A MAD AND MELANCHOLY MONARCH

NZ Truth, Issue 602, 30 December 1916, Page 5

A MAD AND MELANCHOLY MONARCH

THE BAD, " BARMY " KING OF BAVARIA A GERMAN " GALOOT " AND HIS GAY GOINGS-ON Extraordinary Stories of His Mock Court

Were it not for the fact that the war engrosses the world's attention, a recent happening m Bavaria (one of the German Confederated States with which we are at war) would have become a matter of real live interest instead of being, as it happens to be. a mere nothing, notwithstanding the tact that the mere happening was the death of a King, and A MAD OLD, BAD OLD, BAB OLD ■: ■ . -\KING • • :•■'•. ■ he happened to be. When we cpme to consider the fact that Kaiser Bill of Berlin haa always been considered "barmy," and that his greatest act of madness was to deluge Europe with' blood; it is not strange! tonote that a mad King can pass",ow of tbia -wicked world without regret,' go down to bis grave unhonored, unsung', and no doubt unwept.' While Germany ia King and JESmperor ridden, perhaps one King less, mad or otherwise, is' neither here nor there, although it all goes to show what Germany is ; and what the German people are. King ' Otto of Bavaria died a couple of months ago, and ended the most extraordinary royal tragedy of Europe . It was a tragedy m a dramatic as well as an ordinary human sense, for the doctors and attendants of the mad king had to act like the characters m a play, pretending that he was a real'". I&ns" when he was m fact only. a poorjmadman, at times harmless and at times A DEADLY MANIAC. Otto succeeded to the throne on June 13, 1886, when be was already hopelessly mail. ' He was In this condition from 1871 until he died this year, a total period of forty years. He followed his brother, King Ludwlg, who was also insane. ' Ludwig was , the friend and partner of Richard Wagner, and before bis insanity led to his confinement he built inconceivably fantastic and extravagant palaces. Ludwig drowned himself, by leaping into tho Btarfiberger Lake m 1886, carrying his physician with him to death. Otto's insanity was even more pronounced than that of bis brother and had shown Itself before his brother's death. During the Franco -Prussian War of 1870, Otto, then a general, wildly insulted bis coromander-ln-chlet the old Kaiser Wflhelm, and by Bismarck's orders was carried back to Munich, and'was ever afterward kept under durvelUance or m confinement. Prince Luitpold, of Bavaria, uncle of King Lndwig, became regent during Lud wig's Insanity, and on bis death filled the same office for Otto. Bo profound wa» Prince LuttpoldTs veneration ror the Bacrednesa of f THE LAWFUL KING'S PERSON that throughout his long life he refused to take the- crown himself, although he was the natural heir and </n joyed the real power. Ho gave or- i darn that Otto should be treated In every respect, as king, with tho most "scrupulous attention to etiquette. Prince Lultpold died, and his son succeeded him as regent for Otto, and iho same hollow forms of royal eti- ! quotto had to bo kcjjt up by ah army i uf court functionaries, physicians and keepers. It was not until 1912 that King Otto was finally dethroned by | law, and even then the present King Insisted that his cousin should still receive the honors due to a king. This Avaa dono, not only because of the respect tho actual rulers of Bavaria Cor ths royollat principles, but also because of tho veneration the Bavarian pcoploaTe allowed to have felt for their ancient royal flunily and their peculiar affection for tho late King and his brothel 1 . What must it have meant for an army of men to wait constantly upon a madman, pretending to obey him as ' v king, and yot never obeying him, uocopilng his most despotic orders i humbly, and yet never carrying them out; addressing him with the profoundest humility and still treating him as a child or a lunatic? This j woa the duty which fell upon thorn for thirty years. They were compelled to l>«> on guard day and night, for the j mad icing's eccentricities were as likely nn not to show themselves In the mlddlo of tho night. They had frequently to risk their lives* and suffer physical injury m the attempt to make tho mad King feel that ho -was really a rulor. Another r:iij.«o of danger to. tho attendants lay In lh« necessity of protecting him from TUG SUICIDAL TENDENCIES which were likely to show themselves In hvicU a man. They remembered ! thAt his brother, Ludwlg's physician, hud lost his life whon that King drowned himself. Wh:it happened within Klntf QUo'h prl.'nm palauu walls during the»e:.4.h|rty. y^Ai'M In naturally to a great extent •wrapped In mystery. The Bavarian Government wo-|ld not make public tlotnlla which wcVild form a painful chapter In the history, of kingship. But we know positively that Otto was Ui*nt( v il i>« a kinir. and thut thin treativmi lod to Inconceivably fantastic; jlilsoclffi. Wo know this front a r«.iiutkublo article pnbllnhed before Otto's dwith by Maximilian Harden, the r.oU'd Itcrltn Journalist, who haa ti nonius for Htlrrlng up gubJcciH dl«---ploaslnj: to tho ruling classes. In this avlW'io Harden drew m i»riu»Bomo j>ietur<> of the mad King Otto treated as v U\ng, while Frletlrleh NletXHche. one of th<» most orltjinnl philQNophorti of tJernmny, thon In nn iisyltun, received ne special consideration. AVo Jrnvo proof uf tho same nUiUb of affairs from a. nut ro matter-of-fact source. Annually thr Bavarian IMrllftmont voted a larffo «urn for tl»« aiuppori of Klnjc OUo'h dignity nn<l reccU'cd report* coin'ornlnj? hiH ireoiment. Tho majority appeared UoHlroiiH that ho should b(T » roamed an a klnK. Durlnjj the early «tng 0 of hl« Inli;»7tity h<? was confinod In Xymphcn|>un: Cn»Uo, one of tho foiryllko pal« ttccH orbited by hl« brother, I.udwlg/ Thin wan found unsuitable on account of tlio labyrinth of acerct p&suttKgon, Jn \thlch Otto manoged to hide hlrocelf. Up wa.H moved from placo to plac«. with fluo rcgartl to hl« royal illirnity, itiul fthally l-'urstenrltml Cimtl« wm chosen for hf» reaidenco during: thu srpAifir pftrt of hts,4naanUy. it wan chonon prlncJp»lly bfceauao It won Bcrconod from public observation^ tfviTlbcivu, it »»* ""Avllabte that

