ther side of his nature. He sought to drive a hard bargain
with Pitt. Firstly, he strove to obtain the promise of a larger British
force to form an integral part of a Russian expedition for the
deliverance of the Kingdom of Naples. In view of the paucity of our
disposable forces, Pitt had sought to limit the sphere of action to
Sicily and the neighbouring parts of Calabria, the defence of Sicily,
the key of the Mediterranean and the outwork of Egypt, being now and
throughout the war one of the cardinal aims of British policy. An
expedition under General Sir James Craig was about to set sail for Malta
and Messina; and the Czar required that, when strengthened, it should
act in any part of South Italy, under a Russian general. After wearisome
correspondence, a compromise was arrived at; and on 19th April 1805
Craig set sail from Portsmouth on his perilous voyage over seas now and
again swept by French and Spanish warships. By good fortune he escaped
these many dangers, and reached Malta, there setting free seasoned
troops for operations in South Italy. The hardihood of Pitt in sending
forth this expedition has often provoked criticism. But it was worth
while to run serious risks to save Sicily from the grip of Napoleon, and
to wrest from him the initiative which he had hitherto enjoyed
unchallenged. Besides, the Czar insisted on that effort, and made it
almost a _sine qua non_ of his alliance. In a military sense the results
were contemptible; in the diplomatic sphere they were very great.[719]

Twelve days before Craig set sail, Czartoryski worried or coaxed the
British ambassador at St. Petersburg, Lord Granville Leveson-Gower, into
signing a provisional treaty of alliance. The Czar now promised to set
in motion half a million of men (half of them being Austrians, and only
115,000 Russians) so as to drive the French from Italy, Switzerland,
Germany, and the Low Countries, England subsidizing the allied forces at
the rate of L1,250,000 a year for every 100,000 men actually employed.
The liberated lands were to have the right of building their own
fortresses and choosing their own constitutions. But firstly, Alexander
would seek to restore peace to Europe; and to this end he would consent
to Napoleon placing his brother Joseph on the throne of North Italy,
either in Piedmont or in the Italian Republic, shadowy realms being
outlined in the Peninsula for the consolation of the dispossessed King
of Sardinia. But the sting of