Withdrawal from the blockade of Crete and
the "Concert of Europe."

See (in this volume)

TURKEY: A. D. 1897-1899.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (June).

The Sugar Conference at Brussels.

See (in this volume)

SUGAR BOUNTIES.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1898 (September).

Assassination of the Empress.
Jubilee of the Emperor's reign.

On the 10th of September, Elizabeth, Empress of Austria and

Queen of Hungary, was assassinated at Geneva by an Italian
anarchist, named Luigi Luccheni, who stabbed her with a small
stiletto, exceedingly thin and narrow in the blade. The
murderer rushed upon her and struck her, as she was walking,
with a single attendant, on the quay, towards a lake steamer
on which she intended to travel to Montreux. She fell, but
arose, with some assistance, and walked forward to the
steamer, evidently unaware that she had suffered worse than a
blow. On the steamer, however, she lost consciousness, and
then, for the first time, the wound was discovered. It had
 been made by so fine a weapon that it showed little external
sign, and it is probable that the Empress felt little pain.
She lived nearly half an hour after the blow was struck. The
assassin attempted to escape, but was caught. As Swiss law
forbids capital punishment, he could be only condemned to
solitary confinement for life. This terrible tragedy came soon
after the festivities in Austria which had celebrated the
jubilee year of the Emperor Francis Joseph's reign. The
Emperor's marriage had been one of love: he had suffered many
afflictions in his later life; the state of his realm was such
as could hardly be contemplated without despair; men wondered
if he could bear this crowning sorrow and live. But he had the
undoubted affection of his subjects, much as they troubled him
with their miserably factious quarrels, and that consciousness
seems to have been his one support.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899 (May-July).

Representation in the Peace Conference at The Hague.

See (in this volume)

PEACE CONFERENCE.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899-1900.
Continued obstruction by the German parties in Austria.
Extensive secession of German Catholics from their
Church, and its significance.
Withdrawal of the Bohemian language decrees.
Obstruction taken up by the Czechs.

During most of the year the German parties in the Austrian

Reichsrath continued to make legislation impossible by
disorderly obstruction, with the avowed purpose of compelling
the government to withdraw the language decrees in Bohemia. A
still more significant demonstration of German feeling and
policy appeared, in a wide-spread and organized movement to
detach German Roman Catholics from their church, partly, it
would seem, as a proceeding of hostility to the Clerical
party, and partly as a means of recommending the Germans of
the Austrian states to the sympathy of the German Empire, and
smoothing the approach to an ultimate union of some of those
states with the Germanic federation. The agitation against the
Catholic Church is called "Los von Rom," and is said to have
had remarkable results. "Those acquainted with the situation
in Austria," says a writer in the "Quarterly Review," "do not
wonder that in various parts of the Empire there is a marked
tendency among the German Catholics to join Christian
communions separated from Rome. Many thousand Roman Catholics
have recently renounced their allegiance to the Holy See.
Further secessions are announced as about to take place. The
movement is especially strong in great centres like Eger,
Asch, and Saatz, but has made itself felt also in Carinthia,
and even in coast districts. This is a grave political fact,
for it is a marked indication of serious discontent, and a
sure sign that some arrangement under which certain districts
of Austria might be joined to Germany would not be unwelcome
to a section of the people."

Quarterly Review,
January, 1899.

In September the Austrian Ministry of Count Thun resigned, and

was succeeded by one formed under Count Clary-Aldingen. The
new premier withdrew the language decrees, which quieted the
German obstructionists, but provoked the Czechs to take up the
same rôle. Count Clary-Aldingen resigned in December, and a
provisional Ministry was formed under Dr. Wettek, which lasted
only until the 10th of January, 1900, when a new Cabinet was
formed by Dr. von Körber. In Hungary, Baron Banffy was driven
from power in February, 1899, by a state of things in the
Hungarian Parliament much like that in the Austrian. M.
Koloman Szell, who succeeded him, effected a compromise with
the opposition which enabled him to carry a measure extending
the Ausgleich to 1907. This brought one serious difficulty of
the situation to an end.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1899-1901.
Attitude towards impending revolt in Macedonia.

