The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-06-19 00:00:00

SUICIDE OF THE ECCENTRIC KING OF
BAVARIA.
(Reater's Telegram.)
MUNICH, June 14.

King Louis of Bavaria, while taking a walk at a
quarter to six yesterday evening in the park of the
Berg Castle, committed suicide by throwing himself
into the Lake of Sternberg. Dr. Guciden, his
Majesty's private physician, who was in attendance
upon the king at the time, immediately jumped into
the water in order to rescue his Majesty, but was him-
self drowned in the attempt. The sad event was
announced here this morning by notices posted up by
the police authorities.

King Louis 11. of Bavaria was born in the month
of August, 1845, and 'succeeded to the throne on
the death of his 'father in the month of
March, 1864. Up to that time he had taken no
interest whatever in politics, devoting himself entirely
to his favourite studies, especially to that of music.
The grave complicacions which immediately followed
his accession, and ended in the defeat of the Austrians
at Sadowa, did not withdraw him from these pur-
suits, which appeared to be the sole object of his
existence. After Sadowa and the conclusion of
a peace seriously affecting the interests of Bavaria
as an independent State, King Louis signed a
treaty of alliance with Prussia, and co-operated
with that State in the invasion of .France in 1870-71.
At the close of the campaign King Louis was chosen
by his fellow Sovereigns to invite the King of Prussia
to assume the title of German Emperor at Versailles.
One of the most characteristic episodes in his career
as a monarch was the manner in which, immediately
after the Eecumenical Council in Rome in 1869, he,
placed himself in open antagonism to the Ultramon-
tane party; in Bavaria, staunchly sustaining Dr. Dbl.
linger in his attacks against Papal infallibility, and
conferring the Order ot Merit on the recognised leader
of the " Old Catholic" movement. In the meantime,
however, he continued to take less and less interest
in the government of his country. He eventually
shut himself up in absolute seclusion, and refused
to communicate, except indirectly, with his
Ministers. In 1869 King Louis established in Munich a
special museum for casts of the principal statues of
antiquity scattered all over the world. But what will
serve more than anything to associate his name with
the artistic and scientific movement of the present
century is the great patronage which he bestowed on
perhaps the only man he chose to call a friend,
Richard Wagner. The author of " Tannhiiuser," of
" Lohengrin," and the " Nibelungen "owes in a great
Jegree his world-wide popularity to the enthusiastic
admiration which King Louie constantly showed for him
as a composer. The discontent occasioned by the
King's seclusion and indifference to affairs of State
had caused the question of his deposition to be more
than once raised; but it was only on Thursday last
that a proclamation of Prince Luitpold, counter-
signed by all the Bavarian Ministers, was pro-
mulgated, announcing his assumption of the regency
on account of the King's serious illness, and summon-
ing the Diet to meet on the 15th inst. King Louis
was removed to Berg Castle on Saturday.
The Berlin correspondent of the Times, says: The
Munich Press naturally teems with the most sen-
sational and conflicting statements about what hap-
pened at Hohenschwangau, and the crop of such
rumours at last grew so copious that on Friday the
Ministry resolved to inhibit all telegrams on the sub-
ject. But this order has now been superseded by
the nublication in the Allgemaine Zeitung, of Munich,
of what professed to be an authentic account of the
incidents connected with the proclamation of the
Regency. From this it appears that late on Wednes-
day night last the Ministerial Commission appointed
to communicate to the King the fact of his deposition
arrived at the old Schloss of Hohenschwangau,
and at a quarter-past three next morning pre-
sented itself at His Majesty's residence, the new
Schloss, called Schwansteinhof. But all approach was
forbidden by several gendarmes, who threatened to
fire, and the members of the Commission judged it
better in the circumstances to return to Hohensch-
wangau, whither they were shortly followed by a
gendarmerie sergeant with a written order from the
King for their arrest. Nor, in spite of all the repre-
sentations of the Commission could the sergeant be
dissuaded from executing the command of the King,
and so the Commissioners had at last to submit to re-
turn to the new Schloss, followed by gendarmes, where
they were consigned to separate rooms, pending his
Majesty's pleasure. His Majesty then issued certain
orders affecting his prisoners, which, however, were
not carried out, "and which were of -., such an
incredible nature as cannot be made public." After
a few hours' detention the Commissioners were re-.
leased, on the situation being made clearer by the tele-
gram from Munich, announcing the proclamation of
the Regency; and they returned to the capital to de-
vise measures for preserving order in the Hoben-
schwangau region, and disposing of the person of the
King—especially as his Majesty had betrayed s;gns of
an intention to do himself bodily harm, by asking to
be led to the top of the Schloss tower. However, on
being told by Dr. von Gudden, the chief physician,
that it would be necessary fcr him to undergo
medical treatment, the King assented with surprising
readiness, and entered the carriage that was to con-
vey him to Berg without resistance.

