There is but little doubt that Struensee, in passing this law, hoped that the _gent écrivassière_ would take advantage of it to abuse Bernstorff, whose downfall took place almost simultaneously. Unfortunately, the weapons were turned against himself, for the Danes, constitutionally prone to stand on ancient customs, disliked the innovations, and, above all, that they were introduced by a German. One great cause of offence was, that the decrees emanated from the royal cabinet, and cabinet orders were a rarity in those days; but, indubitably, the chief annoyance was felt at the decrees being drawn up in German, which language was henceforth employed in all public proclamations. For, although German was the language of the court and the nobles, royal orders, which did not concern the duchies, had hitherto always been drawn up in Danish. Before the royal pair left Frederiksborg they were present at the Copenhagen shooting festival, which honour had only been bestowed on the citizens before by Queen Charlotte Amelia, consort of Christian V. Caroline Matilda, however, granted the company an even greater honour, by firing a shot herself and hitting the popinjay, in which her consort attempted to imitate her, but made a grand miss. While the queen gained many hearts by her condescension, she aroused quite as much anger by her free and easy manners. She appeared at this feast in male clothing, sitting her horse like a man, which created great scandal among the females. She did so, however, by the special request of her husband, who hated ceremony, and, according to his peculiar mania, liked his wife to display her beautiful form. It is certain that riding _en homme_ soon after became the prevalent fashion among the fine ladies of Copenhagen.[124] This was one of the long series of errors that Caroline Matilda committed in her short career. Indeed, ever since she had become intimate with Frau von Gähler and the other light beauties who formed her court, a great change had taken place in her, and a defiant recklessness of public opinion grieved her best friends, and was a terrible mistake in so puritanical a country as Denmark. The priests took advantage of the popular feeling, and many a sarcastic allusion to Jezebel could be heard from the pulpit. Of course, the freedom of the press found a splendid opening in abuse of the queen and her supposed minion, and the capital was soon flooded with the most scandalous attacks on the couple. Ere long, caricatures, in which the queen and her Cicisbeo were represented in the most ignoble postures; satires, in which the most disgusting scenes were described, were spread about the city, and not merely pasted on the walls, but even in the passages of the palace.[125]