Note 1207 — Chapter IV · PRE-IMPERIAL CAREER OF THEODORA: THE CONSORT OF JUSTINIAN

Ibid., 40, 38. Hieronymus, the last king of Syracuse, is said to have married a common prostitute, but their issue did not succeed to any crown; ibid. In modern times the assumption of the premiership of Bavaria by the notorious Lola Montez (née Gilbert of Limerick) will be remembered. “She now ruled the kingdom of Bavaria, and, singular to say, ruled it with wisdom and ability. Her audacity confounded alike the policy of the Jesuits and of Metternich”; Dict. Nat. Biog., sb. nom. Her régime did not, however, last more than a year, being unable to stem the tide of revolution in 1848. More fortunate was the castrato singer, Farinelli, who retained a position differing little from that of prime minister under Philip V of Spain and his successor for nearly twenty-five years. The reign of courtesans in the seventeenth century, when the aristocratic blood of France and England was enriched by “legitimated princes” and peers under Louis XIV and Charles II is too well known to need comment here; but the acquisition of governmental power at the hands of Louis XV by Jeanne Vaubernier (Countess Du Barry), a low-class strumpet, doubtless helped decidedly to bring that disgraceful epoch to a close; see Voltaire’s Louis XIV and Louis XV, etc.