cruples as to betraying the cause of their allies
at Warsaw.

Little by little the outlines of a scheme were sketched between Austria
and Prussia for securing indemnities for the expenses of the war against
France; and it was arranged that Prussia should acquire the coveted
lands on the lower Vistula; also Anspach and Baireuth; Austria was to
effect the long-desired Belgic-Bavarian exchange, besides gaining parts
of Alsace; and it was understood that Russia would annex the Polish
Ukraine and work her will in the rest of Poland. The Polish part of the
scheme was, however, stiffly opposed by Kaunitz; and in the sequel the
old Chancellor ended his long and distinguished career by way of protest
against a change of front which he deemed unwise and disgraceful.[79]

Early in May everything was ready for the restoration of anarchy in
Poland. Catharine ordered her troops to enter its borders; and the
factious Polish nobles whom she had sheltered during the winter returned
to their land and formed a "Confederation" at Targowicz on 14th May for
the purpose of undoing the reforms of 1791. Daniel Hailes, our envoy at
Warsaw, kept Grenville fully informed of this affair. On 16th June he
reported Austria's desertion of Poland, the brutal refusal of the Court
of Berlin to accord help to its ally, the heroic efforts of Kosciusko
and the Polish levies to resist the Russian armies, and the despair of
the patriots of Warsaw, adding the cynical comment that at Warsaw
patriotism was only a cloak for private interest, and that the new
constitution was generally regarded as the death-blow to Polish
independence.[80] Whether he added these words to please Grenville, who
had always discouraged the Polish cause,[81] is not easy to say; but the
statement cannot be reconciled with Hailes's earlier enthusiasm for that
well-meant effort.

On all sides the Polish patriots now found indifference or hostility.
The Elector of Saxony (their King-elect) gave them cold words; and
Catharine demanded the restoration of the old constitution of which she
was a guarantor. King Stanislaus, a prey to deep despondency, saw the
defence collapse on all sides, and at the close of June the Russians
drew near to Warsaw. Many of the Polish reformers fled to Leipzig and
there prepared to appeal to Europe against this forcible suppression of
a truly national constitution.

Amidst these scenes Hailes was replaced by Colonel Gardiner, who
received from Grenville the fo