Their inherited nervous sufferings were the sorrow-laden undercurrent of their lives. Insanity which was inherent in their race was to both of them a threatening spectre, which, sooner or later, would attack them too. But in the case of Ludwig this fear had in a greater degree than in the case of Elizabeth weakened the power of will. Proud almost to the verge of megalomania, they were, nevertheless, friendly towards the country people they met with. By nature they were exceedingly generous; but the sufferings of their neighbour did not, either in him or her, drive away their thoughts from themselves. Both Ludwig and Elizabeth were eccentric in their sympathies and antipathies. Elizabeth was unhappy in her marriage; she sought a panacea for love in friendships with women. Ludwig could suddenly, and apparently without reason, take up with men who were far inferior to him in character. Both, as a rule, were disappointed in, and quickly tired of, these favourites for a day. Both the King and the Empress fled to the world of books, and when they met their literary interests bound them still faster together. A result of their mutual affection was that they exercised influence one upon the other. Elizabeth was older and had more knowledge of the world; she did not exceed her cousin in intelligence, though she may have done so in energy. Her power over him was, therefore, greater than his over her. The Empress's influence was not altogether for good. She impressed upon Ludwig that "one can do everything one likes," and the young Wittelsbach was very receptive to this kind of teaching. Where it might have been good and useful, he was, on the contrary, less willing to follow her advice: the Empress went early to bed, rose every morning at five, and went out of doors. The King spent his nights in music and reading, and not till day began to break did he retire to rest. Both had been passionately fond of riding, but had been obliged to give up this sport. She went instead walks of many miles, whereas he took his daily constitutional in a closed carriage. Elizabeth spent part of her summers in Feldafing, in the vicinity of Ludwig's castles. They met one another by appointment on the Roseninsel, in the lake of Starnberg; or, as not seldom happened, she would suddenly appear in his study at Schloss Berg or Neuschwanstein, and remain sitting many hours with him. She brought with her a stream of beauty and harmony into his quiet apartments. Even in his last darkened hours, when otherwise he received nobody, he liked to have her visits.