CHAPTER XXPrince Otto’s Insanity—The King’s Morbid SensationsThe House of Wittelsbach has been terribly ravaged by insanity. In the course of one hundred years more than twenty members of the family have been visited by this misfortune.The sons of Maximilian II. were burdened with exceedingly neurotic tendencies. Their grandfather had been eccentric in a high degree; and a sister of King Maximilian was for long retained in a madhouse. The parents of Ludwig II. and Prince Otto were, moreover, near relations. They were both connected by ties of blood with the Royal House of Hesse-Darmstadt, where there had been insanity for many years. The grandmothers of the Bavarian Queen-mother, on both her father’s and her mother’s side, were Hessian princesses. The mother of Ludwig I., who died in her youth, likewise belonged to this house; and his wife was the granddaughter of a princess of Darmstadt.At the beginning of 1872 the newspapers began to insert notices in their columns to the effect that Prince Otto of Bavaria was suffering. In the fifties and sixties he had beenthe picture of health. Where Ludwig had withdrawn, he had gone forward towards people with outstretched hands. He had always been gay, amiable, and lively. The unnaturally strict upbringing, and the rapidity with which, from almost unendurable restraint, he had been thrown into unfettered freedom, had, however, been a concurrent cause of his losing his mental balance. Hardly two and twenty years of age, he had followed the army (1870). We know that, despite his wish to remain with it, the King had recalled him to Hohenschwangau. The summons was probably the dictate of the elder brother’s personal feelings; but the Prince’s nervous system had also shown itself to be unfitted for the bloody scenes of a battlefield. Crown Prince Friedrich wrote in his diary: “Prince Otto came to take leave before his return to Munich. He was looking pale and wretched. He sat in front of me, apparently suffering from cold shivering fits, while I developed to him the necessity of our making common cause in military and diplomatic affairs. I could not make out whether he understood me, or only heard what I said.”Shortly after his return he began to show the first signs of insanity. The report of this aroused general sorrow. He had been given the affectionate nickname of “Otto der Fröhliche.” In spite of predisposition, and in spite of the circumstances attending his birth,which might furnish some ground for the supposition that the germ of the malady was to be sought there, the public would not at first credit the news. He was seen daily in the streets, the theatre, and at the circus. Suddenly his sickness took a violent turn. He had to be placed under restraint, and some occurrences which took place caused the physicians to advise his being sent away from Munich. The Prince, however, would not agree to this. For the time being, therefore, he remained where he was, though it was found impossible to allow him to be alone. At length he was declared to be incurably mad, and was completely separated from his relations. The King was very decided in his wish that he should not live in the vicinity of the castles he himself was in the habit of occupying. He was, therefore, taken to Nymphenburg, and two years later to the lonely Fürstenreid. His mother was inconsolable at the misfortune which had struck her favourite child; and Ludwig also greatly felt the blow. When, on his accession, the ceremonies for his father’s funeral had been decided upon, and he had been asked what place the Prince should take, he had answered without hesitation: “At my side!” The younger brother’s light-hearted temperament had formed a favourable contrast to his serious, heavy view of life. He had regarded him as his successor, and hoped that Otto by makinga brilliant match would repair the injury done to the country by his own celibacy. Instead of this, he had from mental dulness sunk into the darkest night of insanity. He showed no feeling at the moment of departure, and cared only for some toys; but all the tenderness which had lain dormant in Ludwig’s nature burst forth at this moment. Those who were witness to his parting with his mad brother were moved at the heart-broken sorrow he displayed.From this day the King became deeply solicitous about his own health; he suffered from fear lest Otto’s fate should become his. A doctor had been careless enough to inform him that his father had led a light life in his earliest youth. After he had learned this fact, he attributed the greater number of his physical sufferings to inherited tendency. The remembrance of his father became painful to him, and he could not suppress bitter expressions with reference to him. At the time of his ascent of the throne several persons had thought to remark that his nerves were wanting in the power of resistance. The celebrated French physician, Dr Morel, who had been called to Munich in 1867, had had an opportunity of