Whatever the cause may have been, antagonism manifested itself between Lola Montez and the King’s advisers, official and clerical, within a very few days of her arrival at his court. Louis is said to have introduced her to his ministers as his best friend. The Jesuits immediately circulated the report that she was his mistress, and endeavoured to inflame the Bavarian people against her. In obedience to their principle of the Church first and political consistency a long way after, they instigated a general attack upon King and favourite through the clerical press of Germany. It was truly remarked in one of the independent organs of opinion that the most extreme radical could not have shown less regard for the person of the sovereign than these champions of legitimacy. Caricature, that pitiable prostitution of a divine art, was assiduously employed. Louis was represented as a crowned satyr, a pug-dog, an ass with a crown tied to his tail; Lola was treated with even less regard for decency. The ape that lurks in every man gibbered in every clerical rag. The curious may inspect some choice examples of this simian humour in Herr Fuchs’s interesting work.[13]
Ridicule, so far from killing, as is so often said, can be proved by history to be the least potent instrument of attack and persecution wielded by man. Skits break neither bones nor thrones. Ridicule is generally on the side of authority and reaction, and as such, in the long run, on the losing side. Puritanism survived the raillery of seventeenth-century wags; the North triumphed, despite the loathsome scurrilities of Punch; “Napoleon the Little,” succumbed to German strategy, not to Victor Hugo’s satiric force; Teetotalism, Socialism, and the Cause of Woman wax stronger daily, in spite of the humorists of the music halls and the racing rags. The King of Bavaria was not to be shamed or affrighted by all the gutter journalists of Germany. But his smile became a little grim. Archbishop Diepenbrock remonstrated with him as to his assumed relations with the dancer. “Stick to your stola, bishop,” was the Plantagenet-like answer, “and leave me my Lola.” He claimed for his domestic affairs the privacy enjoyed by the meanest of his subjects. His regard for Lola and respect for her opinion grew stronger daily. Dismay spread through the clerical camp. As vilification failed to produce any sensible effect, bribery was attempted. At the instance, no doubt, of Metternich, Louis’s sister, the Dowager Empress Karoline Augusta, offered the favourite two thousand pounds if she would quit Bavaria. The offer was rejected, in what terms our knowledge of Lola’s character enables us to imagine. She did not lack money, nor did she crave for it. She loved power for its own sake, and power she now possessed. Under her influence Louis recovered his sanity. The liberal instincts of his youth and prime revived. He became once more the Grecian, and the mediæval fever left him. His impatience of clerical control grew more evident daily.
“And lo, a blade for a knight’s emprise
Filled the fine empty sheath of a man.—
The Duke grew straightway brave and wise.”
XX
THE ABEL MEMORANDUM
The King’s change of policy first found official expression in the Royal Decree of 15th December 1846, transferring the control of the Departments of Education and Public Worship from Abel, the Minister of the Interior, to Baron von Schrenk. The effect of this measure was practically to remove the schools from the power of the Jesuits. Abel saw in it a blow aimed at him by the detested Andalusierin. He addressed a letter to the King, reminding him of his zeal and devotion to the Crown, of his attachment to his person, of the unpopularity he had willingly incurred in order to subject the people more thoroughly to royal control. Louis was not greatly affected by this letter; we seldom earn the gratitude of others by reminding them that we have taken upon ourselves blame which ought rightly to be theirs. He was ungrateful enough to say that he had no sympathy with Abel’s policy, but that he found him a convenient man to work with. The minister hoped that the King, like Henri Quatre, would prefer his servant to his favourite, but he was disappointed. He next put his trust in Louis’s disinclination to take an active part in the Government; but here again he was deceived. The King, stimulated by Lola, began to exhibit the vigour and activity of youth, and showed a disposition to rule as well as to reign. Baron von Pechmann, the Chief of the Munich Police, was less patient than Abel, and ventured to protest against the consideration shown to “a mere adventuress.” The King’s blue eyes kindled. “Begone!” he exclaimed angrily; “you will find the air of Landshut purer!” It was a sentence of banishment which the minister had no choice but to obey.
