e of honour
among them to a portrait of Lola Montez, from the brush of Josef
Stieler. The work was well done, for the artist was inspired by his
subject; and he painted her wearing a costume of black velvet, with a
touch of colour added by red carnations in her head-dress.

Ludwig's heart being large, _Die Schoenheitengalerie_ (as the "Gallery
of Beauties" was called) filled two separate rooms. The one
qualification for securing a niche on the walls being a pretty face,
the collection included the Princess Alexandra of Bavaria (daughter of
the King of Greece), the Archduchess Sophie of Austria, and the
Baroness de Kruedener (catalogued as the "spiritual sister" of the Czar
Alexander I), a popular actress, Charlotte Hagen, a ballet-dancer,
Antoinette Wallinger, and the daughters of the Court butcher and the
municipal town-crier. To these were added a quartet of Englishwomen,
in Lady Milbanke (the wife of the British Minister), Lady
Ellenborough, Lady Jane Erskine, and Lady Teresa Spence. It was to
this gallery that Ludwig was accustomed to retire for a couple of
hours every evening, to "meditate" on the charms of its occupants.
Being, however, possessed of generous instincts, and always ready
(within limits) to share his good things, the public were admitted on
Sunday afternoons.

But Ludwig could scratch, as well as purr. On one occasion he chanced
to meet a lady who had figured among the occupants of the
_Schoenheiten_. She was considerably past the first flush of youth, and
Ludwig, exercising his prerogative, affected not to remember her.

"But, Sire," she protested, "I used to be in your gallery."

"That, madame," was the response, "must have been a very long time
ago. You would certainly not be there now."

II

From her modest hotel, where, soon tiring of his society, she left
Auguste Papon to stay by himself, Lola took up fresh quarters in a
small villa which the King had placed at her disposal in the
Theresienstrasse, a boulevard conveniently near the Hofgarten and the
Palace. While comfortable enough, it was held to be merely a temporary
arrangement. There was not enough room in it for Lola to expand her
wings. She wanted to establish a _salon_ and to give receptions.
Accordingly, she demanded something more suitable. It meant spending
money, and Ludwig had already, he reflected, spent a great deal on her
whims and fancies. Still, under pressure, he came round, and, agreeing
that there must be a fitting