seeing the young King. He had uttered the sadly prophetic words: “His eyes are sinisterly beautiful; future madness shines from them!”The political events of 1870–71, and their results, had increased his already painful feeling of thecontrast between his imagination and reality. Signs were not wanting that his dream-life might have fatal results for him. His nervous excitement became even more apparent when his brother’s malady broke out. In 1874 his condition was considered so dangerous that it was talked of openly in his capital. The editor of a Conservative newspaper publicly mentioned the report that the King was insane. He was condemned to six months’ imprisonment forlèse Majesté, although he called as witnesses several deputies of the Landtag, who declared on oath that this topic had been discussed in the ale-halls of Munich.Megalomania, the traces of which at times were apparent, had not yet penetrated so deeply into Ludwig’s consciousness that they affected more than certain of his actions; the fire was still smouldering, though it threatened to burst out into flames. As yet his power of will was strong enough to curb his imagination. As yet a healthy mental current ran, and was to run for long, side by side with the diseased one; as yet he could at times by restless activity bring his unquiet mind to rest. He fought like a lion to avert the misfortune, which he so greatly dreaded; but he fought alone. His lofty conceptions had year by year deepened the cleft which a want of understanding had dug between him and his mother. Circumstances had parted him from Richard Wagner, thefriend whom he had most loved. He had no confidant, hardly, indeed, anyone in whom he placed confidence. There was no one who with a firm hand might have led him away from his erroneous conceptions, no one who could obliterate the impressions which made him superstitious and bitter.This King, who a few years before had awakened the enthusiasm of all, became transformed into a heavy, corpulent, pallid man, weary with the burden of his life. In the midst of the romantic splendour with which he surrounded himself, he was tormented by the thought of suicide. On stormy nights he would drive about the mountain roads at a furious pace in his gilded coach, alone with his morbid sensations and fancies.Only the deep blue eyes, with their expression ofSchwärmereiand their melancholy glance, remained to remind the world of the handsome youth who had been the pride and hope of Bavaria.
CHAPTER XXPrince Otto’s Insanity—The King’s Morbid SensationsThe House of Wittelsbach has been terribly ravaged by insanity. In the course of one hundred years more than twenty members of the family have been visited by this misfortune.The sons of Maximilian II. were burdened with exceedingly neurotic tendencies. Their grandfather had been eccentric in a high degree; and a sister of King Maximilian was for long retained in a madhouse. The parents of Ludwig II. and Prince Otto were, moreover, near relations. They were both connected by ties of blood with the Royal House of Hesse-Darmstadt, where there had been insanity for many years. The grandmothers of the Bavarian Queen-mother, on both her father’s and her mother’s side, were Hessian princesses. The mother of Ludwig I., who died in her youth, likewise belonged to this house; and his wife was the granddaughter of a princess of Darmstadt.At the beginning of 1872 the newspapers began to insert notices in their columns to the effect that Prince Otto of Bavaria was suffering. In the fifties and sixties he had beenthe picture of health. Where Ludwig had withdrawn, he had gone forward towards people with outstretched hands. He had always been gay, amiable, and lively. The unnaturally strict upbringing, and the rapidity with which, from almost unendurable restraint, he had been thrown into unfettered freedom, had, however, been a concurrent cause of his losing his mental balance. Hardly two and twenty years of age, he had followed the army (1870). We know that, despite his wish to remain with it, the King had recalled him to Hohenschwangau. The summons was probably the dictate of the elder brother’s personal feelings; but the Prince’s nervous system had also shown itself to be unfitted for the bloody scenes of a battlefield. Crown Prince Friedrich wrote in his diary: “Prince Otto came to take leave before his return to Munich. He was looking pale and wretched. He sat in front of me, apparently suffering from cold shivering fits, while I developed to him the necessity of our making common cause in military and diplomatic affairs. I could not make out whether he understood me, or only heard what I said.”Shortly after his return he began to show the first signs of insanity. The report of this aroused general sorrow. He had been given the affectionate nickname of “Otto der Fröhliche.” In spite of predisposition, and in spite of the circumstances attending his birth,which might furnish some ground for the supposition