HOW MAD KING OTTO KILLED HIS KEEPER.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 18, Issue 44, 31 May 1907, Page 7

HOW MAD KING OTTO KILLED HIS KEEPER.

'AND THE SECOND KEEPER DIED BECAUSE HE -‘-‘MUST NOT TOUCH THE KING ” AND SO COULD NOT DEFEND HIMSELF AGAINST THE ROYAL DEMON.; The madness of Otto, King of Bavaria, has now advanced to a point whore he is .worse than a maneating tiger.The utmost secrecy is preserved by the Prince Regent and the court concerning what happens at Fuerstonried, the palace-asylum of the King, bpt a vast number of doctors, servants and other attendants are required to wait upon the royal maniac, and through them everything that passes in the palace becomes known. The King is now so violent that no man can approach him without danger of his life. Ho has already killed two attendants, and three others luive been permanently maimed by him. The latter are now provided with easy positions in the palace grounds because they are no longer sufficiently vigorous to wait upon the monarch, In spite of the King’s murderous violence it is absolutely forbidden to any attendant to use violence, force, or restraint of any kind toward him. Otto is still a crowned and anointed ruler ; his face appears on the coinage of Bavaria and the Government of the country is still carried on in his name. It would be high treason, punishable with death to lay hands upon the sacred person of the King, The man who is seized by the King, and choked, and almost bitten to death is graciously allowed to use reasonable efforts to escape but beyond this ho must not go. He must not knock the King down in self-defence, nor may other attendants forcibly restrain the King from using violence towards them.

Explicit orders upon this subject have been issued by Count von Redwitz, grand master of the palace. He points out gravely that the servants are liable to execution and various penalties, including confiscation of all their goods, which would ruin their families, if they lay violent hands upon the King.

The King is very irregular in eating, and sometimes goes for days without food. This habit threatens to shorten his life, which otherwise may. he prolonged for many years. Recently he had gone without food for a whole day, and Dr. von y, raschcyi the chief medical attendant, decided that an effort must be made to induce him to eat. All day long the meals prepared for him at the usual hours'. observed by kings and served with all possible splendour lay untouched upon the great state dining room. The doctors planned a ruse to induce him to eat. A venerable flunkey, with powdered hair and livery of gold and scarlet, was sent to the King’s bedchamber and announced to him:

"His Majesty the German Emperor has sent to Your Majesty a brace of beautiful pheasants shot by himself. Will Your Majesty be graciously pleased to have them for dinner.” Otto, who was at this moment under the influence of acute persecutory mania, leaped up, seized the servant by the throat, and bit him horribly in the face and neck.

"There is no German Emperor,” he shrieked. "You have come to murder me, you sneaking hound.” The King crushed the old man’s windpipe in his hands, which are like the paws of a gorilla, and in a minute flung his lifeless body outside the door.

After this tragedy the King was left alone for the whole of the following day. On the day after that the doctors decided that another attempt might be made to feed him as his strength must bo exhausted, and further, that it was necessary to save his life. This time, a different type of servant, a young powerful Bavarian peasant, named Hans Bustig was chosen. lie was sent to the King’s bedroom with a, trayful of appetizing dainties. The King had now barricaded himself in the room with chairs and other furniture. With the help of other servants, Hans gingerly pushed these obstacles aside. The King made no sign, but lurked just out of sight, his eyes glittering like a wild cat’s out of a mass of filthy, tangled hair. Hans stepped into the room respectfully, and at that very instant, Otto leaped forward and beat in the poor fellow’s head with the end of a solid brass candlestick, three feet high. The other servants dragged away the latest victim of royal madness, and slammed the door upon the King thereby risking a conviction of lose majestc, or possibly treason. Another day passed without food, and again the doctors demanded that an effort must be made to save the sacred life of royalty. One of the younger doctors suggested that his Majesty might bo loss infuriated at the sight of a woman than a man. It was recalled that he had, years ago exhibited great animation at the sight of a pretty girl, but the doctors had decided that it would not be good for him to repeat this excitement.

On the present occasion the experiment was attempted as a last resort. The pretty daughter of the head gardener was ordered to serve as a sacrifice to the royal minotaur. Her name was Oretchen Ostler. A fresh tray of dainties was prepared, and she was sent to offer it to Otto.

