THE WAR OF GREEK INDEPENDENCE 1821 TO 1833 BY W.ALISON PHILLIPS 1897

EFFECT ON THE PROSPECTS OF THE GREEKS 279
ows, wandering miserably among
the ruins of burnt
villages or the blackened stumps of the devastated
orchards. Now, however, a new ray of hope shone
through the lowering clouds of the national misfortunes.
With the Powers of Europe arrayed on her
side against the Porte, with Russia actively fighting
her battles, there seemed no cause for despair; and
Greece could look forward once more with confidence
into the future.
And to whom was it due that she had
been saved from the fate which seemed to her children
more dreadful than death?
Lord Salisbury in a recent
speech declared that the very existence of Greece as a
nation was due to the Concert of the Powers. Yet
nothing can be more certain than that, if the question
had been left to the Cabinets of Europe alone, Greece
would never have been freed.
typical statesman of the period,
Metternich was the
the ideal of all the
chanceries of Europe; and to Metternich the diplomatic
proprieties were of infinitely more importance
than any national aspirations whatever; and no claims
of abstract justice could be allowed for a moment to
interfere with the rules of haute politique.
1
It was,
as a matter of fact, to the peoples of Europe, and not
i Metternich's judgment as to the result of interfering
on behalf of the Greeks proved true enough. His capital
error, politically speaking, lay in his underrating sentiment
and public opinion as factors to be considered.