of his conduct, contrasting as it did
with the uneasy finesse of Metternich and Nesselrode, imparted to his
counsels a weight which they merited from their disinterestedness.
Great Britain was in a very strong position. She had borne the brunt
of the struggle before the present coalition took shape: apart from
some modest gains to Hanover, she was about to take no part in the
ensuing territorial scramble: she even offered to give up many of her
oceanic conquests, provided that the European settlement would be such
as to guarantee a lasting peace.[405] And this, the British Minister
came to see, could not be attained while Napoleon reigned over a Great
France: the only sure pledge of peace would be the return of that
country to its old frontiers, and preferably to its ancient dynasty.

On the question of boundaries the Czar's views were not clearly
defined; they were personal rather than territorial. He was determined
to get rid of Napoleon; but he would not, as yet, hear of the
re-establishment of the Bourbons. He disliked that dynasty in general,
and Louis XVIII. in particular. Bernadotte seemed to him a far fitter
successor to Napoleon than the gouty old gentleman who for three and
twenty years had been morosely flitting about Europe and issuing
useless proclamations.

Here, indeed, was Napoleon's great chance: there was no man fit to
succeed him, and he knew it. Scarcely anyone but Bernadotte himself
agreed with the Czar as to the fitness of the choice just named. To
the allies the Prince Royal of Sweden was suspect for his loiterings,
and to Frenchmen he seemed a traitor. We find that Stein disagreed
with the Czar on this point, and declared that the Bourbons were the
only alternative to Napoleon. Assuredly, this was not because the
great German loved that family, but simply because he saw that their
very mediocrity would be a pledge that France would not again overflow
her old limits and submerge Europe.

Here, then, was the strength of Castlereagh's position. Amidst the
warping disputes and underhand intrigues his claims were clear,
disinterested, and logically tenable. Besides, they were so urged as
to calm the disputants. He quietly assured Metternich that Britain
would resist the absorption of the whole of Poland and Saxony by
Russia and Prussia; and on his side the Austrian statesman showed that
he would not oppose the return of the Bourbons to France "from any
family considerations," provided that that act