others, made him a formidable
opponent. Further, his marriage with the sister of Bischoffswerder,
until lately the King's favourite adviser, added to his influence,
which, as was natural with a foreigner, inclined towards the attractive
and gainful course. Long afterwards the saviour of Prussia, Baron vom
Stein, classed him among the narrow, selfish, insincere men who had been
the ruin of nations.[342] Certainly he helped to ruin Poland; and now
his conduct at Vienna clogged the efforts of Morton Eden and Malmesbury
to strengthen the Coalition against France. Eden complained that he
behaved as an intriguing subaltern rather than as an ambassador; and
rumour credibly ascribed his tortuous and exasperating conduct to French
gold.

In the midst of his irritation against Prussia and her envoy, Thugut
heard with astonishment the British proposals, presented at Berlin early
in February, to bring 100,000 Prussians into the field. Urgently he
remonstrated with Eden, pointing out that Prussia had played them false
in two campaigns, and would do so again, witness her late contention
that France must not be weakened. On no account, then, must Frederick
William head a compact mass of 100,000 men in the Palatinate. He would
be the arbiter of the situation. He would be between the Austrian army
in Brabant and the Hapsburg States. Nay, he might march into Swabia,
reach the Danube, take boats at Ulm, and, sailing down that stream, have
Vienna at his mercy![343] So pressing were these anxieties that, at the
close of February, Thugut sent a special request to Catharine II to
guarantee the security of Austria's possessions in case Frederick
William withdrew from the Coalition.

Despite the utmost efforts of the British Ministry and its envoys, no
plan of vigorous co-operation could be arranged between the two German
rivals; the sole link connecting them was the clause of the treaty of
1792, whereby Austria, as having been attacked by France, claimed the
help of 20,000 Prussians. Frederick William decided that this force
must remain at Mainz, in order to guard the Empire from a French raid.
He promised 80,000 more troops to Great Britain and Holland, provided
that they were paid for. On one point alone the four Allies came near to
agreement, namely, that the main Prussian army should operate in
Flanders, so as effectively to defend the Dutch territory, secure
conquests in the North of France, and, above all, preclude the quarrels
which m