New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-10-27
A MAD MONARCH.
KING OTTO OF BAVARIA'S MELANCHOLY
LIFE AT FURSTENRlED.


rRoM AN OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or THE TRrBUNEl
Munich October IL.
One of the saddest spectaclcS which II Is pos
sibe TO conceive is that presented by the prisoner
of FuIstenrcd, the mad King of Bavaria. IAN
and almost as gigantic in stature as his brother'
the late King Ludwig, his appearance is SuihclehC
to starle any one who sees him for the hrSt time
His hair is hong and unkempt, and his puShy
brown beard reaches down below his waist. lher'
is kind of weird, wild look in his eyes, 'he
gaze of which remains steadfastly fixed stra'ehV
ahead into empty space The only person WIN
can succeed in bringing CLEAN OF lnteheehce
n his face il the sixtv-year-old Madame Marie,
who was his nurse when child and who has
now become one of the principal members OF MS
household She is the only one who is per-
mitted to speak to him, everybody else being
under strict orders not to address single worn
to him or to take the slightest houce OF MN
when he walks about the park. lie Is lnNarla"iy
dressed in bacl, broadclOth, and requires he"
suit almost every day, for owing to ms strange
objection TO the use of either pocket hahuhercHciS
or table napkins his coat-sleevcs and colt-tails
have to do service for both. For hours he VIII
stand. gcsticulate wildly and talk to the imag-
nary parsonage created by his fantasy ana theh
again for several days together he will remain
in sucb n state of ethargy and IifelessneSS that
his musicians become afraid that he Will pass
away without even their becoming aware Of It,
All day long except when overcome by one OF MS
biwcel1lv or tr-weekly fits Of apathy, be VIII
nnfT away At cigarettes of which he smokes al
most a hundred a day. His consumption OF
matches is still greater for whenever he Ilgh's
fresh cigarette he delights in burning up the en-
tire box of ucifers and in seeing the whole Jun
die blaze up at once - >, , r,,,,o snord in
turn. a week at the Palace. They nave supreihe
Central of thp entire establishment ana not tils
i done either by the aides-de-canp, lhc uFutIiic'
or the servants without the sanction OF lIe Pm!
stefan for the week. Every Sunday the f'oydii
paticnt is visited by DR.. Gashey, me director o.
The principal insane asylum of the kingdotl' VINO
conferS with Dotn lne pn9 SICldho "N" ' ~
full note of their reports.
AT dinner King OttO-when he consents 10 apP'ar
at tablc-talcs his seat at one end OF me I"1 3
Around the other end are seated the DOCTOR iie
| aidps-de-camD and the hamberalnS-aH TN ~
lie court in fact. King otto, however, ny Z,
takes The smallest notice of their presence pu'
preserves a sullen silence, when ne OH! pIo'iN
from time 10 time TO shout for champlgne, ul
which as also of beer he abSorbs larsn qudh,.lc
lie uses his knife and fork in perfectly ho'Hli
manner, and sometime appears 10 DC aDe ~ "t
prp ciate and enjoy what he is eating Inc apiIC
mentS which he inhabits are all situated on InS S
ground noor and are magnlhcently 1urhshGo' any ny
the striccst orders PREF il to the ehect thaI an
doors sbonld be left wide open throughout the
dav If King Otto happens by any chance TO
come across a closed door he Immediately laIs
intn a lind Of ep;leptic and maniac fury and
.nes 70 dash it down with his still powerful fists
Ii is, moreover impossible to induce him to per
nit himself TO be bathed. and he displays an W
most hvdrophobic antpathy for water. lie ike,
wise absolutely refuses to enter any carrag,' ana
Gi"nlavS signs of terror whenever any efforts are
made to induce him TO enter one for the purpose
1t is impossible to predict how much longer }, ne
may live He may drag on his present mlNeripiG
| existence for years: while, on the other hand II
| is likely that the failure of the natural 1unc-
| tions of the body may bring on malady whicl
viii carry him off in few days. As his madness
| is Of an altogether incurable nature, his death
can only be regarded in the light OF happy le-
| lease