The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-08-12

Lola Montez, and also free from the gross
vices which precipitated and rendered hope
less the madness of his brother Ohio, the
present make-believe king. Louis is declared
to have been, in personal purity, a Sir Gala
had, "cold and virginia. with an absolute
horror of groSsness and immodesty." He
was one of Gods innocentS, rest his soull
The only women whom he could tolerate, of
late years, We're artists, and they only as
artists. The wiles and coquetries of the
prettiest and most charming of them were
lost upon him, and if they attempted to take
him by storm their defeat was disastrous.
1t is related that one summer evening he
lonored famous German prima donna by
taking her for solitary row on that TRANQUIL
and fatal lake of Starnberg. She sung for
him an air from "Lohengrin" divinely. The
king dropped the oars to listen the more in
tently, and so they floated in the moonlight
by the shadowy, howery shore. The singer,
seeing that handsome romantic and munifi-
cent monarch bending toward her, with tears
of emotions in his eyes, mistook the emotion
saw, perhaps, diamonds in the tears-sud-
denly flung her arms lovingly round the royal
neck, and thought she had him. But he in
stantly broke from her embrace, then lifting
her high in his arms flung her into the lake,
calmly commanding his servants, who were
waiting on the shore, to "Fish out the lady,"
adding that she had seemed to be too
warm
Poor Louis was several times on the eve of
marriage, but always lost courage before
coming in full view of the altar Once it was
Russian princess, whose musical accom-
f1liC Mi ta1 40
harmonious union-wedlock blessed of Wag-
ner-but one day he left in the lady's hands a
composition of his own, for her to study and
be able to sing and play for him ON his next
visit. He called early the following day, all
impatient for pleasure so dear to an artist
The princess was not in her salon, but on the
piano lay his song, rolled up and sealed with
his royal seal, just as he had left it, He took
it and his final leave, wounded to the heart as
musician and monarch. OF imagination all
compact" King Louis was an executive poet,
practical idealist; he was that anachronism,
fairy prince in the Nineteenth century. His
extravagances and eccentricities were of the
romantic and legendary sort; his costly hang
ing gardens; the unheard of luxury of his
bedchambers; his throne of gold and precious
stones; his fantastic coaches and sledges; his
banquets that came up through the floor; his
masked servitors. The Bavarians who de-
MED his madness, ascribed his Irregularities"
to a severe early training from which he
wildly reacted.
His mother, Maria of Prussia, princess of
strong mind and stronger will, insisted, they
said, on his being educated with great sim
plicity and entire seclusion, without recrea-
ton, childish games or playmates His
father, Macmillan III, was commonplace
enough, not bit of fairy prince. saw
him many years ago at Rome, when he was
travelling for his health, under some trans
parent incognito. 1t was at q ball at the
Doria palace. l remember him as slight,
PALE plain gentleman, who carried his head
very erect and stiff, and did not on the whole
look as though he found it particularly jolly
to be a potentate. He was my first king, and
l took that peculiar, stiff-necked bearing as
the regular royal style, and not till since the
tragical death of his son, when several fam
lily skeletons have come tumbling out of the
royal closet did know that certain spinal
malady, which caused the neck to give way
and the head to lop about in most uncom-
Portable manner, compelled the poor king to
wear under his white cravat a close collar of
iron or steel. 1t is not safe to judge from ap-
pearances, neither is it wise to envy any
body. Some months after meeting the king
| saw him again in Munich, at the opera, the
first night after his return from his travels
He was accompanied by his wife, and l re-
member that the two walked over from the
new palace, followed by only one gentleman
and one lady of their household. The opera
in that primitive time and quiet capital be-
gan before and ended before TO- The royal
pair were loyalty cheered, and seemed to like
it, The queen was dressed very simply in
white with a rich red Grape shawl on her
shoulders-worn three-cornered fashion-and
red rose in her hair, for all ornament, no
happy and very proud, as she stood up with
the king to acknowledge the acclamations Of
their subjects. l must confess / envied her
not exactly her ailing and stiff-necked hus-
band, but her royal state, her beauty, her
popularity, even her becoming red shawl
but for many years past who has envied poor
ex-Queen Maria, widowed and with two mad
sons? And now who can wonder that she
finds the problem of her troubled life too hard
and wants to give it up and go into a con-
vent
suppose that the final and irrefragable
proofs of the poor kings dementia are known
to most readers of American journals. Some
of them bore that touch of the ludicrous which
marks so often the most tragic and pathetic
cases of insanity-such as the clause added to
his orders given to his valet or barber, for
the execution of his ministry, that the much
offending minister of finance should first be
put to torture. Another was for the massacre
of the medical commission, with the clause
that each of those scientific old gentlemen
was to be first deprived of an eye, for havin.
seen what he should not have seen. One OF
his attendants was only allowed to appear
before him with seal upon his forehead, "as
the sign of an imprisoned brain" If all royal
officials having confined and CONSTRUCTED
brains should be compelled to thus decorate
their brows-what "a corner" in sealing wax!
1t is strange, the long suffering of loyalty
After years of wild extravaganza and sense
less prodigality, of misanthropic isolation and
stupendous egoism this man had plenty of
subjects who loved him and blindly served
him. Of course, most of those about him
were accommodating on his weakness
and crazy bounty, like SO many parasites
Swarming over a sick lion-but they were
hunkies, IS well, and really believed in his
divine right to be "as mad as March hare"
should it so please his gracious majesty.
After all, it was question of money, not Of
national dignity or governmental decency.
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