It was not at random that I selected the names of the statesmen of whom an account is here to be met with; they each represent an idea--a system--a policy. Prince Metternich is the creator of the theory of the balance of power and armed neutrality, which has obtained a very exalted rank for Austria among European powers; Prince Talleyrand brought back among us the temperate diplomacy of the Empire, of the first days of the Restoration, and of the Revolution of 1830; Count Pozzo di Borgo personifies the persevering tact of European policy and the Russian system since the year 1814; the chancellor, M. Pasquier, exhibits the administration of the latter part of the reign of Napoleon, and he was, also, the moderate minister of the Restoration; the Duke of Wellington is England under arms, and the active spirit of the Tories; the Duc de Richelieu is the symbol of probity in affairs, and of great unrequited services--he is the man who delivered his country from the dominion of a stranger, and yet with whose name the present generation is, perhaps, less acquainted than with that of any orator at the hustings; Prince Hardenberg represents Prussia at first holding a neutral course, then advancing with her poetical universities; Count Nesselrode has been Chancellor of Russia for the last thirty years; and, finally, I have raised to its proper exalted position the much-belied character of Lord Castlereagh, the faithful interpreter of the views of the Tory party, the worthy successor of Mr. Pitt, and who preserved England and added to her power. These sketches, therefore, by their account of the different ministers, form a vast history of the cabinets of Europe. Many new details will be found in these portraits, and my admiration for intellectual and powerful minds has made me strive to perfect them. Being quite unconnected with the agitations of the present times, I have not mentioned in these pages any name mixed up with the dissensions of the press and the tribune. Some of the politicians of the present day were, however, the noble friends of the Duc de Richelieu, and others afforded him the aid of their talents and sagacity. May they continue their career, without becoming weary and discouraged in the difficult paths of Conservatism and order! May they persevere, in spite of the misery of holding office in changeful times! The heart of Pitt was often deeply pained while arranging his magnificent work, and England now pronounces him the prince of statesmen. Toil and trouble are the condition of man, and nothing strong or durable ever was created, without raising a clamour of opposition from beings of inferior intellects, violent tempers, and disappointed ambition. _June 1843._