After the leaders of the allies had settled affairs at Paris, they reassembled at Vienna,—­ostensibly to reconstruct the political system of Europe and secure a lasting peace; in reality, to divide among the conquerors the spoils taken from the vanquished.  The Congress of Vienna,—­in session from November, 1814, to June, 1815,—­of which Prince Metternich was chosen president by common consent, was one of the grandest gatherings of princes and statesmen seen since the Diet of Worms.  There were present at its deliberations the Czar of Russia, the Emperor of Austria, the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Bavaria, and Wuertemberg, and nearly every statesman of commanding eminence in Europe.  Lord Castlereagh represented England; Talleyrand represented the Bourbons of France; and Hardenberg, Prussia.  Von Stein was also present, but without official place.  Besides these was a crowd of petty princes, each with attaches.  Metternich entertained the visitors in the most lavish and magnificent manner.  The government, though embarrassed and straitened by the expense of the late wars, allowed L10,000 a day, equal perhaps in that country and at that time to L50,000 to-day in London.  Nothing was seen but the most brilliant festivities, incessant balls, fetes, and banquets.  The greatest actors, the greatest singers, and the greatest dancers were allured to the giddy capital, never so gay before or since.  Beethoven was also there, at the height of his fame, and the great assembly rooms were placed at his disposal.

The sittings of the Congress, in view of the complicated questions which had to be settled, did not regularly begin till November.  The meetings at first were harmonious; but ere long they became acrimonious, as the views of the representatives of the four great powers—­Russia, Austria, England, and Prussia—­were brought to light.  They all, except England, claimed enormous territories as a compensation for the sacrifices they had made.  Talleyrand at first was excluded from the conferences; but his wonderful skill as a diplomatist soon made his power felt.  He was the soul of intrigue and insincerity.  All the diplomatists were at first wary and prudent, then greedy and unscrupulous.  Violent disputes arose.  The Emperor Alexander openly quarrelled with Metternich, and refused to be present at his parties, although they had been on the most friendly terms.

In the division of the spoils, the Czar claimed the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, to be nominally under the rule of a sovereign, but really to be incorporated with his vast empire.  Metternich resisted this claim with all the ability he had, as bringing Russia too dangerously near the frontiers of Austria; but Alexander had laid Prussia under such immense obligations that Frederick William supported his claims,—­with the mutual understanding, however, that Prussia should annex the kingdom of Saxony, since Saxony had supported Napoleon.  The plenipotentiaries were in such awe of the vast armies of the Czar, that they were obliged to yield to this wicked annexation; and Poland—­once the most powerful of the mediaeval kingdoms of Europe—­was wiped out of the map of independent nations.  This acquisition by far outbalanced all the expenses which Alexander had incurred during the war of liberation.  It made Russia the most powerful military empire in the world.