's Theatre,
on Saturday, the 3rd inst. (when I was received by the
English public in so kind and flattering a manner) I have
been cruelly annoyed by reports that I am not really the
person I pretend to be, but that I have long been known in
London as a woman of disreputable character. I entreat you,
Sir, to allow me, through the medium of your respected
journal, to assure you and the public, in the most positive
and unqualified manner, that there is not a word of truth in
such a statement.

I am a native of Seville; and in the year 1833, when ten
years old, was sent to a Catholic lady at Bath, where I
remained seven months, and was then taken back to my parents
in Spain. From that period, until the 14th of April, when I
landed in England, _I have never set foot in this country,
and I never saw London before in my life_.

In apologising for the favour I ask you, I feel sure that
you will kindly consider the anxiety of myself and my
friends to remove from the public any impression to my
disadvantage. My lawyer has received instructions to proceed
against all the parties who have calumniated me.

Believe me to be your obedient and humble servant,

LOLA MONTEZ.

_June 13, 1843._

Ballet-dancers cannot, when making their debuts, be expected to
remember everything; and this one had obviously forgotten her sojourn
in India, just as she had forgotten her marriage to Thomas James (and
the subsequent Consistory Court action), as well as her amorous
dalliance with Captain Lennox during the previous year.

"In spite of the encouraging reception accorded Donna Lola Montez, she
has not danced again," remarked a critic in the _Examiner_. "What is
the reason?"

Lumley could have supplied the information. He did so, some years
afterwards, in his book, _Reminiscences of the Opera_:

It is not my intention to rake up the world-wide stories of
this strange and fascinating woman. Perhaps it will be
sufficient to say frankly that I was, in this instance,
fairly "taken in." A Noble Lord (afterwards closely
connected with the Foreign Office) had introduced the lady
to my notice as the daughter of a celebrated _Spanish_
Patriot and martyr, representing her merits as a dancer in
so strong a light that her "appearance" was granted.

... But this spurious Spanish lady had no