Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1889-03-02
Emperor syiEliam,a oeinrnsIty.

Emperor williams 0eiornaIty.
In Paris few days ag3 ! t.,'ke d about
Emperor William witn hie who, isme
as medical u.ea is world vide and OBJ.
tained for your fesciers most interesting and
definite information as to the young rulet'a
physical condition The information nag
bo relied upon SIS exact beyond any CUES
ton.
Young William was unucky in the first
place." said my friend, in having 81 princess
for mother, and equally so"in having been
born q prince. Those TWO circumstances
account for bis unhappy deformity. The
usually accepted accounts of its nature aud
origin are Imaginative rubbish. The Crown
Princess Frederick was, as is generally
known, travelling in an out-of way place at
very indiscreet period. Fhe birth OF the
present German emperor VAS unexpected,
and be was helped into tbs world by some
obscure little doctor with nu ave for rog-
atty far in excess Of his knowledge Of sur
gerry. If be had been allowed 10 think that
his patient was simply an ordinary woman
of strong physique ell would probably have
been WE'LL but the fact WAS carefully i'm
pressed upon him thst be had in his hands
the life of future queen, END the child
would, perhaps, be heir to thePFus5ian throne.
This SO demoraliZsd the little doctor
that he added the strength Of his own mus
ces to the forces OF nature and SO severed
all the muscles of the infants left arm.
When I was called TO Windsor by Queen
Victoria to attend tho little boy saw at
once that his case was hopeless. II he had
been q grocers son, some good doctor would
have been called in, and some sound meth
od OF cure adopted and followed. As
prince. however, he mad &c bs seen by every
great doctor, 40 system was followed cut,
and the worst possible result Of the accident
eusued, namely, complete atrophy OF the
arm.
sit is wasted completely away, aud is
probably smaller than when examined him
as a boy at Windsor Fortunately, such
wonderful skill has been ehown by the Ger
man surgeons as to save MIN from the NOR
tifcation of having it plainly seen thst one
of his arms is simply the witbered arm OF
child. The withered limb is padded out in
most lifelike fashion, and not only that,
but within. the padding is a most wonder:
fully clever machne-a series of strings and
cords acting like the muscles of the srn.
These artificial muscles are connected with
the good muscles of the shoulder most
adroitIy, so that while in natural condi-
ton he would be incapable of moving his
withered arm, this most ingenious mechan.
ism enables him to impart to it movements
that are almost lifelike. He csn raise or
lower his artificial hand and use it sufi-
ciently well to guide carefully trained
and broken chargers which sre selected for
him.
"The Emperor's deformity," said he, "ls
nothing except as it mortifieS and irritates
an extremely proud and sensitive man but
the disease in his head is one whic! may
have most serious consequences for all Eu-
rope. 1t may drive the Emperor to the
most extravagant acts, or suddenly, by kill.
ing him, end the speculation as TO what his
career may be. l can tell you positively
that it already makes him insane at inter-
walls. He was insane when he delivered Ger.
tain speeches which his advisers were COM
PEELED to revise aud interpret officially. He
was mentally deranged by his suffering and
the direct effect of his malady upon the
brain. All the skill Of the doctors about
him is concentrated to fight the disease that
is growing in his head. Once already it has
gone beyond the control OF the doctors, and
the Emperor suffered q most dreadful ct
tack, all knowledge of Which was carefully
kept from the public. When the disease
reaches certain point there will come an
explosion, and the Emperor will either die
or become hopelessly insane.
"Just what the disease is will not say.
Its nature may be described as that OF q tu
NOR and an abnormal growth within the
brain. The skill of bis physicians may fight
of the final stages of the disease for longer
period than at present seems probable, but
there is very little hope that they will be
able to cure it. The young Emperor is q
decidedly unucky man. Old Emperor Will
liam suffered, which is not generally known,
from form of epilepsy, and bis grandson,
who has inherited the trouble, is also stilict-
ed with fits epileptic in character.-N. Z.
SIM