with the large number of people employed m the castle, many details concerning the strange happenings there should leak out. Otto was a terrifically powerful man, even more so than Ludwig, and two ordinary men were I not sufficient to handle him IN A PAROXYSM OF RAGE. Those about him consisted partly of real noblemen, officers and court functionaries, but principally of physicians, nurses and keepers. --> The* latter class were all uniformed ..as ..officers and court functionaries. All the ceremony of a court was maintained m the splendid Castle of Furstenrled. The King sat upon a great gilded throne m the throne, hall qf r lhe r casUe,;_ By its side was' another ,-jempty, throne which he ordered should be kept there to remind him of the love tragedy of his life. ! There is a remarkable story told of the King, which, while it may not be accurate In all its' details, is probably substantially; true, and undoubtedly illustrates thekind of life that was led by Otto and those about him. He had been m his youth an intense admirer or Jenny Unds flinging, He had m him much of ihe musical feeling that made his brother the great patron of Richard Wagner. One day Jenny Lind, while confiding some of her experiences to Prince Otto, said: v • : . .. .. "I was never so mortified by anything m my life aa when that man Barnum exhibited me along with the two-headed calf, the giantess, the sword swallower, and the rest of bis freaks, as if I was one of them." •.<■. "The scoundrel,'' exclaimed the young Prince, "If .ever. l get hold of him I WILL PLAT HIM ALIVE." The memory of Jenny Lind's singing and this curious episode lingered m Otto's memory long after he became a mad King.. .In his prison palace he I would call for Jenny Lind to sing to him and fell into a terrific rage when she did not come, Alter some years of this, one of the physicians had the idea of calming the King by engaging a Blnger with a voice resembling Jenny Lind's to sing some of her favorite sonera on a phonographic record. A very, realistic life-like figure of Jenny L±nd was then built, and the phonograph was concealed within it. When the King was In a dangerous mood the figure was brought Into the. throne room and the records turned on. After he had drunk m the music deeply, the mad King started up and exclaimed; "By Heaven! To think that tho villain Baruum should have

