Shortly after his ascent of the throne Ludwig was visited by the Emperor and Empress of Austria. Elizabeth was his cousin. At the time that she went to Vienna as Empress he was only nine years old. She had, later, often visited her parental home and the Bavarian royal family; but on these occasions the shy and retiring Crown Prince had hardly been allowed to see and talk to the beautiful sovereign of the great neighbouring state. Matters were now changed. Now he was King, and there was soon knitted between these two a bond of friendship which lasted until Ludwig’s death. He received the Emperor and Empress with every mark of attention, endeavouring to make their sojourn in his capital as pleasant and gay as possible. From Munich, Franz Josef and his consort went on to Kissingen, where Ludwig paid them a return visit. At this noted resort the young King of Bavaria was received with enthusiasm. Here also he met the Russian royal family. The Empress Maria Alexandrowna met him with motherly kindness, and seems at once to have formed the plan of making him her son-in-law. Bavaria was not, indeed, a great power, but it was a respected kingdom of the second class. The Bavarian dynasty was old and esteemed; and its present head was a brilliant personality, and, as it appeared, noble and amiable in character. To Ludwig also, and the country he represented, a connection of the kind must have presented itself as suitable and desirable; albeit, the Grand Duchess Maria—the only daughter of the Emperor and Empress—was at that time a mere child.

From Kissingen the Russian royal family went on to Schwalbach. After a short stay in Munich the King of Bavaria sought them there, accompanying—their untiring knight—the mother and daughter in their excursions.

This scheme of marriage, entertained by the Russian and the Bavarian courts, extended over several years. It seems to be proved beyond all doubt that Ludwig for a time thought of asking the Grand Duchess’s hand. He even had the plans drawn of a GrÆco-Muscovite palace, which he intended should be his wedding gift to the bride, and where, as a newly-married couple, they should spend their honeymoon.

The following summer the Tsarina and her daughter came again to Kissingen; there again the King met them. The mutual amiabilities and civilities recommenced, and the Empress and the Bavarian Ministers still seemed eager to have the connection brought about. The announcement of the engagement was expected every day. But it was expected in vain. The King hesitated to say the decisive word; as a matter of fact, he never said it. People tried to guess the reason. Some thought that the Tsarina’s too great eagerness for the match had cooled his own ardour for it. Others thought that the beauty-loving youth had hesitated because he had discovered that the little Russian Princess had a higher heel on one foot than on the other. Hardly any one suspected the real reason. It must be sought in Ludwig’s restless, undecided temperament, and in his inborn aversion to entering the married state.1