that the germ of the malady was to be sought there, the public would not at first credit the news. He was seen daily in the streets, the theatre, and at the circus. Suddenly his sickness took a violent turn. He had to be placed under restraint, and some occurrences which took place caused the physicians to advise his being sent away from Munich. The Prince, however, would not agree to this. For the time being, therefore, he remained where he was, though it was found impossible to allow him to be alone. At length he was declared to be incurably mad, and was completely separated from his relations. The King was very decided in his wish that he should not live in the vicinity of the castles he himself was in the habit of occupying. He was, therefore, taken to Nymphenburg, and two years later to the lonely Fürstenreid. His mother was inconsolable at the misfortune which had struck her favourite child; and Ludwig also greatly felt the blow. When, on his accession, the ceremonies for his father’s funeral had been decided upon, and he had been asked what place the Prince should take, he had answered without hesitation: “At my side!” The younger brother’s light-hearted temperament had formed a favourable contrast to his serious, heavy view of life. He had regarded him as his successor, and hoped that Otto by makinga brilliant match would repair the injury done to the country by his own celibacy. Instead of this, he had from mental dulness sunk into the darkest night of insanity. He showed no feeling at the moment of departure, and cared only for some toys; but all the tenderness which had lain dormant in Ludwig’s nature burst forth at this moment. Those who were witness to his parting with his mad brother were moved at the heart-broken sorrow he displayed.From this day the King became deeply solicitous about his own health; he suffered from fear lest Otto’s fate should become his. A doctor had been careless enough to inform him that his father had led a light life in his earliest youth. After he had learned this fact, he attributed the greater number of his physical sufferings to inherited tendency. The remembrance of his father became painful to him, and he could not suppress bitter expressions with reference to him. At the time of his ascent of the throne several persons had thought to remark that his nerves were wanting in the power of resistance. The celebrated French physician, Dr Morel, who had been called to Munich in 1867, had had an opportunity of seeing the young King. He had uttered the sadly prophetic words: “His eyes are sinisterly beautiful; future madness shines from them!”The political events of 1870–71, and their results, had increased his already painful feeling of thecontrast between his imagination and reality. Signs were not wanting that his dream-life might have fatal results for him. His nervous excitement became even more apparent when his brother’s malady broke out. In 1874 his condition was considered so dangerous that it was talked of openly in his capital. The editor of a Conservative newspaper publicly mentioned the report that the King was insane. He was condemned to six months’ imprisonment forlèse Majesté, although he called as witnesses several deputies of the Landtag, who declared on oath that this topic had been discussed in the ale-halls of Munich.Megalomania, the traces of which at times were apparent, had not yet penetrated so deeply into Ludwig’s consciousness that they affected more than certain of his actions; the fire was still smouldering, though it threatened to burst out into flames. As yet his power of will was strong enough to curb his imagination. As yet a healthy mental current ran, and was to run for long, side by side with the diseased one; as yet he could at times by restless activity bring his unquiet mind to rest. He fought like a lion to avert the misfortune, which he so greatly dreaded; but he fought alone. His lofty conceptions had year by year deepened the cleft which a want of understanding had dug between him and his mother. Circumstances had parted him from Richard Wagner, thefriend whom he had most loved. He had no confidant, hardly, indeed, anyone in whom he placed confidence. There was no one who with a firm hand might have led him away from his erroneous conceptions, no one who could obliterate the impressions which made him superstitious and bitter.This King, who a few years before had awakened the enthusiasm of all, became transformed into a heavy, corpulent, pallid man, weary with the burden of his life. In the midst of the romantic splendour with which he surrounded himself, he was tormented by the thought of suicide. On stormy nights he would drive about the mountain roads at a furious pace in his gilded coach, alone with his morbid sensations and fancies.Only the deep blue eyes, with their expression ofSchwärmereiand their melancholy glance, remained to remind the world of the handsome youth who had been the pride and hope of Bavaria.
