Washington Journal., 1943-03-12

drOWned or beaten to death.
Amtmann SOnntag, who escorted the COM
missioners back to Fussen, after further talk
underway with Minister Won Crailsheim and
Count Holnstein, allowed all the five gentle
men peacefully to return to Munich by the
next train.
Count Dtrckheim to the Rescue
Meanwhile at Linderhof, the Kings favor
lie aide, Count Durckheim, who came there
after the four doctors had left, heard from
the servants about the proceedings in regard
to His Majesty and sensed that he was to
be deposed. Forthwith he took boat to Stock
and, drawing the heetest horse from the royal
stables at Prien, urged it over the pass
to Hohenschwangau, nearly riding his poor
beast to death. Arriving at Castle Hohen-
schwangau he threw himself off his lathered
steed and wildly asked what had happened.
The servants told him and directed him to
Amtmann Sonntag, who meanwhile had come
back to the village from Fiissen. In bitter
words Count D1rckheim reproached the Amt
mann for letting his prisoners get away. He
denounced them as plotters and traitors.
Then he rode a fresh horse up the steep
bridlepath to Neuschwanstein There he was
welcomed graciously by the King, who drew
him to his breast. After a brief confereng
with the King in his study, among bis ehe
ished wall paintings of Taual5nscf
minstrel, Count Diirckhein aafn aoM 8ad
thanked the assem- M sea a E3s
Majesty's name 30F tAIef l8YalNN.
Then the Count hurried 3e ense .l4ore
to Ho~henschwangaN ad alo 4Amtmann
send a messenger s 5saen, there to file a
telegram from the sifs to Prince Bismarck
IN Berlin. But Amman Sonntag, who had
taken Count Diirckheim' S fault finding amiss,
would not send the dispatch. He said the
Fissen telegrapher had been reached by mes
sages from his superior officers in Munich,
who warned him to obey their orders under
pain of dismissal. The t~elegrapher had orders
from the Minister Of Communications to
transmit no risky kilograms coming from
Hohenschwangau or Neuschwanstein.
Count DTrckheim, seeing the cards stacked
against him, drew another horse from the
castle stable and rode it across the Bavarian
frontier to Reutte into the Austrian Tyrol.
There he dispatched his telegram to the I'm
perial Chancellor.
Bismarck, so Won Lutz learned later, was
deeply moved. He had felt grateful to tn
young King for his help in resurrecting the
German Empire. He knew him to be highly
romantic, but did not scorn him as "queer.'
After having learned from Munich Of Lud-
wigs attempted correspondence with the
Comte de Paris he asked his own physician,
DR.. Schwenninger, what he thought of Lud-
wigs eccentricities. The cautious doctor said
they scarcely warranted a diagnosis of incur
able madness. Indeed he deemed Ludwig a
highly gifted monarch. Ludwig's early re-
cognition of Wagner, so he thought, showed
the young monarch to be ahead of his times.
Bismarck agreed with him, saying, "the Ba-
vsrian King is an idealist. His failing, if
such it be, is that art, music and poetry mean
more to him than reality"
Bismarck t~elegraphed to Dtrckheim at
Route advising King Ludwig to hasten to
Muniob confront bic nor1iauoaDt tboro and
openly plead his own cause before the eyes
Of the people.
70 Minister Won Lutz, the Chancellor ex-
planned later, that if the King had been sane,
he would have followed his advice; but, being
insane, he would withdraw into himself in
stead of coming out in the open.
With Bismarck answer to the King his
aide-de-camp returned over the frontier pass
to Hohenschwangau. There another telegram
was handed to the Count. 1t was from the
Bavarian Minister of War, ordering him to
come back to Munich at once to report to him
in person. The Count thrust it into his breast
pocket and rode his horse up to Neuschwan-
stein. There he showed his orders to the
King. Ludwig, instead Of telling him to
ignore them, weakly had him write a telegram
III the Kings name to Prince Luitpold, beg
ging his uncle to let Diirckheim stay with
him. The dispatch was sent down to the
village by a runner to be forwarded to Fiissen.
Anxious hours were spent in waiting for a
reply. AT last Count Dirckheim, ending the
suspense, made up his mind to go down to
Ho-henschwangau in the hope that the Amt
mann might have some word for him or for
the King from Munich. Before the Count
went forth on his errand down to the vii
lage he took his formal leave in the Kings
chamber. AS he kissed the royal hand, Lud-
wig sobbed, but he suffered his faithful aide
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