The Magnificent Montez Part 15

Sir: Public life has its moments when those entrusted by their Sovereign with the proper conduct of public affairs have to make their choice between renouncing the duties to which they are pledged by loyalty and devotion, and, by discharging those duties in conscientious fas.h.i.+on, incurring the displeasure of their beloved Sovereign. We, the faithful servants of Your Majesty, have now found ourselves in this situation owing to the decision to grant Bavarian nationality to Senora Lola Montez. As we cannot forget the duties that our oath compels us to observe, we cannot flinch in our resolve....

It is abundantly clear that reverence for the Throne is becoming weakened in the minds of your subjects; and little is now heard in all directions but blame and disapproval.

National sentiment is wounded, because the country considers itself to be under the dominion of a foreign woman of evil reputation. The obvious facts are such that it is impossible to adopt any other view.... The public journals print the most shocking anecdotes, together with the most degrading attacks on your Royal Majesty. As a sample of this, we append a copy of No. 5 of the _Ulner Chronic_. The vigilance of the police is powerless to check the circulation of these journals, and they are read everywhere.... Not only is the Government being jeopardised, but also the very existence of the Crown. Hence, the delight of such as wish ill to the Throne, and the anguish of such as are loyal to Your Majesty. The fidelity of the army, too, is threatened. Ere long, the forces of the Crown will become a prey to profound disaffection; and where could we look for help, should this occur and this last bulwark totter?

The hearts of the undersigned loyal and obedient servants are torn with grief. This statement they submit to you is not one of visionaries. It is the melancholy result of observations made by them during the exercise of their functions for several months past. Each of the undersigned is ready and willing to surrender everything to his Sovereign. They have given you repeated proofs of their fidelity; and it is now nothing less than their sacred duty to direct the attention of your Majesty to the dangers confronting him. Our humble prayer, to which we beg you to listen, is not governed by any desire to run counter to your Royal will. It is put forward solely with a view to ending a condition of affairs which is inimical to the well-being and happiness of a beloved monarch. Should, however, your Majesty not think fit to grant their pet.i.tion, we, your Ministers, will then have no alternative but to tender the resignation of the portfolios with which you have entrusted them.

The signatories to this precious "manifesto" were von Abel, von Gumpenberg (Minister of War), von Schrenk, and von Seinsheim (Councillors of State). Much to their hurt astonishment, their resignations were accepted. Nor was there any lack of candidates for the vacant portfolios. Ludwig, prompted by Lola, filled up the gaps at once. Georg von Maurer (who reciprocated by signing her certificate of naturalisation) was appointed Minister of Justice and Foreign Affairs, and Freiherr Friederich zu Rhein was the new Minister of Public Wors.h.i.+p and Finance.

The students, not prepared to let slip a chance of a.s.serting themselves, paraded the streets with a fresh song:

_Da kam Senorra Lolala, Sturzt Abel und Consorten; Ach war sie doch jetz wieder da, Und jagte fort den----_

Despite the fact that he was indebted for his appointment to her, Maurer attempted to snub Lola and refused to speak to her the next time they met. For his pains, he found himself, in December, 1847, dismissed from office. There was, however, joy in the ranks of the clerical party, for, to their horror, he happened to be a Protestant.

"I have now a new ministry, and there are no more Jesuits in Bavaria,"

announced Ludwig with much complacence. As was his custom when a national crisis occurred, he was also delivered of a sonnet, commencing:

You who have wished to hold me in thrall, tremble!

Greatly do I esteem the important affair Which has ever on divested you of your power!

But the fallen ministers had the sympathy of Vienna. Count Senfft, the Austrian envoy at Munich, gave a banquet in their honour. Lola reported this to Ludwig, and Ludwig gave Senfft his _conge_.

What had annoyed the Wittelsbach Lovelace more than anything else about the business was that the memorandum in which von Abel and his colleagues had expressed their candid opinion of Lola Montez found its way into the _Augsburger Zeitung_ and a number of Paris journals. This was regarded by him as a breach of confidence. Enquiries revealed the fact that von Abel's sister had been surrept.i.tiously shown a copy of the doc.u.ment, and, not prepared to keep such a t.i.t-bit of gossip to herself, had disclosed its contents to a reporter. After this, the fat, so to speak, was in the fire; and nothing that Ludwig could do could prevent the affair becoming public property. As a result, it formed the basis of innumerable articles in the press of Europe, and the worst possible construction was put on it.

The erudite Dr. Dollinger, between whom and Lola Montez no love was lost, was much upset by the situation and wrote a long letter on the subject:

The existing ministry were fully awake to the encroachments of the notorious Lola Montez; and in view of the destruction which menaced both the throne and the country, they secretly resolved to address a pet.i.tion to Ludwig I, humbly praying him to dismiss his favourite, and setting forth the grounds on which they based their request.

Rumours of this business soon got afloat. People began to whisper; and one fine day a sister of one of the ministers, goaded by curiosity, discovered the pet.i.tion. She imparted the news in the strictest confidence to her most intimate friends; and they, in their turn, secretly read the memorial, with the result that, some time after the important doc.u.ment had been safely restored to its hiding-place, its contents appeared, n.o.body knew how, in the newspapers.

The panic of the ministers was great; the King's displeasure was still greater. He suspected treachery, and considered the publication of such a pet.i.tion treasonable.

Remonstrances were of no avail; the ministers were dismissed, and their adherents fled in every direction. I, who had been nominated a member of the Chamber by the University, but against my will, had to resign office at the bidding of the King. His Majesty was greatly incensed, and meanwhile the excited populace were a.s.sembling in crowds before the house of Lola Montez.

