la and demanded a settlement of
accounts for goods delivered. This time they were told that the money
had arrived, but that the key of the box in which it had been
deposited for safety was lost. Assuring them that she would fetch a
locksmith, Lola slipped out of the house, and, stepping into a
waiting cab, drove off to a new address near the Etoile. This was the
last that the creditors saw of her.

In January, 1851, Lola, setting an example that has since then become
much more common among theatrical ladies, compiled her "memoirs." When
the editor of _Le Pays_ undertook to publish them in his columns, a
rival editor, jealous of the "scoop," referred to their author as
"Madame James, once Madame Heald, formerly Mlle Lola Montez, and for
nearly a quarter of an hour the Countess of Landsfeld."

The work was dedicated to her old patron, King Ludwig, with a florid
_avant-propos_:

Sire: In publishing my memoirs, my purpose is to reveal to a
world still engulfed in a vulgar materialism Your Majesty's
lofty thoughts about art, poetry, and philosophy. The
inspiration of this book, Sire, is due to yourself, and to
those other remarkable men whom Fortune--always the
protector of my younger years--has given me as councillors
and friends.

Lola must have written with more candour than tact. At any rate, after
the first three chapters had appeared, the editor of _Le Pays_, on the
grounds that they would "shock his purer readers," refused to continue
the series. "We positively decline," he announced, "to sully our
columns further."

II

Authorship having thus proved a failure, Lola, swallowing her
disappointment, directed her thoughts to her old love, the ballet. To
this end, she placed herself in the hands of a M. Roux; and, a number
of engagements having been secured by him, she began a provincial tour
at Bordeaux. By the time it was completed the star and her manager
were on such bad terms that, when they got back to Paris, the latter
was dismissed. Thereupon, he hurried off to a notary, and brought an
action against his employer, claiming heavy damages.

According to Maitre Desmaret, his client, M. Roux, had been engaged in
the capacity of _pilote intermediare_ during a prospective tour in
Europe and America. For his services he was to have 25 per cent of the
box-office receipts. On this understanding he had accompanied his
principal to a number of towns. He then returned to Paris; a