Pole at the thought of
his country made whole once more, even though it were destined to be
but semi-autonomous as a member of the Russian empire. But years
rolled by, and Czartoryski, though preferred to place and honor by the
Czar, heard less and less of the young philosopher's scheme. In 1805
he finally wrung from Alexander a promise that he would begin to act;
but it was very soon withdrawn, and Czartoryski retired to his
estates. The realities and selfishness of life eclipsed the man of
sensibility and developed the despot. For a time, however, he essayed
the role of European mediator, with what success Tilsit is the
witness.

Disgusted from the practical point of view with the old dynasties and
their chicanery, Alexander had not only eschewed the idea of a
reconstructed Poland, but had become indifferent to the territorial
lines of all ancient Europe, and momentarily dreamed of Napoleon as
his twin emperor. To this end he too must likewise be a conqueror.
Finland he had gained, but at the price of adhesion to a commercial
system which was gradually ruining his people. The exhausting,
slow-moving war with Turkey was still dragging on, and neither
Moldavia nor Wallachia was yet acquired. Oldenburg was incorporated
into France. The grand duchy of Warsaw was not merely the specter of a
restored Poland: the addition of Galicia to its territories had given
it solidity and substance. The Franco-Austrian alliance was a menace
to all the Czar's aspirations on the Balkan peninsula. It was clear
that he must choose between keeping his engagements to the letter and
an open rupture. He had been beaten and humiliated at his own game.

The first steps toward a rupture had already been taken before
Napoleon's second marriage. In the last days of 1809 Alexander had
negotiated with Caulaincourt, the French ambassador at St. Petersburg,
a treaty requiring from his ally a formal promise that Poland should
never be restored and the name never officially used. It is certain,
from the language used at the time, that the two questions of Poland
and the Russian marriage were not connected; the former he could raise
merely as an ally with a just expectation of a favorable reply. It is
of course possible that Alexander hoped Napoleon might connect them,
and thus sign the Polish treaty in the hope that his request for the
grand duchess would be granted as a return. In that case the Russian
emperor could still have refused his sister's han