Washington Journal., 1943-03-05
GLIMPSES OF SOME CONTEMPORARIES
Ludwig II of Bavaria
Ludwig IL of Bavaria
III.
by Edwin EMERSON

down hard. Lest 1 get dIeHcHeu, 4
dismounted at a wayside tavern and, putting
my bicycle under a shed, went inside. There
| was welcomed to a beer table, where some
other wayfarers like me were waiting for
the weather to clear again. But the ram,
far from blowing over, kept coming down
steadily. So we whiled away the time with
a prolonged game of cards. | had meant to
eat supper near the railway station at Starn-
berg and then take the early evening tram
to Munich. But when darkness fell, | thought
it better to sup here at the tavern with the
others, hoping that the rain clouds still might
clear and let the moon come forth In time
for me to catch a later train that would get
me to the capital before midnight. From
|Starnberg | could telegraph to my folks III
Munich that | had been delayed underway.
Happily | had a good lantern on my bicycle,
that would light up the road, In case the
moon failed me.
After supper the rain let up at last, but
clouds still hid the moon. So | lit my bicycle
lantern and set out once more. / rode but a
few miles, however, when another gusty
souall made me ride faster in the hope OF
reaching some house for shelter. AS | swung
around a bend in the road | was glad to see
between me and the lake the lighted windows
of Berg, the royal castle | had beheld earlier
in the day from the opposite shore. Two big
lanterns shone brightly at its open gateway,
so / turned in there, hoping to avoid the
rain by lodging under the caves OF the lodge.
A Royal Tragedy
Beyond the lodge, in front Of the castle,
however, [ saw a group OF servants with
lanterns and torches gathered around two
Human bodies that lay stretched on the wet
ground, lying side by side.
AS dismounted and leaned my bicycle
against a tree, the rain squall let up, and
several servants came out of the palace bring
ling more torches and two ltters. A gentle
Imam, standing close to the two human bodies
on the ground, beckoned to the litter bearers.
Nobody took heed Of me, so / joined the
group of mournful bystanders, curious to
learn what had happened.
One Of the bystanders said: "They are both
dead. Drowned"
Another said in an awe-struck voice: "See
the black and blue marks OF fingers on the
dead DOCTORS neck. He was strangled before
he was drowned"
AS the light from a flaming torch fell on
TIE blenched faces of the two men lying dead
in their soaked clothes, | recognized them at
once.
One had the unforgettable features of King
lLudwig. with the same dropping black nous
ltaches and tuft of black beard on his chin
THAT once had so impressed me. The others
face was that of DR.. Won Gudden, the direc-
for Of the State Insane Asylum, a gentleman
well known to our family, because his son
recently had married the daughter OF a col
Ilege friend Of my father. Only a few weeks
ago DR.. Won Gudden had been a guest at our
house in Munich.
From the talk of those standing there I
gathered that most Of them knew that one OF
the dead men was the doctor. OF course,
they all knew the King. There was much ex-
lcited talk, which subsidized only when the two
bodies, having been laid on their filters, were
horne into the castle. Then there was louder
talk. which kept me spellbound, listening to
1T. until some one ordered all strangers to
leave the grounds-me among them.
The Happenings at Berg
What had happened? This much enlighten-
ment / got from the talk amid the flaming
torches at Castle Berg:
On the eve Of Whitsunday a court carriage
from Hohenschwangau had brought the King
and DIR. Won Gudden, accompanied by his as
l~sistant physician DR.. Miller and a hospital
warder to Berg. Four other warders had
followed in a second carriage. 1t was ex-
planned that a medical commission OF four
doctors and another commission OF high
lcourtiers, had been sent to Neuschwansteln
by the Kings uncle, Luitpold, to deal with his
nephew, who had gone out OF his mine Prince
Luitpold had done so after presiding over a
crown council at Munich in alarm over the
Kings frantic attempts to raise more mil
lions of marks for his e~rections Of new
castles. The two commissions, after observ-
ling the Kings odd demeanor in Neuschwan-
stein, had pronounced him crazy. Doctor Won
Gudden, who headed the medical commission,
was empowered to bring the King from his
remote mountain keep in the Schwangau to
his more accessible castle Berg nearer to the
capital and also to DR.. Won Gudden's insane
|asylum.