See (in this volume)

TURKEY: A. D. 1899-1901;
and BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900.
Military and naval expenditure.

See (in this volume)

WAR BUDGETS.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (February).

Attempted pacification of German and Czech parties by a
Conciliation Board.

"On Monday last [February 5] the German and Czech Conciliation

Board met for the first time in Vienna, under the presidency of
the Austrian Premier, Dr. von Körber, and conferred for two
hours. … Dr. von Körber is at the head of what may be called a
'business' Ministry, composed largely of those who had filled
subordinate offices in previous Ministries. It was hoped,
perhaps, that, since the leading politicians with a political
'past' could apparently do nothing to bring about a
settlement, men with no past, but with a capacity for
business, and in no way committed on the racial question,
might do better in effecting a working arrangement. The
appointment of this Conciliation Board seemed a promising way
of attempting such a settlement. Dr. von Körber opened
Monday's proceedings with a strong appeal to both sides,
saying: 'Gentlemen, the Empire looks to you to restore its
happiness and tranquillity.' It cannot be said that the Empire
is likely to find its wishes fulfilled, for when the Board came
down to hard business, the old troubles instantly revealed
themselves.
{43}
The Premier recommended a committee for Bohemia of twenty-two
members, and one for Moravia of fifteen members, the two
sitting in joint session in certain cases. Dr. Engel then set
forth the historical claims of the Czechs, which immediately
called forth a demand from Dr. Funke, of the German party,
that German should be declared the official language
throughout Austria. Each speaker seems to have been supported
by his own party, and so no progress was made, and matters
remain in 'statu quo ante.' The singularly deficient
constitution of this Board makes against success, for it seems
that the German Nationalists and Anti-Semites have only one
delegate apiece, the Social Democrats were not invited at all,
while the extreme Germans and extreme Czechs, apparently
regarding the Board as a farce, declined to nominate delegates
to its sittings. … There is unhappily little reason for
believing that the Board of Conciliation will effect what the
Emperor himself has failed to accomplish."

Spectator (London),
February 10, 1900.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (June-December).

Co-operation with the Powers in China.

See (in this volume)

CHINA.

AUSTRIA-HUNGARY: A. D. 1900 (September-December).

Warnings by the Emperor.
Clerical interference in politics.
The attitude of Hungary.
Economic decline of Austria.
Pessimistic views in Vienna.
The pending elections.

The Vienna correspondence of the "London Times" seems to be

the best source of information concerning the critical
conditions that are prevailing in the composite Empire, as the
Nineteenth Century closes, and the events by which those
conditions are from time to time revealed. The writer, whose
reports we shall quote, is evidently well placed for
observation, and well prepared for understanding what he sees.

In a dispatch of September 14, he notes the significance of a

reprimand which the Emperor had caused to be administered to
the Archbishop of Sarajevo, for interference in political
affairs:

"The chief of the Emperor's Cabinet called the Archbishop's

attention to newspaper reports of a speech made by him at the
close of the Catholic Congress recently held at Agram, in
which he was represented to have expressed the hope that
Bosnia would be incorporated with Croatia at the earliest
possible date. As that question was a purely political one and
foreign to the sacred vocation of the Archbishop, and as its
solution fell exclusively within the jurisdiction of certain
lay factors, and more especially within the Sovereign
prerogatives of his Majesty, the chief of the Cabinet was
instructed, in case the reports were correct, to communicate
to his Grace the serious warning and firm expectation of the
Emperor that his Grace would abstain in future, both in word
and deed, from interference in political questions. As was to
be expected, this sharp reprimand to an ecclesiastic of such
high position and repute has made a great sensation. It meets
with warm approval from the entire Hungarian Press. … There
is, on the other hand, bitter mortification in Clerical
circles. It is evidently felt that the warning to abstain from
politics may be of more than mere local and individual
significance."

