Excerpt from The Life of William Ewart Gladstone, Vol. 2 In no long time (1858) Roumania was created into a Virtually independent state. Meanwhile, much against Napoleon's wish and policy, these proceedings chilled the alliance between France and England. Other powers grew more and more uneasy, turning restlessly from Side to Side, like sick men on their beds. The object of Russia ever since the peace had been, first to break down the intimacy between England and France, by flattering the ambition and enthu siasm Of the French Emperor; next to wreak her vengeance on Austria for Offences during the Crimean war, still pro nounced unpardonable. Austria, in turn, was far too slow for a moving age she entrenched herself behind forms with too little heed to substance; and neighbours mistook her dulness for dishonesty. For the diplomatic air was thick and dark with suspicion. The rivalry of France and Austria in Italy was the Oldest Of European stories, and for that matter the lombardo-venetian province was a possession of material value to Austria, for while only containing one eighth of her population, it contributed one-fourth of her revenue. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.