Prince Otto's Insanity--The King's Morbid Sensations 145 XXI. The Review of the Troops in 1875--Crown Prince Friedrich of Prussia 151 XXII. King Ludwig and the Empress Elizabeth 158 XXIII. King Ludwig and Queen Marie 164 XXIV. State and Church--Ignaz von Döllinger--Ludwig's Letters to his old Tutor 168 XXV. Ludwig II. in Daily Life 175 XXVI. Ludwig and Richard Wagner--The King's Visit to Bayreuth 180 XXVII. King Ludwig and the Artists of the Stage and Canvas 187 XXVIII. Private Performances at the Hof Theater at Munich 193 XXIX. King Ludwig and his Palaces 197 XXX. King Ludwig's Friendships 204 XXXI. The Actor Kainz 209 XXXII. A Journey to Switzerland 214 XXXIII. King Ludwig and his Servants 221 XXXIV. The Mad King 225 XXXV. The Last Meeting between Mother and Son 230 XXXVI. Pecuniary Distress 234 XXXVII. Plots 239 XXXVIII. Preparations to Imprison the King--The Peasantry Assemble to his Rescue 244 XXXIX. A Friend in Need--Ludwig's Proclamation 250 XL. The King's Last Hours at Neuschwanstein 257 XLI. Schloss Berg--The King's Death 265 XLII. Conclusion 272 LUDWIG THE SECOND KING OF BAVARIA CHAPTER I Descent and Education At the birth of Ludwig II., enigmatic as he was unfortunate, of whom I propose to give a sketch, his grandfather, the eccentric Ludwig I., was still King of Bavaria. His father, Maximilian Joseph, was the Crown Prince. The latter had wedded, in 1842, the beautiful Princess Marie of Prussia, who was only sixteen years of age at the time of her marriage, her husband being twenty years her senior. To all appearance the marriage was a very happy one. Maximilian was an intelligent and right-thinking man, devoted to public duty, but he had indifferent health, and, like the greater number of his race, was the possessor of a sensitive nervous system. For some years it appeared as if the marriage would be childless. At the beginning of the year 1845, however, the people of Bavaria were informed that the Crown Princess was enceinte, and on the 25th of August, on the birthday of the reigning King, a hundred and one guns proclaimed the birth of a prince at the château of Nymphenburg.