In another dispatch on the same day the correspondent reported

a still more significant imperial utterance, this time from
the Emperor's own lips: "Yesterday the Emperor, who is
attending the manœuvres in Galicia, received the Polish
Parliamentary Deputation and, addressing their president,
informed him that the dissolution of the Reichsrath and the
coming elections were the last constitutional means which
would be employed by his Government. That implies that, if the
new Parliament will not work, the Constitution will be
suspended. … The dissolution of the Reichsrath takes place in
opposition to the wish of the moderate element of all parties,
who did their utmost to dissuade the Prime Minister from
taking such a drastic measure. The opinion of those who did
not approve of dissolution is that in the absence of a new
suffrage the next Parliament will prove more unruly than the
last. … Yesterday's Imperial warning requires no comment.
It means no more than it says—namely, an eventual suspension
of the Constitution. It does not point to any alternative
regime in case the Parliamentary system should break down.
Indeed, there is nothing to show that any such alternative has
been under the consideration of the Emperor and his Ministers. No
less an authority than Dr. Lueger, the Anti-Semitic
burgomaster of Vienna, has just expressed his opinion on the
subject to a local journalist in the following words:

'I am firmly convinced that nobody, not a single man in

Austria, including all statesmen and Parliamentary
politicians, has the faintest idea of how the situation will
develop.'"

A few days later (September 25) the "Times" correspondence

summarized an important speech by the Hungarian statesman,
Count Apponyi, to his constituents, in which the same forecast
of a political catastrophe in Austria was intimated. Count
Apponyi,—"after dwelling upon the importance of maintaining
the Ausgleich, remarked that affairs in Austria might take a
turn which would render its revision indispensable owing
either to a complete suspension of the constitutional system
in Austria, the maintenance of which was one of the conditions
of the arrangement of 1867, or such modifications thereof as
 would make the existing form of union between the two
countries technically untenable or politically questionable.
In either case the revision could only confirm the
independence of Hungary. But even then Count Apponyi believed
that by fallowing the traditions of Francis Deák it would be
possible to harmonize the necessary revision with the
fundamental principles of the Dual Monarchy. It would,
however, be a great mistake to raise that question unless
forced to do so by circumstances. Count Apponyi went on to say
that the importance of Hungary, not only in the Monarchy but
throughout the civilized world, was enormously increased by
the fact that it secured the maintenance of Austria-Hungary,
threatened by the destructive influence of the Austrian chaos,
and thus constituted one of the principal guarantees of
European tranquillity. The peace-abiding nations recognized
that this service to the dynasty, the Monarchy, and the
European State system was only possible while the
constitutional independence and national unity of Hungary was
maintained. It was clear to every unprejudiced mind that
Hungarian national independence and unity was the backbone of
the Dual Monarchy and one of the most important guarantees of
European peace. But the imposing position attained by Hungary
through the European sanction of her national ideal would be
imperilled if they were of their own initiative to raise the
question of the union of the two countries and thus convert
the Austrian crisis into one affecting the whole Monarchy."

{44}

An article in the "Neue Freie Presse," of Vienna, on the

hostility of the Vatican to Austria and Hungary was partially
communicated in a despatch of October 11. The Vienna journal
ascribes this hostility in part to resentment engendered by
the alliance of Catholic Austria with Italy, and in part to
the Hungarian ecclesiastical laws.

See above: A. D. 1894-1895.

It remarked: "Never has clericalism been so influential in the
legislation and administration of this Empire. The most
powerful party is the one that takes its 'mot d'ordre' from
the Papal Nunciature. It guides the feudal nobility, it is the
thorn in the flesh of the German population, it has provoked a
20 years' reaction in Austria, and, unhindered and protected,
it scatters in Hungary that seed which has thriven so well in
this half of the Monarchy that nothing is done in Austria
without first considering what will be said about it in Rome."
A day or two later some evidence of a growing resentment in
Austria at the interference of the clergy in politics was
adduced: "Thus the Czech organ, inspired by the well-known
leader of the party, Dr. Stransky, states that a deputation of
tradespeople called on the editor and expressed great
indignation at the unprecedented manner in which the priests
were joining in electoral agitation. They added that they
'could no longer remain members of a Church whose clergy took
advantage of religious sentiment for political purposes.' The
Peasants' Electoral Association for Upper Austria has just
issued a manifesto in which the following occurs:—'We have for
more than 20 years invariably elected the candidates proposed by
the Clerical party. What has been done during that long period
for us peasants and small tradespeople? What have the Clerical
party and the Clerical members of Parliament done for us? How
have they rewarded our long fidelity? By treason. … We have
been imposed upon long enough. It is due to our self-respect
and honour to emancipate ourselves thoroughly from the
mamelukes put forward by the Clerical wirepullers. We must
show that we can get on without Clerical leadingstrings.'"

