he extreme Conservatives and the extreme
Radicals were opposed to expenditure on foreign adventures for which
they could see no use. In all these difficulties, however, Cavour was
loyally supported by the king, who saw the advantages of Piedmontese
participation, even if unattended by definite promises. General
Dabormida, the minister of foreign affairs, disapproved of this policy
and resigned. The vacant portfolio was offered to d' Azeglio, who
refused it; whereupon Cavour assumed it himself. On the same day
(January 10, 1855) the treaty with France and England was signed, and
shortly afterwards 15,000 Piedmontese troops under General La Marmora
were despatched to the Crimea.

Events at first seemed to justify the fears of Cavour's opponents.
Cholera attacked the Piedmontese soldiers, who for a long time had no
occasion to distinguish themselves in action; public opinion became
despondent and began to blame Cavour, and even he himself lost heart.
Then came the news of the battle of the Tchernaya, fought and won by the
Italians, which turned sadness and doubt into jubilation. Joy was felt
throughout Italy, especially at Milan, where the victory was the first
sign of daylight amid the gloom caused by the return of the Austrians.
Everyone realized that the Piedmontese contingent was fighting Italy's
battles. But to Cavour the announcement that Russia had accepted
Austrian mediation (January 16, 1856) was a great disappointment. He had
always hoped that if the war continued Austria would be forced to side
with Russia in return for the aid given by the emperor Nicholas in
suppressing the Hungarian revolt in 1849, and the Western powers would
then have an opportunity of helping the Italian cause. He sent a
memorandum, at Napoleon's request, to Count Walewski, the French
minister of foreign affairs, setting forth a kind of minimum programme
of Piedmont's claims. On the summoning of the congress of Paris at the
conclusion of the war, Cavour first proposed that d' Azeglio should
represent Piedmont, and on the latter's refusal decided to go himself.
After much discussion, and in spite of the opposition of Austria, who as
mediator occupied a predominant position, behaving "as though she had
taken Sevastopol," Cavour obtained that Piedmont should be treated as
one of the great powers. Although he did not expect that the congress
would liberate Italy, yet by his marvellous diplomatic skill, far
superior to that of his colleagues, h