The political system of which Count Metternich was the representative at Paris was very complicated. Since the first coalition against France, Austria had suffered the most severe reverses, having been twice deprived of the Milanese by Buonaparte, general and consul; then driven back on the banks of the Danube by Moreau, and having a second time entered the lists, after the alliance with Russia, this new coalition was dissolved by the battle of Austerlitz, and the Austrian cabinet was obliged to sign the treaty of Presburg,--a covenant submitted to through necessity alone, which broke up the old empire of Germany, and, in some measure, made an end of that of Austria.
It was the politics of this treaty, so fatal to the interests of the emperor, that Metternich was deputed to represent at Paris. The Confederation of the Rhine had overturned all the German system of affairs, which was as ancient as the Golden Bull. Wirtemberg and Bavaria, instead of being mere electorates, became kingdoms; when Bavaria received, at the expense of Austria, a territory of more than 12,000 square miles, a population of above 3,000,000 of souls, and a revenue of above 17,000,000 florins; and the aggrandisement of Wirtemberg, also prejudicial to Austria, though, no doubt, in a less degree, cost her about 150 square miles. Austria also lost the Venetian states, the Tyrol, the five cities of the Danube, Venetian Dalmatia, and the mouths of the Cattaro.
The act of the Confederation of the Rhine, which was the work of Talleyrand, Otto, and Reinhard, tore away the last remains of the old imperial mantle: and Francis II. was obliged to lay aside this ancient dignity, which would have been, in time to come, nothing but an empty title. Napoleon's system was to invade every thing, and a treaty was to him but an opportunity of launching out into fresh conquests. He had planted his family in Germany by instituting the kingdom of Westphalia; and, by means of marriages, he connected himself with Wirtemberg and Bavaria: all the stipulations in the treaty of Presburg had been insisted upon with the most inflexible haughtiness.
After these terrible reverses, Metternich considered the best means of regaining a little influence in Europe was to keep on good terms with Napoleon, or rather to preserve a strict neutrality, which might allow Austria to trace out an advantageous line of conduct for herself, should any decisive circumstance occur, as it could hardly fail to do sooner or later. The diplomatic system of Metternich was consequently one of expectation and inquiry; his special mission was, to become intimately acquainted with the most trifling peculiarities of this new and singularly constructed court, and to discover the thoughts and even the caprices of the powerful Emperor of the French.