"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
he 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 Mélanie, who had the family flair for politics, marked the course of events.