What had happened at this spot will for ever remain unknown. The sorrowful incident took place without witnesses; but the tracks along the shore, and in the bottom of the lake, which was examined, justify the following assumption. The King was walking on the right side, Gudden on the left, until they reached the seat they had rested on before. The King must then have thrown down his umbrella and run towards the lake, for his footsteps could be seen on the damp moss-grown shore. Gudden had immediately rushed after him, and seized him by the coat-collar. His grasp must have been very firm, for the nail of one of his fingers was splintered. Ludwig, on the other hand, must have continued to press forward, for Gudden had retained both the coats of the King in his hand. Above the doctor's left eye there was a bruise, which undoubtedly resulted from a blow. A terrible struggle must have taken place. Dr Müller made the most strenuous efforts to call Ludwig back to life, but all his exertions were in vain; death had freed the mad King from the torments of his existence. CHAPTER XLII Conclusion On the evening of Whitmonday the body of Ludwig II. was conveyed to Munich. The hearse, which was drawn by four horses and was accompanied by his servants and by priests, arrived at the capital at half-past three in the morning. Great numbers of country people followed his coffin weeping. Nobody believed he had been mad, but that an innocent man had been persecuted. In the hearts of all there lived the memory of the beloved King, who had promised so much, whose peculiarities they had condoned, and who, despite all, had continued to be the pride of the Bavarians. The news of his tragic end shocked the whole of Germany. His capital, where he had so seldom resided, mourned him deeply and sincerely; and in the country districts there was hardly a hut where his picture was not wreathed with crape. The dead King lay in state on a high catafalque, dressed in the knightly robes of the order of St Hubert, with its golden band round his neck, and the sword of iron resting on his left arm. On his breast lay flowers, brought by the Empress Elizabeth. Thousands of all grades of society pressed into the little chapel to bid him a last farewell. Sorrow was written on all faces; sympathy found expression on all lips. The lonely eccentric had found peace at last. Queen Marie's strength had been broken by sorrow; she outlived her eldest son by only two years. "Bavaria's unhappiest mother" expired on the 17th of May, 1889, at Hohenschwangau, where she had lived the full and happy years of her youth. With the words: "God save Bavaria, God save Prussia!" she drew her last sigh. The Duchesse d'Alençon was visiting her parents at Possenhofen, when her former betrothed found his death in the neighbouring lake of Starnberg. The news of it so greatly shocked her that she temporarily lost her reason.