The Magnificent Montez Part 16

Count Bernstorff, a not particularly brilliant diplomatist, had an idea (shared, by the way, with a good many others) that Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, was at one time under Lola's spell. He was allowed to think so by reason of a letter that the King had sent him from Sans Souci in the autumn of 1847:

"I am charging you, my dear Count, with a commission, the performance of which demands a certain degree of that measure of delicacy which I recognise you to possess. The commission is somewhat beyond the accepted limits of what is purely diplomatic in character.... It is a matter of handing a certain trinket to a certain lady. The trinket is of little value, but, from causes you will be able to appreciate, the lady's favour is of very high value to myself. All depends on the manner in which the gift is presented. This should be sufficiently flattering to increase the value of the offering and to cause its unworthiness to be overlooked. My acquaintance with the lady, and my respect for her, should be adroitly described and made the most of, as must also be my desire to be remembered at her hands.

"You will, of course, immediately perceive that I am alluding to Donna Maria de Dolores de los Montez, Countess of Landsfeld."

It was not until he turned over the page that the horror-struck Bernstorff saw that the King was playing a characteristic jest on him; and he realised that the intended recipient of the gift was his wife, the Countess von Bernstorff, "as a souvenir of my grat.i.tude for the many agreeable hours pa.s.sed under your hospitable roof last month."

CHAPTER X

BURSTING OF THE STORM

I

The beauty of Lola Montez was a lever. As such, it disturbed the equilibrium of the Cabinet; for the time being, it even checked the dominion of Rome. But the odds were against her. The Jesuits were still a power, and would not brook any interference.

Metternich's wife, the Princess Melanie, who had the family _flair_ for politics, marked the course of events.

"Lola Montes," she wrote, "has actually been created Countess of Landsfeld. She is really a member of the Radical Party.... Rechberg, who has just arrived from Brazil, was alarmed on his journey at Munich by the events of which this town is the theatre. The shocking conduct of Lola Montes will finish by plunging the country into revolution."

This was looking ahead. Still, not very far ahead. The correspondent of a London paper in the Bavarian capital did not mince his words.

"The indignation," he wrote, "against the King on account of his scandalous conduct, has been roused to the highest pitch.... King Ludwig, who possesses many good qualities, is, unfortunately, a very licentious old man.... Neither the tears of the Queen, nor the entreaties of his sons, nor the public's indignation, could influence the old monarch, who has become the slave of his silly pa.s.sion and of the caprices of a Spanish dancer and Parisian lorette."

Once more, Ludwig "dropped into verse," and relieved his feelings about his enemies. This time, however, the verse was blank:

You have driven me from my Paradise, You have closed it for ever with iron grilles.

You have turned my days into bitterness.

You would even like to make me hate you Because I have loved too much to please your withered spirits.

The perfume of my spring-time is dissipated, But my courage still remains.

Youth, always bounding in my dreams, rests there, Embracing my heart with fresh force!

You who would like to see me covered with shame, Tremble!

You have committed sins against me and vomited injuries.

Your wicked acts have judged you.

There has never been anything to equal them!

Already the clouds disappear; The storm pa.s.ses; The sky lights up; I bless the dawn.

Ungrateful worms, creep back to your darkness!

There were repercussions across the Atlantic, where the role played by Lola Montez in Bavarian circles was arousing considerable interest.

American women saw in it a message of encouragement for the aspirations they themselves were cherishing. "The moral indignation which her political opponents exhibited," said a leading jurist, "was unfortunately a mere sham. They had not only tolerated, but had actually patronised, a female who formerly held the equivocal position which the Countess of Landsfeld recently held, because the former made herself subservient to the then dominant party."

But, just as Lola had staunch friends in Munich, so had she p.r.o.nounced enemies. Conspicuous among them was Johann Gorres, a leading Ultramontane who held the position of professor of history at the University. He could not say anything strong enough against the King's mistress, and did all he could to upset her influence with him. As he had a "following," some measure of success attended his efforts. It was on his death, in January 1848, that matters came to a head. The rival factions dividing the various students' corps made his funeral the occasion of a free fight among themselves. The mob joined in, and clamoured for the dismissal of the "Andalusian Woman." A hothead suggested that she should be driven from the town. The cry was taken up, and a rush set in towards her house in the Barerstra.s.se. As there was an agreeable prospect of loot, half the sc.u.m of the city swelled the mob. Bricks were hurled through the windows; and, until the police arrived, things began to look ugly.

Lola, as cool as a cuc.u.mber, appeared on the balcony, a gla.s.s of champagne in one hand, and a box of chocolates in the other.

"I drink to your good healths," she said contemptuously, as she drained her gla.s.s and tossed bon-bons among the crowd.

Not appreciating this gesture, or regarding it as an impertinence, the temper of the rabble grew threatening. They shouted vulgar insults; and there was talk of battering in the doors and setting the house on fire. This might have happened, had not Ludwig himself, who never lacked personal courage, plunged into the throng and, offering Lola his arm, escorted her to the Residenz.

The disturbances continued, for tempers had reached fever pitch.

Troops hastily summoned from the nearest barracks patrolled the streets. A furious crowd a.s.sembled in front of the Rathaus; the burgomaster, fearing for his position, talked of reading the Riot Act; a number of arrests were made; and it was not until the next afternoon that the coast was sufficiently clear for Lola to return to the Barerstra.s.se, triumphantly escorted by some members of the Alemannia.

When, however, they left her there, they were set upon by detachments of the Palatia Corps, who still cherished a grudge against them.

Lola's own account of these happenings, and written as if by a detached onlooker, is picturesque, if somewhat imaginative:

"They came with cannons and guns and swords, with the voices of ten thousand devils, and surrounded her little castle.

