At the congress of Vienna Nesselrode formed an intimacy with Prince Hardenberg. Russia had supported the pretensions of Prussia, the States had been bound to each other by means of political and family arrangements, and, for the future, Prussia was destined to act as the advanced guard of Russia, in her projects of influence over the south of Europe. Russia was too busy with her own affairs to observe the sort of underhand alliance forming between England, France, and Austria, against Alexander's design of instituting a kingdom in Poland, dependent on a viceroyalty of the czars. Nesselrode had to contend at once with Metternich and Hardenberg, who were both afraid of seeing the portion of Poland that had accrued to them at the time of the first partition escape from their grasp; Austria fearing for Gallicia, and Prussia for the districts beyond the Vistula. The other opposition the Russian minister had to overcome was, as I have before observed, that of the old Muscovite families, who murmured at seeing the organisation of Poland with an independent constitution and a degree of national liberty. Great difficulty existed in this quarter, although Nesselrode had not entered as warmly into this project as his sovereign had done, but had taken a middle course, in order to avoid a misfortune with which he had at one time appeared threatened. But all these divers interests were confounded by the astounding news of Napoleon's landing in the Gulf of Juan. The Emperor Alexander, whose mind was more than ever impressed with the mystic and liberal ideas of the German school, did not hesitate a moment in lending his powerful aid to the coalition. Madame Krüdner had persuaded him that the _white angel_, Peace, was to overcome the _black angel_, which presided over battles, and that the part of mediator and preserver of the human race was intended for him. The immense armies of Russia, therefore, marched against the _black angel_ (Buonaparte). I will not enter into the military details of the Waterloo campaign; suffice it to remind the reader that the Russians, who had afforded such decisive support during the invasion of 1813 and 1814, upon this occasion only arrived with the third division after the struggle was over, which explains the reason why the influence of England and Prussia was paramount in France during the transactions of 1815.