This opposition on the part of the clericals determined Louis to regularise his new favourite and counsellor’s position in his kingdom, and to establish her social rank. He proposed to raise her to the peerage, and as a preliminary measure he signed letters patent, conferring upon her the status and rights of a Bavarian citizen. According to the constitution this decree had to be countersigned by a minister. The document was placed before Abel for his signature. The crisis had come. The King must now finally decide between minister and favourite, in other words, between reaction and progress. Abel summoned his colleagues to a council and the following remarkable memorandum to His Majesty was the result of their deliberations.[14]
“Sire,—There are circumstances in which men invested with the inappreciable confidence of their sovereign, and charged with the direction of affairs, are called upon either to renounce their most sacred duties or to expose themselves, at the bidding of their consciences, to the risk of incurring the displeasure of their beloved monarch. This is the sad necessity to which your ministers find themselves reduced by the royal determination to grant to Señora Lola Montez letters of naturalisation. We are incapable of forgetting the oaths we took to your Majesty, and our resolution has never been for a moment doubtful. The proposed naturalisation of Señora Montez was openly characterised by Councillor von Maurer as the greatest calamity with which Bavaria could be afflicted. This was the conviction of the whole Council, and the opinion of all your Majesty’s faithful subjects. Since December last the eyes of the nation have been fixed on Munich. The respect for the sovereign becomes weaker and weaker in all minds, because on all sides nothing is heard but the bitterest blame and disapprobation. National feeling is wounded: Bavaria believes itself to be governed by a foreign woman, whose reputation is branded in public opinion. Men like the Bishop of Augsburg [Dr. Richarz], whose devotion to your Majesty cannot be disputed, daily shed bitter tears for what is passing before their eyes; the ministers of the Interior and of Finance have witnessed his profound affliction. The Prince Bishop of Breslau [Dr. Diepenbrock], hearing of a rumour that he had countenanced the actual state of things, has written to persons in Munich formally and most emphatically expressing his disapprobation. His letter is no longer a secret, and will soon be known to the whole country. Foreign journals every day relate the most scandalous anecdotes, and make the most degrading attacks on your Majesty. The copy of the Ulner Chronik, which we subjoin, is a proof of our assertions. In vain do the police attempt to stop the circulation of these journals, which are everywhere read with avidity. The impression which they leave on men’s minds is by no means doubtful. It is the same from Berchtesgaden and Passau to Aschaffenburg and Zweibrücken. It is the same throughout Europe, in the cabin of the poor and the palace of the rich. It is not alone the glory and well-being of your Majesty’s Government that is compromised, but the very existence of royalty itself. It is this which explains the joy of the enemies of the throne, and the profound grief and despair of all who are faithfully attached to your Majesty, and who are alive to the dangers greater than any to which it has been exposed. In this state of things, it is inevitable that what is passing will influence the army, and if this bulwark should give way, where would be our resource? The statement, which the undersigned, whose hearts are torn with anguish, venture to place before your Majesty, is not the product of a terrified imagination, but of observations which each has made within the circle of his attributions, during several months. The effect of these circumstances in the ensuing parliamentary session may easily be foreseen. Each of the undersigned is ready to sacrifice for your Majesty his fortune and his life. Your ministers believe that they have given you proofs of their fidelity and attachment, but it is for them a doubly sacred duty to point out to your Majesty the ever-increasing danger of this situation. We beg you to listen to our humble prayer and not to suppose that it is dictated by any desire to thwart your royal will. It is directed only against a state of things which threatens to destroy the fair fame, power, and future happiness of a beloved King. Your ministers are convinced, after earnest deliberation, that if your Majesty should not deign to give ear to their supplications, they are bound to resign the positions to which the kindness and confidence of their sovereign has called them, and to pray your Majesty to remove the portfolios with which they are entrusted,