The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-12-26
this DUKE WAS
A GOOD OCULIST
He Treated All Patients Free
Of Charge.
WAS A REMARKABLE MAN
Had Studied and Assisted the Lead
ing Scientists.
The Improvement Of the Relationship
between Germany and England
Is Cause for CongratuIation
Throushout Germany +
EsEIish Politics
Caused II.


By BERNARD FISCHER.
Berlin. Dec. ga very remarkable
man has passed away by the death OF
his Royal Highness Duke Kari Theo-
dor In Bavaria, the head Of the ducal
line OF the house of Whittelsbach.
brother of the ill-rated Empress Eliz-
abeth Of Austria. father of the future
Queens of Bavaria and OF the Bel
CLANS. and an oculist of uncontested
eminence. who had performed no few
err than 5000 operations for cataract
He was already 80 years of age when
he. left the army. In which he was q
major OF artillery. and devoted him
self exclusively to the study Of medi-
cine.
A sad family event Is reported in
Bavaria to have turned his attention
to medicine. In the spring OF 1857 his
first wife. q daughter of King John
of Saxony, was seized with diphthe-
ria. which ended fatally. and. 1t is
said. In presence Of her sufferings the
Duke formed the resolution to devote
his life to the study of the healing
art. He entered himself as medical
| student at Munich University, attend
ed the usual dissecting course, and
worked IN the hospitals. The most
prominent professors at Munich, such
as Ziemesen,s the surgeon Nussbaum. the
oculist Rothmund. ranked the Duke
among their most devoted assistants
and students. At Rothmund's oph-
thalmia infirimary the Duke completed
the studies for his intended profession
as oculist, while with Horner at Zu-
rich. and with Alt at Vienna, he per-
fected himself in operative ophthal-
mia. He was frequently found in the
ward OF the famous Vienna surgeon.
Billroth, and the documents of this
section recording successful cataract
operations frequently bear the emig-
entfc comment. "Dux fecit"--this mod
estly intimating that the Duke had
performed the operation.
AS soon as he had taken his degree
he settled down at his seat, Schloss
Tegernsee. In the Bavarlan Alps. and
praeticed daily In the local hospital.
| there he treated all the eye cases. re-
CARELESS of the patients position in
| life, free OF charge. Later he opened
! private eye hospital In Hymphen-
burg Street. at Munich. TO which pa
| tents hocked in thousands from all
| parts of the kingdom. Though he
held the honorary rank of general In
| the Bayarian army. he always wore
civilian attire, and was wont to say
that he felt most comfortable IN his
operating apron.
The Dukes kindness ana aHability
with the peasantry may be Judged by
1 Lnt lACt 7tHAI fllGy HQQI0SScQ MIN Will
/ the familiar "Pu," which he returned
He was rarely seen at any court fes-
tival. and signed himself In official
documents "Oculist for the Poor" An
/ old peasant woman used to describe
/ how the Duchess scted as assistant to
her husband in his surgery, held the
/ patients heads, and whispered words
of hope and encouragement. An aged
i Tyroiese peasant, whom the Duke res
Il asra fror I'D -nGA
| to him, Now / don't know whether
should thank God most or thee"
i Apart from his surgical skill. his
Royal Highness acquired considerable
fame through his theoretical work,
especially with two books, "Contribu-
| lions to the Anatomy and Pathology
! Of the Vitreous Body" and "Contribu-
tons to a Pathological Anatomy of
the Eye in Kidney Diseases" In his
| leisure moments the Duke occupied
himself with music and the study of
| foreign languages. He was allied
with the German imperial family by
| ties of close friendship. On one ocea-
| sion he successfully treated the EN-
perof William for eye trouble. and the
| Crown Prince and his brothers were
| frequently his guests for channels
hunting at Bad Kreuth.
| The Duke, who was 10 years OF age,
was twice married, the first time to a
| sister OF the late King John OF SAX
| onys and the second time to the In
farita Josefa Of Portugal. The ducai
line OF the Whittelsbach branched of
| from the main stem in the second halt
Of the seventeenth century.
AS is well known the Kaiser, is a
warm believer in the edueative influ-
ence OF the play with a purpose, the
political tract play, as 1t might be
called. An article Just published has
some interesting detail and comment
on the intensity of the Emperor's per-
sonai effort to make the stage a fore
| ing machine for turning out good Ger
mans. He specialises in what is call
| ed. seriously by himself and more or
less satirically by others, the Hohen-
zollern piece-all. of course, made into
one sounding word. "Hohenzollern-
stuecke must ring with patriotism and
| loyalty, and be highly edifying In ev-
cry respect" The Emperor himself
| ''censors" severely all the plays that
are to be produced to this effect, and
| very frequently "stagemanages" them
too. 1t Is a fact however, that thus
| far the Kaiser has not made much OF
success of his enterprise. The writ
| ers he has gathered around him are
| apparently awed by the delicate and
difficult situation in which they find
themselves, cramped by their fear of
the Kaiser ana by tnelF sense that he
Is not satisfied with general broad eff
fects of patriotic inspiration. but is
| jealousy attentive to every minute de-
| tall of plot and dialogue The Hohen-
zollernstuecke so far have been wood
en- and heavy. and have fallen fiat. as
a rule.
But II the Kaiser could allow his
writer's to think freely and write az
ter their own minds on the specifically
German subjects he desires to see pre-
scented to the people, he would. proba-
bly,. succeed very well in his plan.
There is no reason why a reasonably
good play should not be produced to
order, as very good pictures constant
ly are, and there is no reason on
earth why stirring national history
should not be presented very usefully
in good plays. The German people
certainly like the play that idealizes
their own land The Kaiser. who al
lows the classics the liberty that he
persistently refuses to his own pet
contemporaries. organized last year n
series of performances for workmen.
in which German historical and leg
endary plays made the repertoire.
Working people. members OF trades
institutes, were given seats at a very
cheap rate. and none but they were
admitted at all. For the ten perform
ances there were 100000 applications
Ia vast per centage, evidently. of the
workers of the city.
A German composer. Herr Auguste
Bungert, has composed a symphony
which is n reply to those who hold