during the emperor's visit to
Turin a military convention was signed between the two states, and Savoy
and Nice were promised to France as a reward for the expulsion of the
Austrians from Italy. But the British government was still unfavourable,
and Napoleon, ever hesitating, again sought an excuse for backing out of
his engagements; he jumped at the Russian proposal to settle the Italian
question by means of his own favourite expedient, a congress. To this
Austria agreed on condition that Piedmont should disarm and should be
excluded from the congress; England supported the scheme, but desired
that all the Italian states should be represented. Cavour was in despair
at the turn events were taking, and appealed to Napoleon, actually
threatening to emigrate to America and publish all his correspondence
with the emperor if the latter did not keep his engagements. He decided
at last most reluctantly to accept the English proposal, lest Piedmont
should be abandoned by all, but clung to the hope that Austria would
reject it. On the 19th of April the Austrian emperor, on the advice of
the military party, did reject it; and on the 23rd, to Cavour's
inexpressible joy, Austria sent an ultimatum demanding the disarmament
of Piedmont. Cavour replied that his government had agreed to the
congress proposed by the powers and that it had nothing more to say. On
quitting the chamber that day he said to a friend: "I am leaving the
last sitting of the last Piedmontese parliament"--the next would
represent united Italy. France now allied herself definitely with
Piedmont, and England, delighted at Cavour's acquiescence to her own
proposal and enraged by Austria's ultimatum, became wholly friendly to
the Italian cause. A few days later Austria declared war.

As La Marmora now took the chief command of the army, Cavour added the
ministry of war to the others he already held. His activity at this time
was astounding, for he was virtually dictator and controlled
single-handed nearly all the chief offices of the state. The French
troops entered Piedmont, where they were received with enthusiasm, and
the allies marched into Lombardy; the victory of Magenta, which opened
the gates of Milan to them, was shortly followed by that of Solferino.
The people rose in arms at Parma, Modena, Florence and Bologna, which
had been occupied by Austria for the pope since 1849; the local princes
were expelled and provisional governments set up. Cavour sent specia