humiliated that angel! Arrest him, bring him before mo. and behead him Immediately." Tho King wai so violent "m hi.s commands that his au«ntlants felt everything must be done lo pacify him. They nrranged an executioner's block at one end of the throne room and druped the walla with black cloth uml arrnntfod all tho details of a medieval execution. Then-they dressed nn attendant to represent tho colo''brated tthowman. The culprit was brought In and condomnetl to be beheaded on the spot by tho mad King. Tho condemned man wat» taken to tho end of tho throne room, now propared for the execution. His hands wore tied behind his buck. Everything was donft with the most noJemn ceremony. Under cover of a group or soldiers a dummy figure mndo up to represent exactly iho condemned man wan dexiroualy KUbsUtnted for the latter. The «<>!UierH drugged the limp rticuro forward und forced It. face downward*, on iho oxecuUoner'a block. Down came THE HEADSMAN'S FLASHING AXE. and off "«r*nt th<* h<vwl. "Now, I«M htm ho lutrfixl In a. nameIciw grave." Maid tho mad iClnj:. After «nIR hn trrfw ailm und-foU Into hi* ordinary <lr«ntmy «iitt<-. From \\xno to'tlmo the ««»hip piece of nctluir hn<l to Uo ,reptoated. for th«* King Jvlwaya forgot wbhChhU happorKd before. -AAt another Urns th<> King took a great liking to one of hi* young cour-

tiers, who was really a trained nurse for lunatics. He appointed him com-mander-in-chief of the army. In order to humor this fancy of the King:, the court officials supplied the man with the uniform of his new rank. By the King's orders he went to war with Russia and gave the King great delight by reporting complete victory over the enemy. , "Your Majesty," he announced, "I have the honor to report that your armies haye entered St. Petersburg to-day and that the Tsar of Russia begs for peace." This announcement filled the King with joy and he became more like a normal man than he had appeared for months.. In fact, anything that .apr pealed to his sense of kingly dljnity seemed to have a very good effect on his "psychic state," as the doctors called his mental condition. Whenever an attendant uttered the words "Tour Majesty," it is said that King Otto would straighten himself up and a look of pleasure would pass over his sad face. | King Otto's caprices sometimes took the form* of extravagant generosity, but at other times they were very disagreeable to his attendants. He smoked enormous quantities of cigars and cigarettes, and one of his favorite notions of a jest was to thrust the lighted end of one of them into an attendants faco. Sometimes the lighted end would go into the man's eye endangering his sight, and THE PAIN WOULD BE EXCRUCIATING. Duty and royal etiquette, however, compelled the man to look as pleasant as possible and to treat ±he episode as a delightful example of royal condeacenslon. When the King became frantic with rage and attempted to kill one of his attendants, the man was on no account permitted to defend himself by attacking the royal person. He had to stand the choking and the beating as best he could until others came to his help. Then two or more men would hold the King from behind until his rage passed away. Thus he would not see the men who laid sacrilegious hands on a king. After such an episode he would forget all about it. The King's exigencies made it necessary to bring other subjects before him besides his regular, attendants. In the earlier -stage of his insanity musicians and artists were often commanded to entertain him. These persons, not being trained to deal with lunatics, ran a great risk of sudden death. Music ordinarily had a very soothing effect on him, as it did on King David's troubled spirit, but sometimes the poor fellow's efforts would displease him. "Take that pianist out and hang him. He has murdered Richard Wagner," the King yelled one day. When the court official hesitated he ahonted: "Will no. one rid me of the wretch? Then I shall do it myself!" As the King started for the pianist the court attendants grabbed the man and ■ ■■..-..•.■.. DRAGGED HIM OFF TO EXECUTION. During the earlier stages of the King's Insanity an effort was made to satisfy his yearning for refined feminine society. He had always been Intensely sentimental. Indeed, it ia believed that his insanity started m his early youth with the, refusal of his brotlier, the King, to permit him to marry a young co6ntess not of royal birth. After he yaa locked up m his palace he raved about the beautiful and especially the unhappy women of history. He imagined himself trying to rescue Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Mario Afltolnctto and other unhappy heroines from their doom. In his efltdHs t o rescue Marie Antoinette from prison He nearly boat himself to death against the walls of his palace. In order to satisfy this yearning of the mad King, a large number of handsome but physically powerful women were engaged to keep him company. One after another they impersonated the Queen of Sheba, Helen of Troy, Queen Somlramis, Queen Dido, Mary Queen of Scots, Queen Marie Antlonetle, Queen Louise of Prussia, and the Empress Josephine. The mad King: was thus able to devote himself to the most interesting and fasoinaUng women of all times. Sometimes ho confused himself with Faust and thought that he had secured a miraculous rejuvenation by A LEAGUE WITH THE DEVIL, it was observed by the physicians that when ho was busily engaged m rescuing some distressed heroine hie ordinary behavior was more normal than at other times. Therefore, this peculiar experiment appeared justifiable to thorn. As the yearH wont on, however, his Imbecility and violence became BO advanced that it was impossible to employ this method of amusing him. Several persons have, from time to time, reported that they had been allowed to peep at tho mad King m his confinement at Fuerstanrlod. This was probably permitted Jn order that the out'Jklo world might know that hl» Majesty was well treated. "Through the courtesy or a physician," wroto one correspondent several years ago, "1 was ablo to enter the garden adjoining tho oast wing of the castle where Otto spends most of his time and to boo the* royal musician* outline through the curtain. After a momciH'H waiting, an agreeable baritone voice boKun to »lng, 'Woman \» Fickle,' the famous aria from 'RlguJotto. 1 For ten minuton or longer the royal Otto went over tho part, now repeating certain cadence*, omitting pasBtigcn that presumably had escaped his memory. Then, Instantaneously, tho flinging conned In tho midst of a nourish, cimscd with electric suddennftsi?. ua if ft string had burnt. Suddenly tho royal singer began upaln. Thin ilmo !\lh theme wn« tin aria from tho half- forgotten musical work. 'A Heavenly I.olnjf Is Approaching.' It In Hnlevy'* opera. 'Guido and Ginevra.' This time King OUo'h Intonation was less conventional: ho pronounced the word* ns If hi* wore Bji«>aklnff Inxtftad of tiinitlnir. and though Itta voice again r>'n«*» "> M»n»I«Jt?n«bl*» height, it labored under a tremolo, 'll im hoart In m iht> •:<>;ur.' whJj»p».*r«Tcl tho physician; 'don't ml«w ft note—now ■TIM-; fIEAI- MADMAN* IS AT WORK.' presilo! nriolher change*. The King amlde&ly tired ot th« »low chord «ro<

