CHAP. XIII. 108. Great effects of Lord Castle Sir Charles Stewart's courage. and decisive acts of two men, who, strange to say, were brothers. Had not Lord Castlereagh provided the subsi1814. dies, and established the guaranteed paper currency, which he did in the beginning of the German war, the forces of Europe never would have been arrayed on the field of reagh and Leipsic; had not Sir Charles Stewart forced up Bernadotte and the Army of the North at the decisive moment, that great fight would at best have been a drawn battle, if not a defeat. Had not Lord Castlereagh persuaded the Allied Powers to conclude the treaty of Chaumont, they would have retired from France after the disasters of Blucher at Montmirail and Vauchamps; had he not by his single efforts, when all others despaired, torn the corps of Winzingerode and Bulow from Bernadotte, and placed them under Blucher, they would never have won the battle of Laon or advanced to Paris. Taught by these examples, the reflecting mind will hesitate to condemn a policy on the part of Napoleon, which so often, even in combating so great a coalition, brought him within a hairbreadth of decisive success, and, but for the strenuous efforts of two men, unquestionably would have done so. And without disputing the operation of general causes in all great political changes, he will probably arrive at the conclusion that much-very much-often depends on the agency of individual men; and that in recent, as well as ancient, times, the words of the Roman annalist are true: "Mihi multa legenti, multa audienti, quæ populus Romanus, domi militiæque, mari atque terra, præclara facinora fecit, forte lubuit attendere, quæ res maxime tanta negotia sustinuisset. Sciebam sæpenumero parva manu cum magnis legionibus hostium contendisse: cognoveram, parvis copiis bella gesta cum opulentis regibus; ad hoc, sæpe fortunæ violentiam toleravisse; facundia Græcos, gloria belli Gallos ante Romanos fuisse. Ac mihi multa agitanti constabat, paucorum civium egregiam virtutem cuncta patravisse; eoque factum, uti divitias paupertas, multitudinem paucitas superaret. 1 Sallust, Bell. Cat. § 53. "1 CHAP. XIII. 1814. 109. Co-opera ander, Wel Duke of tion of Alexprobably lington, and divided in Napo Castlereagh leon's over Three men, and three only, stand forth pre-eminent in the great strife of Europe against France in this memorable year, and it is the highest glory of Great Britain that she can number two of them among her own children. These three are the Emperor Alexander, the Wellington, and Lord Castlereagh. Men will differ to the end of time, according as they are by nation, profession, or habits, as to the priority which throw. is to be assigned to any of these great men in the grand deliverance; but all must agree that the co-operation of all the three was indispensable to its being effected. Without the intrepid courage and moral influence of Alexander, the military talents and unconquerable tenacity of Wellington, and the firm determination and persuasive sway of Castlereagh, the noble attempt would have failed, all the efforts of Europe would have been ineffectual, and the confirmed military power of France in modern, as of Rome in ancient, times, would have extinguished the rivalry of nations and the energy of individual mind in the slumber of universal dominion. were linked They were linked together in a way which, although 110. not hitherto remarked, and altogether independent of How they each other, has almost the appearance of having been together. providential. Lord Castlereagh first discerned Wellington's talents, and, despite great Court influence, chose him for the command in Spain. He there maintained him in the face of the long-continued and strenuous efforts of the Whigs to decry his talents, and abandon as hopeless the contest in which he was engaged. He laid down at the very outset, and in the minutest particulars, the plans which Wellington carried out for the defence of Portugal in four successive campaigns. The success of this defensive campaign, and the retreat of the French from Torres Vedras, encouraged Alexander to adopt a similar system, and exhibit corresponding energy in resisting the invasion of Russia; and the Moscow retreat was the consequence. The total destruction of Napoleon's vast arma XIII. 1814. CHAP. ment, in that memorable year, induced Lord Castlereagh, now restored to power, to organise the Grand Alliance which combated in the succeeding year, and pour forth the treasures of England in a way which rendered effective the efforts of Germany for its deliverance. At this very time the victory of Vitoria and expulsion of the French from Spain by Wellington, compensated the defeats of Lutzen and Bautzen, and determined in favour of the Allies the vacillation of Austria. Lord Castlereagh again appeared with decisive effect in the Congress of Chatillon and campaign of 1814, and by his resolute support of the Emperor Alexander in the crisis of the fight, arrested the torrent of Napoleon's victories and brought the Allied standards in triumph to Paris. Beyond all doubt, it was by the combined action of the three men that the colossus of French power was overturned, and peace and independence restored to Europe. Had either of the three been awanting, all the efforts of the other two would have proved ineffectual in working out the desired deliverance. 111. the three was the greatest? If required to determine to which of the three in this Which of great work the palm is to be awarded, it is more difficult to arrive at a just decision, and, with every wish to be impartial, the biographer can scarcely hope to be entirely exempt from national or individual prepossessions. Singly each has done things which may well render his name immortal. The Emperor of Russia's heroic conduct during the campaign of 1812, and his subsequent avenging of the flames of Moscow by the sparing of Paris, stands alone in the history of mankind, and has encircled his memory with a halo of purer glory than ever yet was allotted to uninspired man. Wellington's defence of Spain and Portugal is his own, and he may justly claim the highest renown for the resolution and perseverance with which he at length worked out their deliverance. His subsequent decisive victory at Waterloo will ever be remembered as the last stroke which prostrated the dis turber of the world's peace. To these great deeds may CHAP. XIII. 1814. CHAPTER XIV. LORD CASTLEREAGH AND SIR CHARLES STEWART AT THE CON- WHENEVER a great calamity has been incurred, or a great danger escaped, either in public or private life, the first thought of those who have been preserved from the disaster is to take measures to prevent its recurrence. If a house has been burnt by the faulty construction of stoves or flues, that fault is sure not to be repeated in the restored edifice; if it has been broken into by thieves, care is immediately taken, by the construction of additional or more secure bolts and bars, to prevent a repetition of the invasion. It is the same in the affairs of nations. It may with certainty be predicted on the conclusion of a peace, after a long and perilous conflict, that the dangers chiefly guarded against will be those which had been most recently experienced. As the greatest or rather the whole evils and dangers which had been felt with such severity during the late war had arisen from the aggressive policy and military power of France, so the feeling uppermost in the minds of all those who were charged with the duty of arranging the terms of the general pacification on its conclusion, was to guard by every possible means against its recurrence. It was on this principle that the arrangements agreed to by the secret treaty, concluded at Paris on 30th May preceding, had been framed. The addition of the Flemish provinces to the kingdom of |