CHAPTER XXPrince Otto’s Insanity—The King’s Morbid Sensations
The House of Wittelsbach has been terribly ravaged by insanity. In the course of one hundred years more than twenty members of the family have been visited by this misfortune.The sons of Maximilian II. were burdened with exceedingly neurotic tendencies. Their grandfather had been eccentric in a high degree; and a sister of King Maximilian was for long retained in a madhouse. The parents of Ludwig II. and Prince Otto were, moreover, near relations. They were both connected by ties of blood with the Royal House of Hesse-Darmstadt, where there had been insanity for many years. The grandmothers of the Bavarian Queen-mother, on both her father’s and her mother’s side, were Hessian princesses. The mother of Ludwig I., who died in her youth, likewise belonged to this house; and his wife was the granddaughter of a princess of Darmstadt.At the beginning of 1872 the newspapers began to insert notices in their columns to the effect that Prince Otto of Bavaria was suffering. In the fifties and sixties he had beenthe picture of health. Where Ludwig had withdrawn, he had gone forward towards people with outstretched hands. He had always been gay, amiable, and lively. The unnaturally strict upbringing, and the rapidity with which, from almost unendurable restraint, he had been thrown into unfettered freedom, had, however, been a concurrent cause of his losing his mental balance. Hardly two and twenty years of age, he had followed the army (1870). We know that, despite his wish to remain with it, the King had recalled him to Hohenschwangau. The summons was probably the dictate of the elder brother’s personal feelings; but the Prince’s nervous system had also shown itself to be unfitted for the bloody scenes of a battlefield. Crown Prince Friedrich wrote in his diary: “Prince Otto came to take leave before his return to Munich. He was looking pale and wretched. He sat in front of me, apparently suffering from cold shivering fits, while I developed to him the necessity of our making common cause in military and diplomatic affairs. I could not make out whether he understood me, or only heard what I said.”Shortly after his return he began to show the first signs of insanity. The report of this aroused general sorrow. He had been given the affectionate nickname of “Otto der Fröhliche.” In spite of predisposition, and in spite of the circumstances attending his birth,which might furnish some ground for the supposition that the germ of the malady was to be sought there, the public would not at first credit the news. He was seen daily in the streets, the theatre, and at the circus. Suddenly his sickness took a violent turn. He had to be placed under restraint, and some occurrences which took place caused the physicians to advise his being sent away from Munich. The Prince, however, would not agree to this. For the time being, therefore, he remained where he was, though it was found impossible to allow him to be alone. At length he was declared to be incurably mad, and was completely separated from his relations. The King was very decided in his wish that he should not live in the vicinity of the castles he himself was in the habit of occupying. He was, therefore, taken to Nymphenburg, and two years later to the lonely Fürstenreid. His mother was inconsolable at the misfortune which had struck her favourite child; and Ludwig also greatly felt the blow. When, on his accession, the ceremonies for his father’s funeral had been decided upon, and he had been asked what place the Prince should take, he had answered without hesitation: “At my side!” The younger brother’s light-hearted temperament had formed a favourable contrast to his serious, heavy view of life. He had regarded him as his successor, and hoped that Otto by makinga brilliant match would repair the injury done to the country by his own celibacy. Instead of this, he had from mental dulness sunk into the darkest night of insanity. He showed no feeling at the moment of departure, and cared only for some toys; but all the tenderness which had lain dormant in Ludwig’s nature burst forth at this moment. Those who were witness to his parting with his mad brother were moved at the heart-broken sorrow he displayed.From this day the King became deeply solicitous about his own health; he suffered from fear lest Otto’s fate should become his. A doctor had been careless enough to inform him that his father had led a light life in his earliest youth. After he had learned this fact, he attributed the greater number of his physical sufferings to inherited tendency. The remembrance of his father became painful to him, and he could not suppress bitter expressions with reference to him. At the time of his ascent of the throne several persons