Count Bernstorff, a not particularly brilliant diplomatist, had an idea (shared, by the way, with a good many others) that Frederick William IV, King of Prussia, was at one time under Lola's spell. He was allowed to think so by reason of a letter that the King had sent him from Sans Souci in the autumn of 1847: "I am charging you, my dear Count, with a commission, the performance of which demands a certain degree of that measure of delicacy which I recognise you to possess. The commission is somewhat beyond the accepted limits of what is purely diplomatic in character.... It is a matter of handing a certain trinket to a certain lady. The trinket is of little value, but, from causes you will be able to appreciate, the lady's favour is of very high value to myself. All depends on the manner in which the gift is presented. This should be sufficiently flattering to increase the value of the offering and to cause its unworthiness to be overlooked. My acquaintance with the lady, and my respect for her, should be adroitly described and made the most of, as must also be my desire to be remembered at her hands. "You will, of course, immediately perceive that I am alluding to Donna Maria de Dolores de los Montez, Countess of Landsfeld." It was not until he turned over the page that the horror-struck Bernstorff saw that the King was playing a characteristic jest on him; and he realised that the intended recipient of the gift was his wife, the Countess von Bernstorff, "as a souvenir of my gratitude for the many agreeable hours passed under your hospitable roof last month." CHAPTER X BURSTING OF THE STORM I The beauty of Lola Montez was a lever. As such, it disturbed the equilibrium of the Cabinet; for the time being, it even checked the dominion of Rome. But the odds were against her. The Jesuits were still a power, and would not brook any interference. Metternich's wife, the Princess Melanie, who had the family _flair_ for politics, marked the course of events. "Lola Montes," she wrote, "has actually been created Countess of Landsfeld. She is really a member of the Radical Party.... Rechberg, who has just arrived from Brazil, was alarmed on his journey at Munich by the events of which this town is the theatre. The shocking conduct of Lola Montes will finish by plunging the country into revolution."