The San Francisco call., 1905-08-13

sketches and stories called Diplomatic
Mysteries There are ten of these: The
undoing of a King; the great Austrian
conspiracy; the Sultan's secret agents:
Crown Princes escapade; the fight be-
! tween France and the Vatican; the truth
about President Faure; the lady of the
opalS; Tolstoi. the one free man in Rus
sia; Made in England; how revolu-
tions are made in Russia. The first of
these which tells Of the undoing of Lud-
wig H. King of Bavaria, is interesting
as a brief bit of purely imaginative fic-
ton. Knowing that the main incidents
really happened throws round it no his
toric duh feeling that you are doing stu
| dents duty in reading it. The action of
I II moves with such celebrity that going
with it is something like boarding some
electric conveyance for a short spin,
Even II YOU don't want to stay with the
pleasure long, you feel that it will soon
bring you to the end. and you can try
something else. In. this--one the diplo-
matte mystery unveiled for us is one of
old Bisrnarck's schemes. He used Wag-
ner, the great musician, as tool. These
two used secondary tool, who was a
woman.
The writer whether from historic in
vestigation or prejudice (who knowso
evidently strongly dislikes both Bismarck
and the world famous musician, Wagner.
The sheW-up of the meanness of these
two world renowned personages piquss
curiosity as to the closeness to historical
accuracy of this sketch of the inner
moves of the game of Ludwig's dethrone-
ment and the causes of his eccentric con-
duct. Bismarck is shown as having an
unscrupulously hard heart: and Wagner
gets this sample sentence applied to him,
"Lnfortunately there seems to be no di-
rect kinship between genius and up
rightness.'
First we are shown Ludwig at half
past eighteen. He is big. standing over
six feet, handsome. and stately. He is
generous affectionate, and has poetry and
some of the melancholy of his ill-starred
house. His mother educated him and
brought him up away from the influence
of men and of knowledge of the world
She is Prussian, and favors the CONSOLE
dating ambitions of Bismarck. Ludwig
imagines he Is really king, but his mother
and his ministers know better When
they thwart him he retires to his Arab
ian Nightish" palace of Hohensehwan-
gau, and there he uses UP some of his
superfiueus young energies by going gall
looping.
Sometimes these moonlight rides would
take him to a little inn in Linderhof The
innkeeper had a daughter. 'She was II
years of age, half child, half woman.
but beautiful in a fresh wholesome way"
Oile HlSnI WnSn alone Win LuQWlS SRe
told him she loved him. This Just in
supplemented. unsophisticated way, as
she had simply stated an honest fact-as
who should say, My Lord, the moon is
rising
The experience was all new to Ludwig.
He had never been loved before. He put
Rose of Linderhof upon horse. For the
first time his lips touched the lips. of
woman. Rose wide-eyed with wonder,
lyp hot -I, 1axrA III
Drunk with speed and the midnight air.
they galloped on" "AIl night
they ride" At dawn they stopped their
painting horses. 1t was at Wagner's
door.
We are not told that Ludwig loved this
young woman. 1t is evident that he
passionately loved to be loved by this
Rose of Linderhof. Months after
this episode he is back at his castle,
and a notable gathering of great peo-
pie are there. Among them is Sofia,
youngest daughter of the Archduke
Maximilian. Ludwig and she love each
other. She was beautiful. She had,
been fed on poetry. Her ideals were
vague and high. All promised we'll
for this love story till Bismarck made
up his mind he did not want 1t to end
in marriage. For long his diplomacy,
was foiled by the mutual determination
of the young lovers. At last he chose
Wagner as a tool to work his schemes
to tricky success. 1t will be remem-
bered that it was to his trusted, con-
fidentiaI friend Wagner's house that
Ludwig had galloped with the girl from
Linderhof. Bismarck was strong as a
molder of events, and he began to mold
them for Ludwig. One afternoon in
June his schemes made connection thus:-
Rose of Linderhef went to, the palace
of Munich, where Soma lived and loved
King Ludwig. The two girls. Princess
and peasant talked together Sofia
did not love Ludwig after that. Bis
marck had played his game persistent
ly to finish. Wagner had worked for
him and successfully. used for this pur-
pose the woman who once had loved
the light-hearted young King. light
hearted now no longer. 81
The rest of Ludwigs undoing was
easy He became Z eccentric and Sc
cluded himself. In the bitterness of
disappointed love he would not loox
upon a woman's face" BY diplomacy
he was put under restraint. under the