King Ludwig's Friendships
At the time of Ludwig's first visit to Paris, Cora Pearl, noted
alike for her beauty and her frivolity, sent the young King her
portrait. None of his suite dared to present it to him, it being known
that he was not attracted by women. At Hohenschwangau, a year later,
he received his secretary with the following words:--"I have seen your
wife to-day!" The secretary bowed in silence, being uncertain what
this utterance might mean. "I have seen your wife to-day!" repeated the
King in his severest tone. The secretary now realised the significance
of the words addressed to him, and respectfully assured his Majesty
that he would see that such a thing should not occur again.
The King's dislike of the fair sex could not otherwise than cause it to
be hinted that his emotional life was not normal, a rumour strengthened
by the warm interest which he exhibited in several men. The Hungarian
writer, Maurus Jókai, has related in private circles how in his youth
he received a letter from an unknown person offering him riches and
marks of honour, everything which a powerful master is in a position to
offer, if he would leave his country and his family and live entirely
for an unhappy and lonely man. The novelist would not break the ties
which bound him to his home and his native land; but he ever retained
a deep feeling of sympathy for the writer of the letter.
Ludwig's need for solitude was, without doubt, the result of
enigmatical depths in his nature. As a youth he had suspected,
and as a man of riper years he felt, that it was impossible for him
to be otherwise than a recluse and a stranger in life. Despite his
high position, despite his beauty and gifts of mind, he was in his
inward self helpless and tired of existence. His friendship for
Richard Wagner was the bright spot in his life. He had believed
in the incense with which the master in the first hours of sincere
gratitude had surrounded his protector. But Wagner's proud affection
was something very different from the flattery which met him from
courtiers and his later favourites, who crawled in the dust to promote
their own welfare. His favour and affection came as unexpectedly on
the recipient as his distaste and contempt for them--his feelings,
which found an outlet in autograph letters, exaggerated expressions,
and gifts, not continuing for any length of time.
At the outbreak of the Franco-German war he was hardly five and twenty
years of age. It was at this time that his abnormal mental condition
began to be remarked; but prior to this there had been signs which
pointed in the same direction. He had from childhood been particularly
attracted by good-looking faces. On his accession he pensioned off
his father's old servants, and surrounded himself exclusively with
young and handsome men. One of his grooms, Joseph Völkl, was during
the years 1864 and 1865 the holder of a much-envied position at court,
accompanying the King on his journeys to Switzerland and being allowed
to sit in the same carriage with his Majesty. By degrees, however,
Völkl grew arrogant, and spoke of his master without respect. Ludwig
came to know of this fact, and degraded him instantly. The former
continued, however, to spread unseemly gossip about, and the matter
coming to the ears of the Ministry, he was dismissed, and died in
great poverty.
The Master of the Horse, Hornig, was later the King's favourite. He
was a handsome and well-informed man, with agreeable manners. During
the long period of eighteen years he acted as Ludwig's private
secretary, and accompanied him on his travels. While Hornig was
preparing the details of the journey to Bayreuth, the King was seized
with a sudden unwillingness to undertake it, despite the fact that
he was the official patron of the festival. He discussed the matter
constantly with the Master of the Horse, without, however, being able
to make up his mind. The latter was of opinion that it would create
unpleasant remark if the King sent a sudden refusal to be present. In
the heat of conversation he exclaimed: "Your Majesty! it would make us
laughable if we did such a thing!" Ludwig was so much annoyed at this
"us" and "we," that Hornig lost his favour from that day. After his
dismissal the royal quartermaster-sergeant, Hesselschwerdt, took his
place. In spite of a poor education he performed his duties to the
King's satisfaction, amusing him, and often disarming his violence
by gross untruths, which Ludwig forgave, although he was not deceived
by them. He remained in the King's service until the end of his reign.
With the exception of Richard Wagner all the King's so-called friends
suffered from his caprices. The secluded life he led gave him the time
in which to brood over every little utterance which had displeased
him. His rancour was, as a rule, deep, and his grudges lasting. The
two last cabinet secretaries, Dr von Ziegler and Dr von Müller, were
both for a time his pronounced favourites. Even in his last years he
understood how to fascinate others, and was able to master and hide
his mental sufferings. Ziegler, who was possessed of a jovial and
happy disposition, had a good influence on him; and he spoke with
admiration and respect of Ludwig's nobility of mind. The secretary's
retirement in 1883 was greatly regretted.
From this day forward Ludwig associated almost exclusively with his
domestics. Even his equerries and the secretary were but occasionally
received by their master. Several years before his death one of his
warmest admirers, the Chamberlain von Unger, said of him: "The man
who ceases to associate with educated women becomes coarse; but when,
in addition, he avoids association with educated men, he is wholly
and entirely lost!"