Justus Hashagen

“ Louis placed very few difficulties in the way of the new German Empire under the leadership of Prussia, though his Bavarian particularism remained unchanged.
Though up till the beginning of the year 1880 he did not cease to give some attention to state affairs, the king’s interests lay in quite other spheres. His personal idiosyncrasies had, in fact, developed meanwhile in a most unhappy direction. His enthusiasm for all that is beautiful soon led him into dangerous bypaths. ”

“ A series of brilliant model performances of the Wagnerian music-dramas was instituted in Munich under the personal patronage of the king, and when the further plan of erecting a great festival theatre in Munich for the performance of Wagner’s “music of the future” broke down in the face of the passive resistance of the local circles interested, the royal enthusiast conceived the idea of building at Bayreuth, according to Wagner’s new principles, a theatre worthy of the music-dramas. ”

“ Though even in his later years he remained interested in lofty and intellectual pursuits, as may be gathered, apart from his enthusiasm for art and nature, from his wide reading in history, serious poetry and philosophy, yet in his private life there became increasingly marked the signs of moral and mental weakness which gradually gained the mastery over his once pure and noble nature. ”

“ But the opposition between him and the new king, which had already appeared at the time of the conclusion of the triple alliance between Holland, England and Prussia, became more marked in the following years, when Hertzberg, relying upon this alliance, and in conscious imitation of Frederick II.’s policy at the time of the first partition of Poland, sought to take advantage of the entanglement of Austria with Russia in the war with Turkey to secure for Prussia an extension of territory by diplomatic intervention. ”

“ By upholding the Fürstenbund Hertzberg made many enemies, prominent among whom was the king’s brother, Prince Henry. Though the Fürstenbund failed to effect a reform of the empire, it at any rate prevented the fulfilment of Joseph II.’s old desire for the incorporation of Bavaria with Austria. The last act of state in which Hertzberg took part under Frederick the Great was the commercial treaty concluded in 1785 between Prussia and the United States. ”

“ Not only did he erect the Propyläen at Munich in her honour, but he also helped her in the most generous way both with money and diplomatic resources. And after his second son Otto had become king of Greece in 1832, Greek affairs became from time to time the central point of his foreign policy. In 1835 he made a visit to Greece, partly political, partly inspired by his old interest in art. But his son proved unequal to his task, and in 1862 was forced to abdicate (see Otho, king of Greece) . For this unfortunate issue Louis was not without blame ”

“ He championed this latest creation of Frederick the Great’s mainly with a view to an energetic reform of the empire, though the idea of German unity was naturally still far from his mind. In 1785 followed “An explanation of the motives which have led the king of Prussia to propose to the other high estates of the empire an association for the maintenance of the system of the empire” (Erklärung der Ursachen, welche S.M. in Preussen bewogen haben, ihren hohen Mitständen des Reichs eine Association zur Erhaltung des Reichssystems anzutragen) . ”

“ Thus Louis did not come enough into contact with young men of his own age, and consequently soon developed a taste for solitude, which was found at an early age to be combined with the romantic tendencies and musical and theatrical tastes traditional in his family. ”

“ LOUIS I., king of Bavaria (1786–1868) , son of the then prince, afterwards duke and elector, Max Joseph of Zweibrücken and his wife Princess Augusta of Hesse-Darmstadt ( –1796) , was born at Strassburg on the 25th of August 1786. He received a careful education at home, afterwards (in 1803) going to the Bavarian national university of Landshut and to Göttingen. As a young man he was drawn into the Romantic movement then at its height ”

“ In 1859 he became a member of the presidial council (Oberpräsidialrat) at Coblenz, capital of the Prussian Rhine province, and from 1860 to 1866 was Landrat at Demmin in Pomerania. During the war with Austria he acted as civil commissary in Moravia. From 1867 to 1871 he was a councillor in the chancery of the North German Confederation. ”

“ From 1874 onward he was frequently elected to the Reichstag and the Prussian Chamber of Deputies, in which he attached himself to the German Conservative party. Puttkammer was the chosen instrument of the Clerical Conservative policy initiated by Bismarck when the Socialist peril made it expedient to conciliate the Catholic Centre. ”

“ He was especially anxious to obtain works of art, mainly sculpture, for the famous Munich collections which he started, and in this he had the advantage of the assistance of the painter Martin Wagner. He also set on foot movements for excavation and the collection of works of art in Greece, with excellent results. ”

“ This is directed exclusively against the absolute system (following Montesquieu) , upholds a limited monarchy, and is in favour of extending to the peasants the right to be represented in the diet. He spoke for the last time in 1793 on Frederick the Great and the advantages of monarchy. After 1783 these discourses caused a great sensation, since Hertzberg introduced into them a review of the financial situation, which in the days of absolutism seemed an unprecedented innovation. ”

“ LEDOCHOWSKI, MIECISLAUS JOHANN, Count (1822–1902) , Polish cardinal, was born on the 29th of October 1822 in Gorki (Russian Poland) , and received his early education at the gymnasium and seminary of Warsaw. ”

“ In addition to this principal study, he was also interested while at the university in historical and philosophical (Christian Wolff) studies. A first thesis for his doctorate, entitled Jus publicum Brandenburgicum, was not printed, because it contained a criticism of the existing condition of the state. ”

“ After finishing his studies at the Jesuit Accademia dei Nobili Ecclesiastici in Rome, which strongly influenced his religious development and his attitude towards church affairs, he was ordained in 1845. From 1856 to 1858 he represented the Roman See in Columbia, but on the outbreak of the Columbian revolution had to return to Rome. In 1861 Pope Pius IX. made him his nuncio at Brussels, and in 1865 he was made archbishop of Gnesen-Posen. ”