But Maria Theresa, however penitent, never surrendered the spoils. Russia, on the contrary, again and again offered to restore the independence of Poland. It was the dream of Alexander I to re-establish an autonomous Polish kingdom. All his efforts proved of no avail, partly owing to Prussian influence, partly owing to the uncompromising attitude of the Polish patriots. After the Revolution of 1830 the opportunity passed away, and the Russian Government entered an era of reaction, and from 1815 to the present day the history of the relations between Russia and Poland has been a succession of lamentable misunderstandings and political blunders.
But, however severely we may condemn Russian misgovernment in Poland, Russian policy has been enlightened compared to Prussian misgovernment in Posen. Whilst Alexander II did for the Polish peasantry what Great Britain was to do forty years after for the Irish peasantry, whilst he transferred, with the assistance of Nicolas Miloutine, the Polish land from the Polish nobles to the Polish peasants, and tried to create a class of Polish peasant proprietors, Prussia systematically attempted to expropriate the Polish peasantry,
