Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-08-12
ROYAL CRANKS.
Semi-Insane Monarchs Worse Than Luna


had talk few evenings since with
Clemenceau, DR.. Ball, the Forbes-Win-
slow of Paris and some other physiolo-
gists about your theory that a mad king
is the best kind of monarch for his
subjects, writes a Paris correspondent of
London Truth. They agree with you.
But they said it is not often that a
nation could get monarch whom it is
possible to class as a lunatic from the
first hour of his reign, like Otto, the
present king of Bavaria. What is
dangerous is a gradual run down from
weakness of mind to madness. In Il
descent of that kind George III. lost
America, and committed England to
her long war against revolutionary
France and to the Irish policy which the
grand old man is now trying to undo.
Philip H., it is now shown, was in
state of semi-lunacy when he became
the grand champion of orthodoxy
against heresy and fitted out the Arma-
da. Mary Tudor's sanguinary policy
toward her heritical subjects is now ex-
planned by a condition Of neurosis, the
germs of which came to her from Cath
crime of Aragon. sister of Joanna the
Insane If Mary had lived little
longer, she would probably have been
locked up by Philip, as her aunt had
been, and died in state of dementa.
Emperor PaulS semi-insanity was pre-
vented, by the couriers who murdered
him, from developing into full-blown
madness. But he contrived, in the
short period during which he was on
the throne, to do lot of mischief
Charles XII found Sweden strong
state, but owing to the bee that was in
his bonnet. he left it incurably crippled
and so far rs his Livonian and Finland
provinces went, ut the mercy of Russia.
He nquestionably had military genius,
but he was individually ''erank," as
the Americans say, in everything else.
What saved Bavaria from utter ruin
under Ludwig III. was the aversion in
which he held politics and administra-
tive business, and his passion for art.
He never troubled himself about
government SO long as he was able to
pay for his artistic freaks. Spain.
through semi-lunacy of her Hapsburg
kings-from Philip ii. to Charles II
descended from the rank of first-class
W luC llIiScldDiC III
which she was in the time of Louis Qua
torze. Had they been whole daft, like
Joanna, men of ability might have
governed in mis- name
| have theory that no human being
is good enough to be allowed impunitv.
and that wealth and power with ire
sponsibility tend to make men mad.
There are certainly few monarchs now
who, politically speaking, are all
powerful, but courtiers treat them as if
they were, and their palaces remove all
checks from the exercise of their will,
however irrational or evil it may be.
The late king of Prussia became insane
in lo4S, but he was permitted to govern
for eleven years after. The naturally
affectionate disposition of Queen Isa-
bella being allowed to run riot by the
impunity her situation gave her led her
to invent certain texts of the Koran.
and then live according to them. It is
impossible to read all the correspond
ence about Caroline of Naples and her
numerous paramours without regarding
her as semi-lunatic, much more
dangerous than if she were wholly de-
mented. The semi-mad in private life
should be left alone. The chances are
that they will never stand in need of
the straight-wastcoat. and will be able
to manage their own little affairs fairly
well.