On the 26th of October the writer summarized a report that day

published by the Vienna Stock Exchange Committee, as
furnishing "fresh evidence of the disastrous effects of the
prolonged internal political crisis." "The report begins by
stating that the Vienna Stock Exchange, formerly the leading
and most important one in Europe, and which, in consequence of
the geographical situation of the town, was called upon to be
the centre of financial operations with the Near East, has for
years past been steadily declining. Every year the number of
those frequenting the Bourse diminishes, and there has been an
annual decrease in the amount of capital that has changed
hands. Of late years, and particularly within the last few
months, this has assumed such dimensions that it has become an
imperative duty for the competent authorities to investigate the
causes of the evil and to seek a remedy. It is recognized that
the deplorable domestic situation has largely contributed to
the decline of the Bourse. The deadlock in the Legislative
Assembly has occasioned stagnation in industry and commerce,
whereas outside the Monarchy there has been an unprecedented
development of trade. Further prejudice has been caused by
what is called in the report the anti-capitalist tendencies,
which represent all gains and profits to be ill-gotten. The
profession of merchant has been held up by unprincipled
demagogues as disreputable. The authorities are reproached
with having encouraged those tendencies by undue tolerance."

Early in November, the Vienna letters began accounts of the

electioneering campaign then opening, though elections for the
new House were not to take place until the following January:
"Every day," wrote the correspondent, "brings its contingent
of electoral manifestos, and all parties have already had
their say. Unfortunately, nothing could be less edifying. It
may be said of them all that they have profited little by
experience, and it is vain to search for any indication of a
conciliatory disposition among Czechs or Germans, Liberals or
Clericals. One and all are as uncompromising as ever, and
neither the leaders nor the rank and file are prepared to
reckon with the real exigencies of the situation, even to save
their own Parliamentary existence. The feudal nobility, who
stand aloof from Parliamentary strife, have alone lost nothing
of their position and influence. They disdainfully refuse to
take either the requirements of the State or the legitimate
wishes of the Crown into account. They are preparing in
 alliance with Ultramontanism to hold their own against the
coming storm. Their action in the pending electrical campaign
is of an occult nature; their proceedings are seldom reported
by the newspapers, and when they meet it is by groups and
privately.

"The political speeches which have hitherto been delivered in

various parts of the country are bewildering. The Germans are
split up into several fractions, and even on the other side
there have been separate manifestos from the Young Czechs and
also from the Old Czechs, who have long ceased to play a part
in the Reichsrath. It is confusion worse confounded, in fact
complete chaos. The prospect of a rallying of the
heterogeneous and mutually antagonistic groups on the basis of
resistance to Hungarian exigencies, though possible, is not
yet at hand, whatever the future may reserve. … The words of
warning that came from the Crown as to this being the last
attempt that would be made to rule by constitutional methods
has clearly failed to produce that impression among
Parliamentary politicians which might justly have been
anticipated. Not even the most experienced and best informed
among the former members of the Reichsrath are disposed to
make any prophecy as to what will follow the dissolution of
the next Chamber."

{45}

In the following month, a significant speech in the Reichsrath

at Buda-Pesth, by the very able Hungarian Prime Minister, M.
Szell, WIIS reported. "He foreshadowed the possibility of a
situation in which Austria would not be able to fulfil the
conditions prescribed in the Ausgleich Act of 1867 with regard
to the manner of dealing with the affairs common to both halves
of the Monarchy. He himself had, however, made up his mind on
the subject, and was convinced that even in those
circumstances the Hungarians would by means of provisional
measures regulate the common affairs and interests of the two