There was undoubtedly some jealousy mingled with this dislike of the Empress Catherine for a woman she had never seen. "The Semiramis of the North" regarded herself as one to whom the ordinary rules of life and conduct did not apply, nor even the immutable laws of right and wrong. She was a woman of destiny, a sublime figure, above, beyond and apart from all meaner mortals. Yet this foolish Matilda with her _bourgeois_ favourite and paltry intrigues had presumed to challenge comparison with one who was incomparable, and even to imitate her idiosyncrasies. Like Catherine, Matilda rode astride in masculine attire; like Catherine, she donned the uniform of a colonel, marched at the head of her regiment, and fired a musket with unerring aim. True, Matilda had only one favourite where Catherine had many, but he was one who gathered up (in her estimation and his own) the charm of a Poniatowski, the bravery of an Orloff, the genius of a Panteomkine, the ardour of a Korssakof, and the beauty of a Lansköi.[146] Struensee was responsible for this somewhat burlesque imitation of the Empress; he held before the Queen's dazzled eyes the vision of another woman ruling her people with consummate ability to the admiration of Europe, and Matilda was weak enough to listen to his flattery. [146] Favourites of Catherine the Great. Catherine regarded the attempts of the Queen of Denmark to follow in her steps as preposterous, and the anti-Russian policy as impertinent. The Empress did not at first treat it seriously, but the limit of this presumptuous folly (in her opinion) was reached when the news came to St. Petersburg that her former co-conspirator and later her declared enemy, Count Rantzau, had been taken into favour by the Danish court, and given an appointment in the Government. Then the anger of Catherine, as Bernstorff predicted, knew no bounds. She regarded the appointment of Rantzau as an insult, and sent instructions to Filosofow to represent her displeasure in the strongest terms to the court of Copenhagen. Filosofow, who was already goaded to the point of madness by the humiliations heaped on him by Struensee, performed his mistress's behest with such violence and so many expletives that the Queen strongly resented his bullying tone, and his further residence at Copenhagen became impossible. For this, as the English envoy wrote, "they [the court of St. Petersburg] will be in a great measure indebted to their own conduct--disgusting this court by an open attack on Monsieur Rantzau, whose character, let his intentions be what they will, ought to have been too well known to them to give rise to any great apprehensions".[147] Filosofow demanded his recall, which was granted, and before leaving requested a private audience of the King. But this was refused by Struensee, who had made up his mind that henceforth foreign envoys should have no more private audiences with the King behind his back. Filosofow was told that he could only see the