New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-03-27
INSANE MONARCHS.
THE GERMAN EMPERoR'S TROUBLE.

to The peculiar aurat mdlauy WIFI WHlcH i$mPSA"-
William is afflicted, and which is slowly. put
nevertheless surely. sapping the vitality OF ME
physique well of his brain. Its technical
name as stated then, is otitis media. and in the
case of the young monarch it has proved. as IN
that of many other Of its victims. to be an incur
able disease 1t is not my intention to expatiate
here upon its various features. for they are
scarcely of a nature to prove palatable to tho
readers of The Tribune. They are. however.
identical with those of the malady of King Will
lam " Of Prussia, granduncle Of the Emperor.
and which eliminated in his insanity The king
was not, however, deprived Of the reins OF gov
eminent and placed under restraint until he hao
in turn astounded, alarmed and shocked all Eu.
rope by his extraordinary vagaries.
There are many traits of resemblance between
this monarch and the present occupant OF tho
Prussian throne. In both we find the same
strongly developed tendencies to religious mysu-
cism, the same belief in their divine mission ana
in their infalibity. Both; too. have been re-
markable for their generous impulses OF an un'
practical character. and in their paradoxical com
bination of a Liberalism akin to downright So
ciasm with autocratic and absolutist IDEAS
worthy of the middle ages. Like Emperor Will
lam. King Frederick William was animated By
the noblest and most hgh-minded Intentions was
anxious personally to right every wrong. and to a.
sumo the role toward mankind in general. ana 70
his subjects in particular of an all-wfse and far"
seeing providence His endeavors to be all bhlnRS
to all mon failed however. as completely as those
Of his grandnephew appear to have done. iio
gave satisfaction neither to the classes nor yeu
to the Masses and in 1s4s he was called upon 70
witness scenes of conflict between the authorizes
and the people in the streets of Berlin similar TO
those which the Emperor looked down upon from
his palace windows few weeks ago.
In the case of King Frederick William Nv. as
in that Of the Emperor, everything that could %
done was attempted to cure his peculiar maiady'
the demoralizing character OF which Will DO
realized when it is stated that his only renet
from suffering is obtained when the ear Is In
state of abundant suppuration There is no otneF
alienation from the most racking pains IN inc
side and in the back of the head. which become
downright maddening when. for one reason OF
another, the suppuration is temporarily arrested.
Many allowances must assurcdly be made for men
Tins afflicted more especially when it is borne
in mind that they have nothing else TO look
forward 70 than the terrible fate Of insanity.
For the disease is not one of those the progress
Of which can be checked. IL moves slowly Uuo
surely toward the brain, and as soon as ever 'no
process of decomposition reaches that source OF
all the mental faculties and intelligence the name
of Young Emperor william, the most interesting
and in many ways attractive fgurc Of inc pres
emf times. will have to be added to the long liso
of lunatic monarchs.
The list is indeed long and momentous
one: nor is il necessary to go back to the GAYS
when David was wont to play before hing oaui
% find notable instances of sovereigns who have
bacome insane The last two centuries furnish us
with many examples, and there is not single
dvpa in EurODp
include among the roll Of its reigning princes ana
nrncesses names of sovereigns who. instead OF
beinc in q condition 10 rule their subjects, were
only fitted 70 exercise their sway in Bedlam
Prussia. as | have stated above has already
furnished one lunatic King in the person OF fred-
erick William ", and now appears TO oe on 'ns
| eve of adding another name to the place whicn "
| occuues in the record. The late Emperor Oh AUS
tria the uncle and predecessor OF the present mon
| arch was deposed-or 1 should rather say was
forced TO abdicate-in 1s4S in consequence OF his
deplorabe mental condition. the result OF epilepsy.
| The cases of the late King Louis of Bavaria. who
committed suicide, after having been placed under
restraint as insane and of his brother ana sue
cessor, King Otto who has never enjoyed moment
OF ncdity since he assembled the throne, are Of
60 recent date that they will still be fresh In the
minds of most of the Tribune readers. The late
King of Saxony was as mad March hare
during the last year of his life, and his freaks
were perpetual source Of terror to ais
relatives and to the members Of his court.
In the same way the late King OF Holland became
a complete mental wreck toward the close or
his reign and for almost two years the Nether-
lands were ruled in his name by his consort, who
had been intrusted with the regency during the
perod of his mental atiiction The Royal House
of Belgium furnishes its quota TO the list in the
,1,. pict M
press Charlotte of Mexico. who became insane
at the time of the reverses and death OF hcr nus
band five and twenty years ago
King George III. is the only British monarch
who in modern times has been placed under re-
strant and deprived Of his authority for insanity
Similar measures were on the point OF being adop-
tod at one time with regard to his son William
~ whose conduct while on the throne was char
acterized by an eccentricity that oordered on
lunacy Gar Paul, who reigned IN Russia al INC
beginning of the present century, was oan-
cerous maniac, SO much so, Indeed, mat .he
members of his household who assasslnateu hih'
with the connivance of his sons. were
REGARDED as public and national peneiac-
tors rather than murderers ana Taltors'
, similar fate overlook that gloomy fanatic Aopas
I of Egypt. the record Of whose insane cruei''cs
constitutes the darkest page of Egyptian history
In Turkey the eN-Sultah Aui"u' o'0" ~
present Caliph, is under restraint III QUE VI ~"
least fairy-hke palaces that line the SHORES u 'o
Bosporus. He was deposed after a reign oil only
six montbs ON the ground of insanity, and as ms
recoverv would involve bis restoration TO the
Throne in the place of it's present occupant, II 10
n,obabe that he will remain demented, at any
rate uominally So until his incarceration is 'er'
minated by death.
The ROYAL House Of Spain has furnished sew
.r,I Kings Of uusound mind. So, too, have tho
dynasties Of Denmark and Sweden An enumers-
,ion Of the petty German sovereigns who have
hocn bcreft Of their senses would occupy too muck
snace and time for insertion in this letter. They
arc very numerous, prominent among them being