Dollinger was a difficult man to cross. He had doubts--serious doubts--concerning a number of matters. Among them was one of the infallibility of the Pope. What was more, he was daring enough to express these doubts. The wrath of the Vatican could only be appeased by ex-communicating him from the Church. He, however, added to his contumacy by surviving until his ninety-second year.

IV

Appreciating on which side its bread was b.u.t.tered, the new ministry had no qualms as to the eligibility of Lola Montez for the honour of a coronet in the Bavarian peerage. This having been granted her, the next step was to select a suitable territorial t.i.tle.

Ludwig ran an exploring finger down the columns of a gazetteer. There he saw two names, Landshut and Feldberg, that struck him as suggestive. Combined, they made up Landsfeld. Nothing could be better.

"I have it," he said. "Countess of Landsfeld, I salute you!"

Thereupon the Court archivist was instructed to prepare the necessary doc.u.ment:

"We, Ludwig, King of Bavaria, etc., hereby make public to all concerned that We have resolved to raise Maria von Porres and Montez, of n.o.ble Spanish descent, to the dignity of Countess of Landsfeld of this Our kingdom. Whilst we impart to her the dignity of a Countess, with all the rights, honours and prerogatives connected therewith, it is Our desire that she have and enjoy the following escutcheon on a German four-quartered s.h.i.+eld: In the first field, red, an upright white sword with golden handle; in the second, blue, a golden-crowned lion rampant; the third, blue, a silver dolphin; and in the fourth, white, a pale red rose.

This s.h.i.+eld shall be surmounted by the coronet of a Countess.

"Be this notified to all the authorities and to Our subjects in general, with a view to not only recognising the said Maria as Countess of Landsfeld, but also to supporting her in that dignity; and it is Our will that whoever shall act contrary to these provisions shall be summoned by Our Attorney-General and there and then be condemned to make public and private atonement.

"For Our confirmation of the above we have affixed Our royal name to this doc.u.ment and placed on it the seal of Our kingdom.

"Given at Aschaffensberg, this 14th of August, in the 1847th year after the birth of Christ, our Lord, and in the 22nd year of Our Government."

This did not miss the eagle eye of _Punch_, in whose columns appeared a caustic reference:

"The armorial bearings of the new COUNTESS OF LANDSFELD, the ex-_coryphee_ of Her Majesty's Theatre, have been designed, but we think they are hardly so appropriate as they might have been. We have therefore made some slight modifications of the original, which we hope will prove satisfactory."

The suggested "modifications" were to subst.i.tute a parasol for the sword, a bulldog for the lion, and a pot of rouge for the rose. Were such an adjunct of the toilet table then in existence, a lipstick would probably have been added.

V

With her t.i.tle and heraldic honours complete, plus a generous allowance on which to support them, and a palace in which to live, Lola Montez cut a very considerable dash in Munich. Two sentries marched up and down in front of her gate, and two mounted orderlies (instead of one, as had previously been the case) accompanied her whenever she left the house in the Barerstra.s.se.

While by far the most important of them, Ludwig was not by any means the only compet.i.tor for Lola's favours. Men of wealth and position--the bearers of high-sounding t.i.tles--with politicians and place-hunters, fluttered round her. It is to her credit that she sent them about their business.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _"Command" Portrait. In the "Gallery of Beauties,"

Munich_]

"The peculiar relations existing between the King of Bavaria and the Countess of Landsfeld," remarked an apologist, "are not of a coa.r.s.e or vulgar character. His Majesty has a highly developed poetic mind, and thus sees his favourite through his imagination, and regards her with affectionate respect."

This found a responsive echo in another quarter, and some sharp raps on the knuckles were administered to the Bavarian moralists by a Paris journal:

"Why do you interfere with the amours of your good Ludwig?

We don't say he should not have observed rather more discretion or have avoided compromising his dignity. Still, a monarch, like a simple citizen, is surely free to love where he pleases. In selecting Lola Montez, the amorous Ludwig proves that he loves equality and, as a true democrat, can identify himself with the public. Let him espouse his servant girl, if he wants to. Personally, we would rather see the Bavarians excite themselves about their const.i.tution than about the banishment of a royal favourite.

The King of Bavaria turns his mistress into a Countess; his subjects refuse to recognise her; and a section of the students clamour for her head. Happy days of Montespan, of Pompadour, of Dubarry, of Potemkin, of Orloff, where have you gone?"

In the summer of 1847 the Paris Courts were occupied with a long outstanding claim against Lola Montez. This was to the effect that, when she was appearing at the Porte St. Martin, she had run up a bill for certain intimate undergarments and had neglected to settle the account. The result was, she received a solicitor's letter in Munich.

She answered it in the following terms:

MUNICH,

_September 25, 1847._

MONSIEUR BLOQUE,

As I have never given any orders to Messrs. Hamon and Company, tailors, rue de Helder, they have no claim on me; and I am positively compelled to repudiate the bill for 1371 francs which you have the effrontery to demand in the name of this firm.

Last spring Monsieur Leigh made me a present of a riding-habit and certain other articles which he ordered for me, and I consider that it is to him you should now address yourself.

Accept, Monsieur, etc.,

COUNTESS DE LANDSFELD.

Not being prepared to accept this view, the Paris firm's next step was to bring an action for the recovery of the alleged debt. Once more, Lola repudiated liability, this time on the grounds that the creditors had kept back some dress material belonging to herself. The defence to this charge was that, "on being informed by their representative that real ladies could not wear such common stuff, she had said she did not want it back." The court, however, held that the debt had been incurred; and, "as she considered it beneath her dignity to appear, either in person or by counsel," judgment for 2,500 francs was given against her.