They spoke no longer of whether the great flitting should take
place; it was now merely a question of where and how it should be
accomplished. From which it may be seen that Wilhelmine, as usual, had
won the day.

CHAPTER XVI

LUDWIGSBURG

'And pile him a palace straight, to pleasure the Princess he loved.'

ABT VOGLER.

FIVE leagues north of Stuttgart, in the heart of the forest, stood the
small hunting castle, the Erlachhof, whither Eberhard Ludwig often fled
from the world and for many peaceful days lived the life of hunter. In
these woods he wandered in early spring, here on summer nights he had
slept beneath the trees, dreaming the dreams of his poet nature.

The Erlachhof had been greatly rebuilt, his Highness having commanded
many alterations and improvements in the old castle. Since the year 1704
the various works had progressed right well. The gardens were already
famous far and wide, and all Europe had added to their wealth: tulips
from Holland, carnations and roses from France, oleanders and
passion-flowers from Italy, while Spain had furnished orange-trees and
myrtles. And here it was that Wilhelmine decided the great palace should
be built.

The Erlachhof, from a gentle, simple, old-world German maiden, was to be
transformed into a queen among palaces. Thus the daring favourite willed
it: a princely pleasure-house to rival Versailles.

The Italian architect Frisoni was called. An artist of no mean merit, and
pupil of Jules Hardouin Mansard, the chief architect of Versailles, where
Frisoni had worked at the plans together with his master. The Italian
arrived: a small, dapper man, ridiculous in his huge powdered wig, his
little brown monkey face peering out of the curled white locks. Her
Excellency desired a palace on the same model as the fine French palazzo?
Nothing easier! No? An original design, then, but of that style? Ah! more
facile still! Cost? A trifle to so noble and magnificent a prince as
Monseigneur Altissimo the Duke of Wirtemberg. One almost expected the
vast structure to rise from the ground in a night, so easy did it seem
from the man's account!

The German gentlemen employed at the Erlachhof were deposed from power,
and their dominion given over to Frisoni. Never was there such a stir in
Wirtemberg. All the quarries rendered stone. Each village sent its most
skilled workmen, and Frisoni despatched messengers t