Against the entreaties of her friends, she presented herself before the infuriated mob which demanded her life.... A thousand guns were pointed at her, and a hundred fat and apoplectic voices fiercely demanded that she should cause the repeal of what she had done. In language of great mildness--for it was no time to scold--she answered that it was impossible for her to accede to such a request; and that what had been done by her had been done for the good of the people and the honour of Bavaria."

After this "demonstration," there was a calm. But not for long. On the evening of February 10, a rabble a.s.sembled in front of the Palace, raising cries of: "Down with Lola Montez!" "Down with the King's strumpet!" As the protestors consisted largely of students (whom Thiersch, the rector, being no disciplinarian, could not keep in check), Ludwig's response was drastic. He ordered the University to be shut, and all its members who did not live in Munich to leave the town within twenty-four hours. This was a tactical blunder, and was in great measure responsible for the more serious repercussions of the following month. Apart, too, from other considerations, the edict hit the pockets of the local tradesmen, since the absence of a couple of thousand hungry and thirsty customers had an adverse effect on the consumption of sauerkraut and beer.

As she was still "news" in Paris, a gossiping columnist suggested her return there:

Lola Montez laments the Notre-Dame de Lorette district, the joyous little supper-parties at the Cafe Anglais, and the theatrical first nights viewed from stage boxes. "Ah," she must reflect, as she looks upon her coronet trodden underfoot and hears the sinister murmurs of the Munich mob, "how delightful Paris would be this evening! What a grand success I would be in the new ballet at the Opera or at a ball at the Winter Garden!" Alas, my poor Lola, your whip is broken; your prestige is gone; you have lost your talisman.

Do not battle against the jealous Bavarians. Come back to Paris, instead. If the Porte St. Martin won't have you, you can always rejoin the corps de ballet at the Opera.

Lola, however, did not accept the invitation. She was virtually a prisoner in her own house, where, the next afternoon, a furious gathering a.s.sembled, threatening to wreak vengeance on her. Never lacking a high measure of courage, she appeared on the balcony and told them to do their worst. They did it and attempted to effect an entrance by breaking down the door. But for the action of the Alemannia, rallying to her help, she might have been severely handled.

One of her bodyguard managed to make his way to the nearest barracks and summon a.s.sistance. Thereupon, the bugles rang out the alarm; the drums beat a warning call. In response, a squadron of Cuira.s.siers clattered up the Barerstra.s.se; sabres rattled; and the rioters fled precipitously.

Prince Wallerstein, who combined the office of Minister of Public Worship with that of Treasurer of the Royal Household, leaping into the breach, harangued the mob; and Prince Vrede, a strong adherent to the "whiff of grapeshot" remedy for a disturbance, suggested firing on the ringleaders. Although the suggestion was not accepted, hundreds of arrests were made before some semblance of order was restored. But the rioting was only checked temporarily. A couple of days later it started afresh. The temper of the troops being upset, Captain Bauer (a young officer whom Lola had patronised) took it upon himself to give them the word to charge. Sabres flashed, and there were many broken heads and a good deal of bloodshed.

The Alemannia, thinking discretion the better part of valour, barricaded themselves in the restaurant of one Herr Rothmanner, where they fortified themselves with vast quant.i.ties of beer. Becoming quarrelsome, their leader, Count Hirschberg, drew his sword and was threatened with arrest by a schutzmannschaft. Thereupon, his comrades sent word to Lola. She answered the call, and rushed to the house. It was a characteristic, but mad, gesture, for she was promptly recognised and pursued by a furious mob. n.o.body would give her sanctuary; and the Swiss Guards on duty there shut the doors of the Austrian Legation in her face. Thereupon, she fled to the Theatiner Church, where she took refuge. But she did not stop there long; and, for her own safety, a military escort arrived to conduct her to the main guard-room. As soon as the coast was comparatively clear, she was smuggled out by a back entrance and making her way on foot to the Barerstra.s.se, hid in the garden.

In the meantime fresh attempts were being made to storm her house.

Suddenly, a figure, dishevelled and bare-headed, appeared on the threshold and confronted the rioters.

"You are behaving like a pack of vulgar blackguards," he exclaimed, "and not like true Bavarians at all. I give you my word, the house is empty. Leave it in peace."

A gallant gesture, and a last act of homage to the building that had sheltered the woman he loved. The mob, recognising the speaker, uncovered instinctively. _Heil, unserm Konig, Heil!_ they shouted. A chorus swelled; the troops presented arms.

"It is an orgy of ingrat.i.tude," said Ludwig, as he watched the rabble dancing with glee before the house. "The Jesuits are responsible. If my Lola had been called Loyala, she could still have stopped here."

To Dr. Stahl, Bishop of Wurzburg, who had criticised his conduct, he addressed himself more strongly. "Should a single hair of one I hold dear to me be injured," he informed that prelate, "I shall exhibit no mercy."

Palmerston, who stood no nonsense from anybody, wrote a very snappy letter to Sir John Milbanke, British Minister at Munich:

"Pray tell Prince Wallerstein that, if he wishes the British and Bavarian Governments to be on good terms, he will abstain from any attempt to interfere with our diplomatic arrangements, as such attempts on his part are as offensive as they will be fruitless."

II

As Ludwig had said, the Barerstra.s.se nest was empty, for its occupant had managed to slip out of it and reach Lindeau. From there, on February 23, she wrote a long letter to a friend in England, giving a somewhat highly coloured (and not altogether accurate) version of these happenings:

In the morning, the n.o.bles, with Count A.--V--[Arco Valley]