[2] Ludwig made few journeys; he was three times in Switzerland, three times in Paris, also at Versailles and Rheims. On one occasion he visited Wartburg. At a later date it was his intention to go by way of Reichenhall and Saltzburg to Vienna, in order to visit the Emperor and Empress of Austria; but he turned back at Salzburg. The greater number of his journeys within the limits of Bavaria were to Berg, Linderhof Chiemsee, and Neuschwanstein. [↑]
CHAPTER XXXII
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: