DISGRACE AND EXILE 179was the constant object of his mother's acrimonious reprimands and
advice, so much so that his patience and filial respect often wore
quite thin, as witness the following, written from Edurt on August 25,1808: " ... j'avoue qu'il m'est penible de voir que lorsque je n'ai en
vue que les intert~ts de la Russie, les senti:nents qui sont la veritable
force de rna maniere d'agir puissent apparaitre si peu comprehen-
sibles ... " 1 Closely connected with those Russians who, grouped
around the Dowager Empress pursued purely Russian patriotic ends,
were numerous foreign residents. These foreigners, who were very
popular and influential in St. Petersburg high Society, worked actively
at breaking up the Franco-Russian alliance, They hoped to place
Alexander at the head of an anti-Napoleonic coalition for the liberation
of Europe and of France. These foreign residents were a remarkable
lot, Among them we find men of outstanding ability, merit, and honesty
like the Freiherr vom Stein, the Duke de Richelieu, Count Joseph de
Maistre, Count Langeron, and many lesser names. But there were also
others, far less reputable personages. Ernst Moritz Arndt, the well
known German romantic writer and friend of vom Stein, observing this
motley crew noted with a tinge of sarcasm: "Petersburg ist ein rechtes
Posthalt der Abenteurer, die auf Fortunas Flugel durch die Welt
fliegen, ein europiiisches Absteigequartier. Aus Frankreich, England,
Deutschland fliegen hier alle Tage solche Vogel zusammen." 2 Among
the foreign adventurers and professional intriguers we may name the
Chevalier de Vernegue, Count Armfelt, the Duke of Serra-Capriola,
all of whom played a part in Speransky's fall from favor, Naturally
there was little in common between the ways in which the first group
tried to influence the Emperor and the methods used by the adventurers
and intriguers.
For a Stein or a Maistre, the personal fate of Speransky was of little
concern. They were only interested in bringing about a change in
Russia's foreign policy. Whereas vom Stein, who came to Russia just
before the fall of Speransky, only wished to convince Alexander I that
Russia's political and historic duty was to liberate Europe from Napo-
leon, Joseph de Maistre aimed at much more. He hoped to renovate
Russian policy by giving a new direction and foundation to the
political and philosophic attitudes of Russia's social and cultural elite.
He wanted the Russian aristocracy to abandon the principles of 18th
century Enlightenment (still very influential in Russian society), with
1 Grand Due Nicolas Mikhailowitsch, L'Empereur Alexandre ler (St. Pbg. 1912),
Vol. I, pp. 83-84.
2 Ernst Moritz Arndt, Meine Wanderungen und Wandlungen mit dem Freiherrn
vom Stein (3. Abdruek, Berlin 1869), p. 18.