A Journey to Switzerland
In order to avoid remark, Ludwig had decided that his special train
should pick him up at ten o'clock in the evening, on the 27th of June,
at the station of Mühlthal, near Starnberg. He intended to travel as
the Marquis de Saverny; Kainz was to go with him as his friend Didier.
According to the orders which he had received, and at the appointed
hour, the actor duly made his appearance at the little railway
station. The country lay in deep stillness as the royal train,
without a signal or the ringing of a bell, glided up to the
platform. Immediately afterwards the King's spirited team dashed
up. Ludwig jumped out of his equipage and stepped into the railway
carriage, which, besides a sleeping compartment, contained a saloon in
which were easy-chairs, sofas, and a table laid for supper. The train
moved off into the darkness of the night as silently as it had come.
One of the King's stewards, a native of Switzerland, had gone on in
advance to engage a suite of rooms at the Grand Hotel at Axenstein,
near Brunnen. Unfortunately, the King's arrival in Switzerland became
known. People hurried from all directions to catch a glimpse of the
"romanticist on the throne." When he approached Brunnen on board the
steamer Italia, the banks were covered with spectators. Ludwig was
incapable of repressing his displeasure, which increased the more
when he discovered that all the houses along the banks of the lake
were decorated with flags in his honour. "It is swarming with people
here. I wish to live unknown and alone for myself!" he exclaimed. At
the landing-stage the hotel carriage was standing with four horses
harnessed to it; and some members of the Swiss police were also
discovered to be drawn up for his reception. This was too much for
the shy Monarch. "I will certainly not go ashore here," he cried. "I
will not make myself a sacrifice to ovations." He let the steamer
go on to Flüelen. On the return trip he made inquiries as to whether
there were not some other locality than Brunnen where he might be put
ashore. The captain mentioned a little place in the neighbourhood,
and shaped a course for it. Hardly was this discovered at Brunnen
than the whole mass of people set off towards it. The landing-stage
was thickly covered with a crowd which received him with marks of
delight. Handkerchiefs were waved, and shouts of hurrah filled the
air as his majestic form strode through the ranks. He answered the
greetings of the people with affability. "I must confess," he said,
after he was seated in the carriage, "that after all, this warm
welcome has given me pleasure, for it shows well the mind of these
good people." He was deeply touched by the magnificent scenery, and
his face beamed; but hardly had he noticed the numbers of strangers
who continued to press round his carriage than he began to lose
heart again.
He walked up and down in his rooms at the hotel, saying again and
again: "This is a hotel and not a castle; I will not remain here!" A
few days later he took the villa "Guttenberg," whence he made many
excursions in the neighbourhood. The cantonal government placed a
steamer at his disposal, and this he very often used. Kainz recited
to him in the beautiful moonlight nights, and from the banks of
the lake of Lucerne he heard the joyous Swiss peasant songs. His
friendly manner won much sympathy in the neighbourhood. One Sunday
seven pretty young Swiss girls announced themselves at his villa;
they had come to ask him for money in order to go to America. As
he was not at home one of them requested some writing materials,
after which, in a bright and original manner, she penned the wishes
of herself and her friends. The letter was laid before the King,
who was greatly amused at it. He answered, however, that he loved
and honoured the Swiss people far too well for him to be a party to
the leaving of it of seven of its most charming daughters.
It is said that the Swiss people gave utterance to the following
sentiment: "If we had to elect a king for ourselves, our choice could
not fall on any other than Ludwig II. of Bavaria."
He had a great affection for and visited often the beautiful Rütli,
the spot where the ancient Swiss took their oath of allegiance. Kainz
accompanied him thither, and they spent hours together at the view,
where the young actor would recite the Rütli song:
"Sei, Rütli, mir freundlich gegrüsset,
Du stilles Gelände am See,
Wo spielend die Welle zerfliesset,
Genährt vom ewigen Schnee!
Gepriessen sei, friedliche Stätte,
Gepriessen sei, heiliges Land,
Wo sprengten des Sklaventums Kette
Die Väter mit kräftiger Hand.
Da standen die Väter zusammen
Für Freiheit und heimisches Gut
Und schwuren beim heiligsten Namen,
Zu stürzen die Zwingherrenbrut!"
They went almost every evening to a neighbouring inn where they partook
of a meal, the King being exceedingly modest in his demands, and not
even requiring dinner-napkins or a tablecloth. He was in the habit of
talking much to the landlord, whom he liked to give him information
as to the mode of life of the Swiss peasantry.
The King's relations with Kainz became somewhat cooler on the former's
side towards the end of their stay in Switzerland. One evening at Rütli
Ludwig asked him to recite something from Schiller's Wilhelm Tell. The
actor was willing to do this, but put it off till later. At two in
the morning Ludwig repeated his request, when Kainz replied that he
was too tired to recite anything. Ludwig looked at him a moment in
astonishment and was silent. At last he said: "Oh, you are tired,
are you? Rest, then!" and turning on his heel walked away.
Hesselschwerdt and the landlord went with him to the steamer. When
they were on board the landlord said: "Herr Marquis, Herr Didier has
not yet come!" "Let him rest," answered Ludwig; "we will go on."
Kainz had himself rowed across to Brunnen, but the King had left
when he arrived there. The actor followed him to Lucerne, and prayed
Hesselschwerdt to announce him to the King. The former returned and
said that his Majesty would receive him in the garden, if he did not
wish to make up for his lost night's rest. Ludwig appeared shortly
afterwards. Kainz made several excuses, which the King interrupted,
assuring him that he was glad to see him again, and that he regretted
his own want of spirits. Although Ludwig treated him with familiarity,
his extreme sense of self-esteem could not endure that a seemly line
of demarcation should be passed by his young friend.
After the return from Switzerland he did not invite him again; nor
did he ever again witness any performance of his on the stage, but for
a short space of time he continued to carry on a correspondence with
the actor. His last letter, in which he thanks Kainz for good wishes
which the latter had sent him, concludes with the following words:--
"Probably Didier sometimes thinks kindly of his Saverny. My hearty
greetings to you. All good spirits bless you. This is wished you
with all his heart by your friendly,
"Ludwig.
"The Swiss châlet at Hohenschwangau, the 31st July, 1881,
at night."
Shortly afterwards Kainz was dismissed from the Hof Theater at
Munich. As long as the King lived he hoped to be recalled; but the
hope was not destined to be fulfilled. When, later, Ludwig heard him
spoken of he would abruptly change the topic of conversation; and
when he read his name in the newspaper would lay the latter aside,
or throw it into the waste-paper basket.
Kainz's conduct proved that he had been unworthy of his friendship;
nobody perhaps abused his confidence more than he did. The King had
hardly drawn his last breath before the young actor sold all his
letters to a Berlin newspaper. Ludwig had in these letters allowed
him to glance into his inward life, and their publication immediately
after the benefactor's death was not only unseemly but heartless. The
general opinion of his conduct is expressed in the following verse:--
"Hat Ludwig dir in königlicher Grösse
Gezeigt des Herzens Tiefen ohne Scheu.
Du warst gewiss, da du sie bloss jetzt legest,
Dem todten, hohen Freunde wenig treu."