"France and England going to War in these sad circumstances, and
France and Austria being privately prepared [by Kaunitz and others]
to swear everlasting friendship on the occasion, instead of
everlasting enmity as heretofore; unexpected changes, miraculous to
the Gazetteers, became inevitable;--nothing less, in short, than
explosion or topsy-turvying of the old Diplomatic-Political Scheme
of Europe. Old dance of the Constellations flung heels-over-head on
the sudden; and much pirouetting, jigging, setting, before they
could change partners, and continue their august dance again,
whether in War or Peace. No end to the industrious wonder of the
Gazetteer mind, to the dark difficulties of the Diplomatic.
What bafflings, agonistic shufflings, impotent gazings into the
dark; what seductive fiddling, and being fiddled to! A most sad
function of Humanity, if sometimes an inevitable one; which ought
surely at all times to be got over as briefly as possible.
To be written of, especially, with a maximum of brevity;
human nature being justly impatient of talk about it, beyond the
strictly needful."

Most true it is, and was most miraculous, though now quite
forgotten again, Political Europe had to make a complete whirl-
round on that occasion. And not in a day, and merely saying to
itself, "Let me do summerset!" as idle readers suppose,--but with
long months of agonistic shuffle and struggle in all places, and
such Diplomatic fiddling and being fiddled to, as seldom was
before. Of which, these two instances, the Bernis and the Hanbury,
are to serve as specimen; two and no more: a universe of extinct
fiddling compressed into two nutshells, if readers have an ear.