The revolution of February, which had already taken place in Paris, was followed by similar uprisings throughout Europe, and added fuel to the fire in Bavaria. The citizens of Munich again rose in revolt, and the Government could no longer remain deaf to their just demands for a more liberal constitution. The King made some concessions which partially appeased the loyal Bavarians, and the disturbance seemed about to subside, when a report that Lola Montez had returned to Munich caused a fresh outbreak. Official notices were posted that evening on every street corner, affirming that the Countess Landsfeld had left Karlsruhe on the fourteenth of March for Frankfort, and had been forbidden ever to set foot again on Bavarian soil; but the people laughed this to scorn. The placards were torn down and the insurgents continued their work of destruction. On the eighteenth of March, Munich found itself in a state of siege. Ten thousand troops were in arms to put an end, if possible, to the uprising. Many deputations waited on the King and on the States Assembly, which had convened in the meantime, while the greater part of the people who had taken no part in the disturbance waited anxiously for developments. But King Ludwig was unable to crush the rebellion; neither was he able to reconcile himself to a new system of government. Two days later Munich was startled by an unexpected event. A proclamation was issued by the sovereign, announcing his abdication, after a reign of twenty-three years, in favor of his eldest son, to whom he left the task of carrying out the reforms demanded by the people. Dumbfounded at this unforeseen step, the Bavarians, loyal still to the house of Wittelsbach, were much affected, and many felt remorseful at having rebelled against their King, who, in spite of his faults, had been a good sovereign and done much for his country. After his abdication, Ludwig spent the remainder of his life as a private citizen, partly in Bavaria, partly in Italy and the south of France, interesting himself still in art and plans for the further improvement of Munich. He soon regained all his old popularity, and felt no regrets for the rank and honors he had renounced. He died in February, 1868; but some years before that event, an equestrian statue of him was erected in Munich by the grateful people of that city. Chapter IV The Wittelsbach Sisters These stirring events naturally had not been without their influence on Duke Max and his family, although the relations between them and the new sovereigns were no less cordial and intimate than they had been with the former ones.