s to gain her independence, and his sovereign become ruler
of a united Italy, it was necessary to propitiate the Western Powers. In
pursuance of such a policy, Cavour induced Piedmont to join the Allies
in the Crimean War, and the Italian soldiers behaved with conspicuous
bravery at the battle of Tchernaya. When the war closed Sardinia was
becoming a power in Europe, and Cavour established his right to a seat
at the Congress of Paris, where he made known the growing discontent in
Italy with the temporal power of the Papacy.

In the summer of 1858 Napoleon III. was taking the waters at Plombieres,
where also Count Cavour was on a visit. The Emperor's mood was leisured
and cordial, and Cavour took the opportunity of bringing the Court of
Turin into intimate but secret relations with that of the Tuileries.
France was to come to the aid of Sardinia under certain conditions in
the event of a war with Austria. Napoleon was not, of course, inclined
to serve Victor Emmanuel for naught, and he therefore stipulated for
Savoy and Nice. Cavour also strengthened the position of Sardinia by
arranging a marriage between the Princess Clotilde, daughter of Victor
Emmanuel, and the Emperor's cousin, Prince Napoleon. Alarmed at the
military preparations in Sardinia, and the growth of the kingdom as a
political power in Europe, Austria at the beginning of 1859 addressed an
imperious demand for disarmament, which was met by Cavour by a curt
refusal. The match had been put to the gunpowder and a fight for liberty
took place. The campaign was short but decisive. The Austrian army
crossed in force the Ticino, then hesitated and was lost. If they had
acted promptly they might have crushed the troops of Piedmont, whom they
greatly outnumbered, before the soldiers of France could cross the Alps.
The battle of Magenta, and the still more deadly struggle at Solferino
between Austria and the Allies, decided the issue, and by the beginning
of July Napoleon, for the moment, was master of the situation.

[Sidenote: VILLAFRANCA]

The French Emperor, with characteristic duplicity, had only half
revealed his hand in those confidential talks at Plombieres. Italy was
the cradle of his race, and he too wished to create, if not a King of
Rome, a federation of small States ruled by princes of his own blood.
The public rejoicings at Florence, Parma, Modena, and Bologna, and the
ardent expression of the populace at such centres for union with
Sardinia, made