Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1891-09-02
A MAD MONARCH.
KING OTTO'S MELANCHOLY LIFE
OF INSANITY
Requires New Suit of Clothes Every
Day

Requires a New Suit of Clothes Every
Day
One of the saddest spectacles which
it is possible to conceive is that pre-
sented by the prisoner of Furstenried,
the mad King of Bavaria. Tall and
almost as gigantic in stature as his
brother, the late King Ludwig, his ap-
pearance is sufficient to startle any
one who sees him for the first time
His hair is long and unkempt, and his
bushy brown beard reaches down be-
ow his waist. There is a kind of
weird, wild look in his eyes, the gaze
IF which remains steadfastly fixed
straight ahead into empty space. The
only person who can succeed in bring
.ng CLEAN of intelligence to his face
IS the sixty-year-old Madame Marie,
Who was his nurse when a child and
who has now become one of the prin-
ipal members of his household.
She is the only one who is permitted
o speak 70 him, everybody else being
Inder strict orders not to address a
single word to him or to take the
,lightest notice of him when he walks
ibout the park. He is invariably
dressed in back broadcloth, and re-
Iuires & new suit almost every day,
TOR owing to his strange objection to
he use of either pocket handkerchiefs
or table napkins, his coat-sleeves and
,oat-tails have to do service for both.
For hours he will stand, gesticulate
wildly and talk to the imaginary per-
'onage created by his fantasy, and
hen again for several days together
he will remain in such state of
ethargy and lifelessness that his ply
;icians Become afraid that he will pass
away without even their becoming
aware oft. All day long, except
when overcome by one of his bi-week-
y or tri-weekly fits of apathy, he will
puff away at cigarettes, of which he
smokes almost hundred day. His
consumption of matches is still greater,
for whenever he lights a fresh cigar
,tte he delights in burning up the en-
ire box of lucifers and in seeing the
whole bundle blaze up at once.
Two physicians, Drs. Smell and
Ranke, spend, in turn, a week at the
Palace. They have supreme control of
the entire establishment, and not u
hing IL. done either by the aides-de
camp, the orderlies or the servants
without the sanction of the physician
for the week. Every Sunday the
Royal patient is visited by DR.. Grashey,
he director of the principal insane
asylum of the Kingdom, who confers
with both the physicians and takes
:areful note of their reports.
At dinner King Otto-when he con-
:ents to appear at table-takes his seat
at one end of the table. Around the
other end are seated the doctor, the
aides-de-camp and the chamber lains-
all the little court, in fact. King Otto,
however, never takes the smallest no
ice of their presence, but preserves a
sullen silence, which he only breaks
from time to time to shout for cham
pagne, of which, as also of beer, he
absorbs large quantities.
He uses his knife and fork in per-
fectly normal manner, and sometimes
appears to be able TO appreciate and
enjoy what he is eating. The apart
ments which he inhabits are all situ-
ated on the ground floor, and are
magniticently furnished, and the strict
est orders prevail to the effect that all
doors should be left wide open
throughout the day.
If King Otto happens by any chance
~ Nohic dCiOsS ClOSeu uOOI uc llllillt-
diately falls into a kind of eplleptic
and maniac fury, and seeks to dash it
down with his still powerful fists. 1t
is, moreover, impossible to induce him
to permit himself to be bathed, and he
displays almost a hydrophobic antipa-
thy for water. He likewise absolutely
refuses to enter any carriage, and dis
plays signs of terror whenever any eff
forts are made to induce him to enter
one for the purpose of taking a drive.
1t is impossible to predict how much
longer he may live. He may drag on
his present miserable existence for
years; while on the other hand, it is
likely that the failure of the natural
functions of the body may bring on
malady which will carry him off in
few days. As his madness is of an alto
gether incurable nature, his death can
only be regarded in the light of happy
release.