had thought to remark that his nerves were wanting in the power of resistance. The celebrated French physician, Dr Morel, who had been called to Munich in 1867, had had an opportunity of seeing the young King. He had uttered the sadly prophetic words: “His eyes are sinisterly beautiful; future madness shines from them!”The political events of 1870–71, and their results, had increased his already painful feeling of thecontrast between his imagination and reality. Signs were not wanting that his dream-life might have fatal results for him. His nervous excitement became even more apparent when his brother’s malady broke out. In 1874 his condition was considered so dangerous that it was talked of openly in his capital. The editor of a Conservative newspaper publicly mentioned the report that the King was insane. He was condemned to six months’ imprisonment forlèse Majesté, although he called as witnesses several deputies of the Landtag, who declared on oath that this topic had been discussed in the ale-halls of Munich.Megalomania, the traces of which at times were apparent, had not yet penetrated so deeply into Ludwig’s consciousness that they affected more than certain of his actions; the fire was still smouldering, though it threatened to burst out into flames. As yet his power of will was strong enough to curb his imagination. As yet a healthy mental current ran, and was to run for long, side by side with the diseased one; as yet he could at times by restless activity bring his unquiet mind to rest. He fought like a lion to avert the misfortune, which he so greatly dreaded; but he fought alone. His lofty conceptions had year by year deepened the cleft which a want of understanding had dug between him and his mother. Circumstances had parted him from Richard Wagner, thefriend whom he had most loved. He had no confidant, hardly, indeed, anyone in whom he placed confidence. There was no one who with a firm hand might have led him away from his erroneous conceptions, no one who could obliterate the impressions which made him superstitious and bitter.This King, who a few years before had awakened the enthusiasm of all, became transformed into a heavy, corpulent, pallid man, weary with the burden of his life. In the midst of the romantic splendour with which he surrounded himself, he was tormented by the thought of suicide. On stormy nights he would drive about the mountain roads at a furious pace in his gilded coach, alone with his morbid sensations and fancies.Only the deep blue eyes, with their expression ofSchwärmereiand their melancholy glance, remained to remind the world of the handsome youth who had been the pride and hope of Bavaria.
The House of Wittelsbach has been terribly ravaged by insanity. In the course of one hundred years more than twenty members of the family have been visited by this misfortune.
The sons of Maximilian II. were burdened with exceedingly neurotic tendencies. Their grandfather had been eccentric in a high degree; and a sister of King Maximilian was for long retained in a madhouse. The parents of Ludwig II. and Prince Otto were, moreover, near relations. They were both connected by ties of blood with the Royal House of Hesse-Darmstadt, where there had been insanity for many years. The grandmothers of the Bavarian Queen-mother, on both her father’s and her mother’s side, were Hessian princesses. The mother of Ludwig I., who died in her youth, likewise belonged to this house; and his wife was the granddaughter of a princess of Darmstadt.
At the beginning of 1872 the newspapers began to insert notices in their columns to the effect that Prince Otto of Bavaria was suffering. In the fifties and sixties he had beenthe picture of health. Where Ludwig had withdrawn, he had gone forward towards people with outstretched hands. He had always been gay, amiable, and lively. The unnaturally strict upbringing, and the rapidity with which, from almost unendurable restraint, he had been thrown into unfettered freedom, had, however, been a concurrent cause of his losing his mental balance. Hardly two and twenty years of age, he had followed the army (1870). We know that, despite his wish to remain with it, the King had recalled him to Hohenschwangau. The summons was probably the dictate of the elder brother’s personal feelings; but the Prince’s nervous system had also shown itself to be unfitted for the bloody scenes of a battlefield. Crown Prince Friedrich wrote in his diary: “Prince Otto came to take leave before his return to Munich. He was looking pale and wretched. He sat in front of me, apparently suffering from cold shivering fits, while I developed to him the necessity of our making common cause in military and diplomatic affairs. I could not make out whether he understood me, or only heard what I said.”
