powers," said he, in a clear and determined voice. As he uttered these
words, looks of astonishment and disapprobation were, visible upon the
faces of his colleagues. The lord chancellor contented himself with a
contemptuous shrug and a supercilious smile. Kaunitz perceived it, and
met both shrug and smile with undisturbed composure, while calmly and
slowly he repeated his offending words. For a moment he paused, as if to
give time to his hearers to test the flavor of his new and startling
language. Then, firm and collected, he went on:

"Our alliance with England and Holland has long been a yoke and a
humiliation to Austria. If, in its earlier days, this alliance ever
afforded us protection, dearly have we paid for that protection, and we
have been forced to buy it with fearful sacrifices to our national
pride. Never for one moment have these two powers allowed us to forget
that we have been dependent upon their bounty for money and defence.
Jealous of the growing power and influence of Austria, before whose
youthful and vigorous career lies the glory of future greatness--jealous
of our increasing wealth--jealous of the splendor of Maria Theresa's
reign--these powers, whose faded laurels are buried in the grave of the
past, have compassed sea and land to stop the flow of our prosperity,
and sting the pride of our nationality. With their tyrannical commercial
edicts, they have dealt injury to friends as well as foes. The closing
of the Scheldt and Rhine, the Barrier treaty, and all the other
restrictions upon trade devised by those crafty English to damage the
traffic of other nations, all these compacts have been made as binding
upon Austria as upon every other European power. Unmindful of their
alliance with us, the maritime powers have closed their ports against
our ships; and while affecting to watch the Netherlands in our behalf,
they have been nothing better than spies, seeking to discover whether
our flag transcended in the least the limits of our own blockaded