I gresslons and dropped into buffoonery." ■ This correspondent tqlis how the poor, insano man again changed his tune, fancy or accident leading him from up-to-date vaudeville to the Chansons of Offenbach end the sweet melodies of Laming and Straussthings that were new thirty or forty years ago. This went on for another half hour, then suddenly a crash of broken glass, a piercing 1 , inarticulate voice shouted m rags or terror ot both. A bJg . window-pane lay shattered on the pavement, of the courtyard, while inside heavy articles ot decoration, and furniture -were thrown about. The servant said unconcernedly: "On© of bis usual fits. Glad I'm off duty." "When the cra2e to sing first seized His Majesty," said an inmate of Castle Fuerstenried, "he ordered tho leader of the orchestra to his room, and, remember, no one! heard him utter an articulate sound for years before. Yet ha said to the professor, somewhat slowly, but pronouncing each word accurately; 'I. attended Halevy's "Guldo and Glnevra" last night, and think the music enchanting. Whole arias stuck to my memory, though 1 never a&w the score or book." Then he stepped back a few paces, struck a stagely attitude, and sang: 'A Heavenly Being Is Approaching,' the song which remained a favorite with him Since then. "When His Majesty had finished he turned upon tho musician, commanding him to play the aria upon the, piano. .'"I will sond for you again.' he said when ho dismissed the kapellmeister. Then ho sat down at the gVand piano and tried to play the aria himself, but produced only disdords. That ptjT hJM Into a terrible ragts. seizing a bronze statue he began to belabor the sounding board and keys, and after wrecking the piano tho improvised hammer continued the work of destruction with everything within reach. When th» physician arrived on the scene h© was teai-in* tho strings of the instrument with his teeth." Another correspondent $?ave some interesting details concerning the King's habits at table. "Truth" will conclude this remarkable story m its next issue, which will include Maximilian Hardens striking picture of the mod and melancholy monarch before his death.