The Munich correspondent of the Daily Yews re-
lates the following anecdotes of the King's recent
conduct: A Minister, Baron Feilitzsch, shows a
pencilled note he received from the Xing, in which
he is summoned to procure twenty million marks
immediately," without the usual subterfuges." The
King adds: "Should a change of Ministers become
necessary, make it; and name whomsoever you think
right." The Minister declared himself unable to
carry out this command, When the Royal barber,
who is the only intermediary between the Monarch
and the Ministers, brought this answer, the King
drew up and signed the death warrant of Baron
Feilitzsch and his colleagues, whom he firmly believes
have been executed. Offenders of less importance
he orders to be taken to the "Bastille," which
plays a prominent part in his vagaries.
Quite lately he met a gendarme in his gardens,
whom he invited to dinner. The gendarme asked his
superiors what he was to do in this emergency, and,
as the King has" method in his madness," the officer
advised him to accept the invitation. Accordingly,
the gendarme dined with his Majesty, and having
casually mentioned that he played the concertina,
the King made him a present of one worth £75. A
few days later the poor lunatic found out that one of
the servants of his household, a common soldier, was
celebrating his birthday. He also was invited to
dinner, and the Monarch donned in his honour the
uniform of his Light aorse Regiment. After deliver-
ing a long speech setting forth the merits of his guest,
be presented him with a large nosegay. A young
country assessor, whose mere name pleased the King,
was charged by him to form a new Cabinet. He was
not even asked if he felt qualified or was disposed to
become Premier.

Some time ago, when the King was partial to tho
solitary performances at the Opera House in Munich,
he himself being the sole audience, he was very much
pleased with one of the works represented. It had
exhausted the principal performers as only Wagner's
operas can exhaust them. Nevertheless, at the end of
the performance, the King sent the soldier in attend-
ance to command an immediate repetition of thwvork
"from beginning to end." The chief singer sent his
humblest excuses, but declared himself unable to go
through the exertion over again. The King insisted,
but the singer did not give away, and to cut matters
short went home. When the soldier reported the
second refusal the Royal face grew red with rage.
He rose and took up a decanter close at hand which
he threw at the soldier's head.

The slightest mistake on the part of his servants
rouses his anger to the 'highest pitch. Thus his
butler, who was so well trained that he could often
divine his master's desires before they were expressed,
once made some unimportant slip while serving
dinner. He was ordered out of the room immediately,
and the King declared he would not look upon his
face again. In vain Baron Schneider, the chief of the
household, explained that it was impossible to find
anyone at a moment's notice who could do the dis-
graced man's work. The King would not listen to
reason. At last a compromise was effected, and the
man reappeared with a black mask upon his face. In
this way the Royal word was kept, as the butler's face
was hidden from sight.

Schneider afterwards fell into disgrace, and the
King, who sent him a pencilled note thus worded,
"Yon possess my Royal favour no longer! " imagines
that the baron is detained in the damp vault of a
State prison as a just punishment for having refused
to find the millions which he was asked to procure.
The King does not want money to pay his old debts
with, but simply to build a beautiful Chinese palace,
the drawings of mai& adorn his walls and fill his fancy.
His condition of mind is such that most serious fears
are entertained as to the effects which the news of his
deposition will have upon him. His madness, which
has hitherto been of a harmless character, may, it is
thought, become more serious when he fully appre-
ciates the great change in his position. He is one of
the most powerful, perhaps the most finely-built man
in all his kingdom; and he has been playing,the part
of an absolute autocrat, whose slightest wish has
never been crossed since he attained to manhood.
When in his most romantic mood he fancies himself
"le Grand Monarque," and gazes with rapt delight
at a marble bust of himself, adornei with the curly
wig and the classical dress of Louis Quatorze I