Shortly after his return he began to show the first signs of insanity. The report of this aroused general sorrow. He had been given the affectionate nickname of “Otto der Fröhliche.” In spite of predisposition, and in spite of the circumstances attending his birth,which might furnish some ground for the supposition that the germ of the malady was to be sought there, the public would not at first credit the news. He was seen daily in the streets, the theatre, and at the circus. Suddenly his sickness took a violent turn. He had to be placed under restraint, and some occurrences which took place caused the physicians to advise his being sent away from Munich. The Prince, however, would not agree to this. For the time being, therefore, he remained where he was, though it was found impossible to allow him to be alone. At length he was declared to be incurably mad, and was completely separated from his relations. The King was very decided in his wish that he should not live in the vicinity of the castles he himself was in the habit of occupying. He was, therefore, taken to Nymphenburg, and two years later to the lonely Fürstenreid. His mother was inconsolable at the misfortune which had struck her favourite child; and Ludwig also greatly felt the blow. When, on his accession, the ceremonies for his father’s funeral had been decided upon, and he had been asked what place the Prince should take, he had answered without hesitation: “At my side!” The younger brother’s light-hearted temperament had formed a favourable contrast to his serious, heavy view of life. He had regarded him as his successor, and hoped that Otto by makinga brilliant match would repair the injury done to the country by his own celibacy. Instead of this, he had from mental dulness sunk into the darkest night of insanity. He showed no feeling at the moment of departure, and cared only for some toys; but all the tenderness which had lain dormant in Ludwig’s nature burst forth at this moment. Those who were witness to his parting with his mad brother were moved at the heart-broken sorrow he displayed.
From this day the King became deeply solicitous about his own health; he suffered from fear lest Otto’s fate should become his. A doctor had been careless enough to inform him that his father had led a light life in his earliest youth. After he had learned this fact, he attributed the greater number of his physical sufferings to inherited tendency. The remembrance of his father became painful to him, and he could not suppress bitter expressions with reference to him. At the time of his ascent of the throne several persons had thought to remark that his nerves were wanting in the power of resistance. The celebrated French physician, Dr Morel, who had been called to Munich in 1867, had had an opportunity of seeing the young King. He had uttered the sadly prophetic words: “His eyes are sinisterly beautiful; future madness shines from them!”
The political events of 1870–71, and their results, had increased his already painful feeling of thecontrast between his imagination and reality. Signs were not wanting that his dream-life might have fatal results for him. His nervous excitement became even more apparent when his brother’s malady broke out. In 1874 his condition was considered so dangerous that it was talked of openly in his capital. The editor of a Conservative newspaper publicly mentioned the report that the King was insane. He was condemned to six months’ imprisonment forlèse Majesté, although he called as witnesses several deputies of the Landtag, who declared on oath that this topic had been discussed in the ale-halls of Munich.
Megalomania, the traces of which at times were apparent, had not yet penetrated so deeply into Ludwig’s consciousness that they affected more than certain of his actions; the fire was still smouldering, though it threatened to burst out into flames. As yet his power of will was strong enough to curb his imagination. As yet a healthy mental current ran, and was to run for long, side by side with the diseased one; as yet he could at times by restless activity bring his unquiet mind to rest. He fought like a lion to avert the misfortune, which he so greatly dreaded; but he fought alone. His lofty conceptions had year by year deepened the cleft which a want of understanding had dug between him and his mother. Circumstances had parted him from Richard Wagner, thefriend whom he had most loved. He had no confidant, hardly, indeed, anyone in whom he placed confidence. There was no one who with a firm hand might have led him away from his erroneous conceptions, no one who could obliterate the impressions which made him superstitious and bitter.
This King, who a few years before had awakened the enthusiasm of all, became transformed into a heavy, corpulent, pallid man, weary with the burden of his life. In the midst of the romantic splendour with which he surrounded himself, he was tormented by the thought of suicide. On stormy nights he would drive about the mountain roads at a furious pace in his gilded coach, alone with his morbid sensations and fancies.
Only the deep blue eyes, with their expression ofSchwärmereiand their melancholy glance, remained to remind the world of the handsome youth who had been the pride and hope of Bavaria.