THE MONROE DOCTRINE 307 



and to confound the wicked. He became so impressed with 

 the truth of this remarkable manifestation of Divine Provi- 

 dence, that, in order to better merit the favors of the Su- 

 preme Being, he determined, thereafter, to rule his empire 

 strictly in accordance with the principles of the Christian 

 religion, and still further, to induce his neighbors to do like- 

 wise. In this happy resolve the king of Prussia and the 

 Emperor of Austria joined with the Czar, and the league 

 was christened the " Holy Alliance." England, when invited, 

 declined to become a party, Castlereagh, the English Secre- 

 tary for Foreign Affairs, reporting to the ministry that the 

 Czar was no doubt mentally unbalanced. Even Metternich 

 called the treaty "verbiage." At all events, the league was 

 formed, the signers declaring that they " in consequence of 

 the great events [those leading to the defeat of Napoleon] 

 . . . and of the blessings which it has pleased Divine 

 Providence to shed upon those states. . . . Declare solemnly, 

 that the present act has no other object than to show . . . 

 their unwavering determination to adopt for the only rule 

 of their conduct . . . the precepts of their holy religion, the 

 precepts of justice, of charity, and of peace. ..." The 

 three sovereigns would " remain united by the bonds of a 

 true and indissoluble fraternity." Considering themselves 

 "only the members of one Christian nation," they looked 

 upon themselves as " delegated by Providence to govern 

 three branches of the same family, to wit : Austria, Prussia, 

 and Russia." They confessed that there was really no other 

 sovereign than "Him to whom alone power belongs of right," 

 etc. The title of the league is derived from the closing para- 

 graph of the treaty (September 26, 1815) : 



ARTICLE III. All powers which wish solemnly to profess the 

 sacred principles which have delegated this act, and who shall 

 acknowledge how important it is to the happiness of nations, too 

 long disturbed, that these truths shall henceforth exercise upon 

 human destinies all the influence which belongs to them, shall 

 be received with as much readiness as affection, into this Holy 

 Alliance. 



Into this combination France, Spain, Naples and Sardinia 