The court dignitaries, doctors, and servants hid behind screens and the more solid articles of furniture while the pretty young girl timidly entered the chamber of the insane demon. There, was an instant change in his demeanor. He smiled affectionately upon the girl, and helped her to set down the tray upon a table. He kissed her hand, and addressed her by the name of a Countess of one of the most ancient families in Bavaria whom he had known in his youth before ho became insane. He insisted upon her sitting with him and sharing his meal. When she attempted to go away he protested violently, and said ho would not cat unless she

remained to protect him from the villains who were lurking about him. Thus for the moment the problem of keeping- the mad King alive was solved. Tho King's mental disease is chronic progressive paranoia. When it first showed itself it was marked by delusions concerning politics, religion, persecution and women, and he had frequent fits of violent homicid'al mania. At first his mind was clear upon certain subjects; but the disease has now advanced to a point where his mind is an utter wreck. The only thing that he remembers clearly is that he is King, and if any man fails to address him as “Your Majesty he is immediately seized with a paroxysm of homicidal fury. He has grown utterly regardless of his personal appearance. His hair is filthy, matted, and uncut, and grows in a tangled mass about bin face and his nails have grown into claws iike those of a wild beast. He never washes and never takes any exercise. It is impossible to compel him to perform any of these acts without using force, and that would be a crirn® against the laws of Bavaria. In spite of his condition he retains great physical strength. Ho has a big, heavy frame, and although ho has become emaciated, that does not diminish his physical power. Ho has been treated with the greatest care, humoured in every way, supplied with abundant nourishment and kept in the healthiest place in Bavaria. It is not uncommon for paranoiacs of his class to enjoy great strength and live to an advanced age. When ho falls into paroxysms, of rage, Otto’s strength seems almost superhuman. On one occasion ho seized a large billiard-table, turned it on its aide, and threw it against the door, to block the way against supposed assassins, Many years ago his attendants found difficulty in inducing him to eat. He would neglect the luxurious banquets prepared for him until many hours passod, and they wore quite cold. Then ho would como and eat when no one else was looking, sometimes in tho dead of night. He would display great delight at the j thought that he had deceived his attendants by dining without thenknowledge. When he does eat he is capable of taking tho allowance of a dozen men. When the doctors found that he would not take hot. food they decided that it would be bettor to prepare food intended to bo eaten cold, because it keeps better and is wholesomor than hot food which has grown cold. Since then a table laid with all sorts of delicacies, cold, has been kept constantly ready for him. Tntil the occasion above described, when he killed his attendants, he has rarely allowed a day to pass without gorging himself with these cold vituals.

Sometimes Otto lies for hours looking at the sim or talking to the birds; on other clays his cruelty and violence are without bounds. Ho rolls about his gilded apartments, and bites the legs of the chairs and tables. Then he takes a fiendish delight in shooting a passer-by from the palace windows. He keeps a large supply of rifles and revolvers for this purpose. They are loaded with specially made harmless balls by his attendants, in order that he may not cauke too much annoyance to the populace, but he has the satisfaction of believing that he is actually shooting his subjects. Otto was born in 1848, and succeeded in 1886 his brother Ludwig, who sufl'ered from flic same disease as himself in a lass aggravated form. Ludwig was the friend of Richard Wagner and spent more money in building palaces than any man in history. His madness was associated with his separation from his cousin, Sophie, with whom he was deeply in love. She became Duchess d'Alencon, and was burned to death in the Charity Bazaar in Paris in 1847. Ludwig voluntarily secluded himself from public gaze and led a life of romantic mystery in his colossal castles decorated with th> legends of Tannhauser and Lohengrin. In 1886 ho drowned himself in the lake at Herremhiemsee. His brother Otto was clearly mad at the time of his accession, and he began his reign und#r the regency of his uncle, Prince Luitpold, which has lasted ever since. It is announced that the Prince Regent when in Vienna recently, consulted the venerable Lmperor of Austria as to the possibility of dethromng Otto now that his condition is hopeless, and he is more like a .beast than a man.